Chipotle Pulled Pork
SERVES 8-12 (4-6 for now and 4-6 for later)
5 MINUTES PREP, plus marinating
5½-7½ HOURS COOKING
The prep is easy peasy and it’s a ‘shove in the oven and wait’ wonder, so it makes sense to prepare a massive joint, shred it into portions, freeze and have pulled pork at your fingertips, ready in a snip of time, The Ice Kitchen Method!
Pulled pork can do no wrong in my eyes – it is great stuffed into a burger bun, mixed with rice or used to fill tacos or fajitas. The prep is easy peasy and it’s a ‘shove in the oven and wait’ wonder, so it makes sense to prepare a massive joint, shred it into portions, freeze and have pulled pork at your fingertips, ready in a snip of time, The Ice Kitchen Method!
8 tbsp chipotle paste
4 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp tomato purée
2.5kg skinless and boneless pork shoulder, slashed a few times with a sharp knife
200g orange juice
2 tbsp honey
- Mix together 6 tablespoons of the chipotle paste with the cider vinegar and tomato purée. Massage into the pork and, if possible, leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
- When you are ready to cook the pork, preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.
- Put the pork into a deep-sided roasting tin, pour in the orange juice and cover with a ‘tent’ of foil, ensuring that it is sealed at the edges of the dish but doesn’t actually touch the pork. Bake in the oven for 5-7 hours until the meat is falling apart. Check to make sure it hasn’t dried out, topping up with a little more orange juice if needed.
- Increase the heat to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and remove the foil. Brush with the honey and cook for another 30 minutes until crisp and sticky. Remove any fatty bits of meat, then use a fork to pull the pork apart. Mix through the remaining 2 tablespoons of chipotle paste, ensuring all the juices coat the pulled meat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
- Try with tacos and pickled pink onions and guacamole, or with rice and beans or in burger buns.
FREEZE Cool quickly and completely, then portion up (I like preparing portions of two) and put into labelled resealable freezer bags. Lay flat to freeze, then ‘file’ upright.
FREEZER TO TABLE Empty into a lidded saucepan and place over a low-medium heat, breaking it up as it defrosts. Once fully defrosted, add a splash of water, increase the heat and cook, stirring often, until piping hot through. Or defrost overnight in the fridge, before reheating on the hob.