Pulled Pork in an Easy BBQ Sauce

I often get asked the best cut of pork for pulled pork recipes. The only one that works well for me is always pork shoulder. Cooked for seven hours in a slow cooker with a few minimal ingredients while you go about your business all day.. then shredded and mixed with a quick homemade bbq sauce, this recipe is easy and so tasty.

I have added liquid smoke in this recipe because I happen to have it, but its not needed and the recipe is just as delicious without it. It just adds a little bbq smoke flavour to it.

 

For the pork:

1 pork shoulder (any size you need)
250ml cider
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
few sprays of liquid smoke (optional)

Cut the skin off the pork, leaving a layer of fat. Cut into the fat with a sharp knife and rub in the salt and sugar. Spray a few squirts of liquid smoke (if using). Pop into the slow cooker with the cider and put the lid on cook for 7 hours on low.

When cooked remove from the liquid and shred with two forks into a large bowl.


For the bbq sauce:

1/2 cup ( apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. yellow (American) mustard
3 tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. salt

Simply whisk all the ingredients together and pour over the pork. You may not want to use all the sauce (it depends on the size of pork you have).

Stir well until combined and serve with flatbreads or mini tacos along with sour cream and chilli sauce..

Note: For mini taco shells, I simply cut 2-3 circles with a cookie cutter out of a corn tortilla. Fold the little circle in half and drape over the rungs of the oven bars. If you do them next to each other in a row, each one will stop the other from springing open. Cook in a medium oven for about 3-4 minutes and you have a mini taco shell!

 

Chicken in a Hot Jalapeno Sauce

I am always trying new green sauce recipes, as I think there are too many tomato based sauces out there. And I love chillies - this sauce has a lovely spicy kick from the jalapenos - its hotter than you think it may be! Its similar to a Mexican Mole sauce (pronounced mow-lay) with the added tortillas, but is spicier and fresh with the coriander and full of flavour. Its rather low fat too!

I had a 'Mexican night' on Saturday and this was one of the dishes I put on the table. After a few initial comments of "ooh its quite spicy", I started seeing it disappear from sight as the guests piled it on flatbreads and in tacos with sour cream. I rather loved it myself (when I eventually finished cooking and got to have some!)

Ingredients     (Serve 3-4)

230g yellow tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 large fresh jalapeno chillies, sliced
handful (about 1/2 cup) fresh coriander
2 flour tortillas, chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. olive oil

Method:   

Put the tomatoes and garlic into a dry frying pan and cook until the tomato skins blacken a bit. Transfer both to a bowl and peel the skin off the tomatoes (you don't need to remove it all, just as much as you can). Add the sliced jalapenos, chopped tortillas, lime juice and salt and blitz with a hand blender until smooth and thick. Set to one side.

Place the chicken breasts in between two sheets of cling film and hit firmly with a rolling pin (or the bottom of a saucepan) until flattened slightly. Then cut each breast into 3 or 4 pieces. Sprinkle with flour and pan fry the mini fillets on each side for about 3 minutes in the oil, until browned and cooked through. Then pour the jalapeno sauce over the top and combine well.

Garnish with a little fresh coriander and a grind of fresh black pepper. Serve with flatbreads, tacos or rice with a cooling sour cream on the side - delicious!