The Young Chef.
Pure souls are rare on this earth. I have been told that my new 10-year old son is one of them. I am beginning to believe that he is. He is inspired, and inspiring. And for a chef to be inspired by a 10-year old that is something! To wit we have come include our Pig-Pickin' Bar b que in our family dinner repertoire. This is the classic he helped me recreate last year for his class "States' Fair".
We traveled to North Carolina and tested North Carolina Bar b que in order to recreate the very flavor he instantly fell in love with. (That's the funny thing about children. If you can get them to eat something, their palates are so sharp and distinctive!). Naturally, I did what any "mom" would do. I scoured the internet searching for a North Carolina Pig-Pickin' recipe. Low and behold we found our recipe, and my new son's "most favorite" meal. But from this cooking and tasting adventure, my son's curiousity in the kitchen was piqued. I watch in amazement as he wrestles with the idea that aroma matches flavor, and then sets out to find food combinations that we suddenly are scrambling to test. A few have become our family favorites.
We did little to our pig-pickin' pork bar b que recipe other than adapt it for a crock pot. But, for sure, this Bon Appetit Recipe gets its real kick from the Bart's Bar B Que secret sauce that we picked up during our taste-testing in North Carolina. The bar b que sauce in the recipe is good, but if you're near Myrtle Beach, Bart's is a must!
Pig-Pickin' Pork Barbque
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, copyright 1999 at epicurious.com
Serves 4 to 6
Photo from Bon Appetit at epicurious.com
For dry rub:
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons smoked sweet paprika
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 4 to 6 pound untrimmed boneless pork shoulder (also known as Boston butt!)
For the crock-pot sauce:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Soft hamburger rolls, split
(from Bon Appetit: Carolina Red Barbecue Sauce)
Make dry rub:
Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl with a fork to blend.
Place pork on a large piece of cling film on your work surface. Sprinkle dry rub all over pork and massage it into the meat. Cover with the cling film and place in a large bowl. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
Prepare the crock-pot sauce and slow cook the pork:
Mix first 6 ingredients in a crock pot. Plug the crock pot in and turn it to high. Add the pork. Cover and cook on High for about 3 to 4 hours until the mixture is boiling. Turn the crock pot to low and remove the pork to a casserole dish. Carefully shred the pork, removing any large pieces of pork fat. Return the shredded meat to the crock pot. Cover and continue cooking on low for about 2 more hours.
Using tongs, carefully serve the shredded pork on soft hamburger rolls. Drizzle lightly with a vinegar based, spicy barbecue sauce.
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