braised pork with sweet & tangy barbecue sauce

I am a huge fan of barbecue - or even what I'll call not-really-barbecue-but-close-enough-for me.  For many years I've made a simple pulled pork recipe in the slow cooker with onions and bottled barbecue sauce.  It is very easy and flavorful, but I was thinking of expanding a little and making something that was a little more handmade and hands on this past weekend.

I did a search on Food Gawker for pulled pork recipes and found many that were similar to what I wasn't looking for - slow cooker, fix and forget style.  Not. for. me.  However, then I stumbled on to Kathleen's Gonna Want Seconds blog recipe for Pulled Pork Sandwiches.  This was more what I was looking for - dry rubbed pork shoulder roast, braised in the oven and then topped with barbecue sauce.

I had some left over dry rub from when I made ribs over the summer in the style of Alton Brown - the ingredients were similar and so I simply added a little dried mustard to the existing rub I had on hand.

I used a pork shoulder roast that weighed in at 2.5 or 3 pounds.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Rub: (from Alton Brown)
8 T light brown sugar
3 T kosher salt
1 T chili powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay
1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.   Coat the roast the night before, wrap it tightly and leave to sit in the fridge overnight.  

This makes more than you will use on one roast or rack of ribs, etc.  I saved the extra bag and it keeps well for future uses.

For the braising liquid, I used exactly what Kathleen listed on her blog - it sounded perfect!

Braising Liquid: (adapted from Paula Deen)

2 cups apple cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
1/2 tablespoon liquid smoke
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

Add all ingredients for the braising liquid mix into a dutch oven, or heavy, oven-proof pan with a tight fitting lid.  Add the pork roast.  Cover pan tightly with foil and then with the lid on top.  Cooking time will vary based on the size of the roast.  For my 2.5 pounds, I put it in and left it for 2 hours, took it out and flipped the meat over to promote even cooking and put it back in for another 1 hour. 

Here is where I departed from Kathleen's recipe.  After taking the roast out of the oven, I removed the pork and set aside to cool before shredding.  Meanwhile, I put the braising liquid on the stove to reduce the cider into the first of two sauces into which I would later return the pulled pork.  The reducing took a little while, but it was worth the wait!  Excellent flavor was trapped in the liquid and it added a lot to the final dish.

Once the pork is cooled, shred it with two forks and add back into the pan with the reduced sauce. 

The second sauce I made was more of a traditional barbecue sauce - recipe Simple Sweet & Tangy Barbecue Sauce from Cook's Illustrated.

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 cup ketchup
2 T cider vinegar
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T Dijon mustard
5 T molasses
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Process onion and 1/4 cup water in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade until pureed and mixture resembles slush, about 30 seconds. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup, pressing on solids with rubber spatula to obtain 1/2 cup juice. Discard solids in strainer.

Whisk onion juice, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, molasses, hot pepper sauce, black pepper, and liquid smoke (if using) in medium bowl.

Heat oil in large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add garlic, chili powder, and cayenne pepper; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in ketchup mixture and bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, until flavors meld and sauce is thickened, about 25 minutes. Cool sauce to room temperature before using. (Can be covered and refrigerated for up to 7 days.)

*This sauce was so good!  Not too sweet, but excellent flavor!  Highly recommended! 

Once both sauces were ready to go, add the pork back into the reduced sauce and add about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the barbecue sauce.  Warm up on stove top or in oven.  Serve on buns with toppings as you like.