By night two of your camping trip, you gotta work the cooler. It’s time to get a little smarter. Bringing frozen bags of pulled pork doubles as an ice pack for the rest of your food while slowly defrosting around dinner time. Pulled pork sandwiches with slaw and corn on the cob? Always the answer. Easy assembly, minimal cooking, maximum reward.
Ingredients:
- Pork shoulder (about 3-4 lb)
- 1½ tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cumin (optional)
- ½ tsp chili powder or cayenne (optional)
- 3–4 large shallots, halved or roughly chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 cup apple juice, beer, chicken stock, or water
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions:
- Pat the pork dry.
- Mix together the salt, brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and optional cumin and chili powder.
- Rub the pork all over. You want a nice even coating, but you don't need to force every last bit of the rub onto the meat. If you have leftover, save it rather than piling it on.
- Let the pork sit for a few hours, or overnight in the fridge if you have time.
- Heat oven to 300°F.
- Put the shallots and smashed garlic in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Place the pork on top.
- Pour the 1 cup liquid and apple cider vinegar around the pork, rather than directly over the top so you don't wash off the rub.
- Cover and cook for 4½–6 hours, until the pork is extremely tender and pulls apart easily. You're looking for roughly 195–205°F internal temperature, but tenderness is the real test.
- Remove the pork and let it rest for about 15–20 minutes, then shred.
- Strain some of the cooking liquid and add it back to the shredded pork a little at a time until it's juicy and flavourful. You probably won't need all of it.
- Taste before adding any more salt. The reduced cooking liquid can be quite concentrated.
- Let cool completely if you're making it ahead.
Tip: Pack a bottle of BBQ sauce to pour in for the reheat!
