I have enjoyed eating pork dishes regularly over the last 50 years! But, early on, my first two decades were void of this savory food. This was because my Jewish heritage, and its restrictions abound about eating pork and the rules my parents kept. One dietary rule states that the pig has evenly split hooves, but it does not chew its cud, and therefore it is unclean, and must not be eaten by Jewish people who follow these specific rules. These dietary guidelines can be traced to the Torah, a Hebrew biblical book from ancient time. But too, I was married in my early twenties, and then unconsciously, I began eating pork, researching recipes. In addition, my father had died when I was a child and Jewish tradition fell away in our home, and from then on we never ate pork at home.

To the present time– whenever I entertain, I love to create company-worthy dishes, with pork as well as other foods. I find scratch cooking fun and rewarding, and my guests always appreciate whatever I cook or bake.

This dish has a few components, but, not too much hands on work, except for the the shredding of the meat toward the end of the cooking process.

This recipe works for a pork shoulder 6-10 pounds, a bit more or less in size works okay.

Serves 6-10, depending on size of roast

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 T. smoked paprika

1 T. sweet paprika

1 t onion powder

3-5 garlic cloves, mashed

2 t. salt

1-2 t. black pepper

2-4 onions, cut in halves

3-4 cups homemade or bottled barbeque sauce

hamburger rolls for serving

Other herbs or seasonings to try as part of the rub for the roast: dried basil, cumin, coriander, rosemary, tarragon, chili, cayenne pepper, and dried mustard. Adjust these amounts to your liking, but be cautious about the chili and cayenne pepper for their hotness.

PROCESS

1– Mix together in a small bowl, the brown sugar, the paprikas, salt, and garlic cloves and whatever other spices you’ve chosen. Rub these ingredients all over a well-dried bone-in or boneless pork shoulder. Wrap the roast thoroughly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours in the refrigerator, or overnight.

2– Remove the roast from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour. Remove the plastic. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Spray a large pot or pan with Pam, then make a nice mound of the cut onions in the center of the pan. Carefully place the roast on top of the onions. Cover the roast tightly with aluminum foil. Roast until the the pork is fork-tender and nearly falling apart. Sometimes the roast might dry or burn on its bottom, so, throughout the cooking process check the roast 2-3 times and make sure it’s not burning. If the roast seems dry, add a half or more cup of water, and recover the roast well each time. The cooking time varies, depending on its size.

3–Once cooked, remove the roast from the pot and set it on a cutting board. Now, easily slice the onions some.

4– Place the empty pot, along with its juices, and scrape up its accumulated bits of pork on the stovetop on medium high heat. Add 1 1/2 cups of hot water. Cook this for 5-8 minutes as it reduces some, and thickens a little. Remove a few tablespoons of fat, if you like. Add your barbeque sauce and stir to heat everything. Adjust the sauce to your liking, adding a bit more water to thin the sauce, if you like.

5– Go back to the cutting board. With two forks, shred the pork, this will take a few minutes, adding the sliced onions, cutting them into bite size pieces, if necessary.

6–Toss in the barbeque sauce, adding as much or little as you like to coat the meat. Reheat the meat if necessary, and serve on hamburger rolls. Or, without rolls, serve a side of noodles or rice.

HOMEMADE BARBEQUE SAUCE

 

1-2 T. Worcestershire sauce

2/3 cup apple cider

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 t smoked paprika

1 t sweet paprika

2 scallions, chopped (optional)

1 t cumin

1-2 t salt

1 t pepper

Mix all these ingredients together in a small pot. Cook on medium low for 5-7 minutes, use as desired.