Yummmmm Pulled Pork

July 25th, 2010 No comments

So here’s the dish.   (Inspiration for this recipe yanked liberally and with thanks from Ming Tsai’s excellent website.)

Pulled Pork, sloppy and juicy and oh so tasty.

Necessary Equipment

5 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven (You probably could duplicate most of the results with a slow cooker, but I do not have one.)  I happen to LOVE this one — and it is always a reasonable price at Amazon.   Lodge Logic 5-Quart Double Dutch Oven and Casserole with Skillet Cover

Heavy tongs.   No really.

Ingredients

  • Pork – Half Shoulder (BONE IN and with skin!)
  • 1 Cup Sugar (I prefer “Sugar in the Raw”)
  • 10 Stalks of Scallion, washed and chopped into 2 inch lengths.
  • 2 Whole Garlic Bulbs, washed and peeled.
  • 2 Green Chinese Chilies, washed, halved and seeds removed, then chopped.
  • 3 Inches (roughly) of Ginger, wash, peel, cut into large chunks.
  • 1 Orange, peeled then cut roughly into six-eight slices.
  • Salt, Paprika, Thyme, Peppercorns  (Rough seasoning, a teaspoon of each will do just fine.)
  • 2 Cups Water
  • 1 Cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 Cup Red Wine
  • 0.5 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • 0.5 Cup Whiskey

Okay, this sounds like work but it really isn’t that bad.

  1. Heat up your dutch oven, add a little bit of oil.
  2. Wash your pork shoulder in cold water, then sear it on all sides in your dutch oven.  For the love of your hands, please use your tongs and wear gloves if you have them.  Don’t burn the living daylights out of yourself!
  3. Pull the shoulder out and set it aside (if you have the dutch oven I have, you can set it right in the cover on your oven!  :)
  4. Add your “wet” ingredients to the pot and let it come to a simmer.  I like to do my prep of items like the orange, peppers, scallions and such while the liquids are coming to a simmer.   Toss your other ingredients in as you are preparing.
  5. When all items have come to a nice simmer, push the floating items to the side and put your pork shoulder in, SKIN SIDE UP.  IT should come up to about the skin without submerging completely.
  6. Cover and put in preheated oven at 300 degrees.  Cook as such for 4-6 hours.
  7. Check on your shoulder.  When the bone simply lifts out with absolutely no effort, you’re ready for stage two.
  8. Remove all meat, then remove the bone.  Set aside the bone if you wish for later prep.
  9. Strain the sauce of all solids, then pour back into dutch oven or a slow cooking device of your choice.

Okay.  So here’s the thing, you COULD serve it as is.   You could take the meat, chunk it out or pull it apart, and cut up the skin for serving to the brave and the bold.  You COULD just take the strained sauce and reduce it a bit, and use it for the pork.  But what is the fun in that?  So here’s stage two, which is quite easy.

  1. Take your sauce, pour it into a nice slow cooker.  (I use a Thermos cooker myself.)  If you don’t have a slow cooker of any sort, you COULD go right back into the dutch oven!
  2. Making sure you’ve removed all bone from the meat, chunk the meat if necessary to fit in your slow cooker.  Drop the results back in the sauce.   Leave the skin on, or if you’re scared you COULD just remove the skin.  But again, what would the fun be then?
  3. Once you have just the sauce (strained!) and the meat, cook this AGAIN for as long as you can.   My latest batch cooked for an additional 15 hours before serving.   You can choose to pull the pork apart with two forks, or serve it chinese style as big chunks of pork.   Serve with Rice, on bread, but whatever you do, serve it with a generous pouring of the sauce!  The end result is a very tender pork with a sauce that is glorious with just rice or any bread.  :)
  4. You can go further. Take the strained out “stuff” from the sauce, which should be a very potent and fragrant mash with big chunks of ginger and whole peppercorns just sitting in there.   I took this mixture and blended it down to a fine mash, then mixed it with broth made from the bone.  This yields a extremely potent sauce that I’m saving, but I imagine COULD be served with some of the meat if you were daring enough.   I have a jar of this in my fridge at the moment to experiment with.

Oh, by the way, I’ve been informed that the sauce, which you will have plenty of, is also great for serving up some other styles of dish.   Take peeled, softboiled eggs and simmer in the sauce for about an hour.  The eggs will absorb all of the sauce, yum.  :)

Enjoy!

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Photopost: Return of the Black Bird Fly

July 22nd, 2010 No comments



BBF-WestCoastTour-Roll1-018

Originally uploaded by Doc Stampede


I finally got some shots developed off the BBF. Will post more after I crop and such.

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Photopost: Giant Slime is Guarded

July 12th, 2010 No comments



Giant Slime is Guarded

Originally uploaded by Doc Stampede


Do NOT mess with the Giant Blue Slime.

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Dragon Quest IX Launch Party – Nintendo Store

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Photopost : Happy Fans

July 12th, 2010 No comments



Happy Fans

Originally uploaded by Doc Stampede


These two guys at the Dragonquest Launch – they were smart enough to realize that the japanese contingent shooting photos were PROBABLY the VIP’s they had come to see…

Poor guy was shaking, he was so excited when he was brave enough to walk up and say hi. :)

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Dragon Quest IX Launch Party – Nintendo Store

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Photopost: Mini Cupcake for Me!

June 30th, 2010 No comments



Mini Cupcake for Me!

Originally uploaded by Doc Stampede


Baked by Melissa makes wonderful little bite sized cupcakes… Mmmmmmm cupcakes.. XD

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Oh Beeeeeehave yourself!

June 29th, 2010 No comments



Oh Beeeeeehave yourself!

Originally uploaded by Doc Stampede


Took the brand new Canon 7D out for a whirl this past weekend.

It is a beauty of a performer. Saw this bee buzzing around Washington Square Park while walking with some visiting Otakon Staffers and friends, so took a few shots.

Beeeeeeeeeeee nice now!

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For Sale : Complete 40D kit.

June 23rd, 2010 No comments

Alright so, since I upgraded to a Canon 7D, I am putting up my 40D for sale, along with a brand spanking new 28-135mm kit lens and new 70-300mm lens.

Details here.

Link to the Ebay entry…

Since it is on Ebay I am of course looking for top dollar, but if I am willing to talk if it goes to someone I know. Ping me if you are interested, or pass the word along! :)

Categories: Cameras, Pimpage Tags:

Photopost: Old Fashioned Flatbed

June 20th, 2010 No comments



Old Fashioned Flatbed

Originally uploaded by Doc Stampede


Think you’ve got it hard with your bike, carrying some stuff home from the store? No, really you don’t.

The missing wheel, was being repaired across the street by another man with a cart… an entire bike repair shop on a cart.

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Photopost: World Expo 2010 – Inner Mongolia Parade

June 17th, 2010 No comments



World Expo 2010 – Inner Mongolia Parade

Originally uploaded by Doc Stampede


Despite my setback in cataloging the files from the China Trip, I’m going to try and post a photo a day until I get the galleries sorted and get used to my new camera rig….

So here, a photo from World Expo 2010, the “Inner Mongolia” parade that we randomly encountered. :)

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Photopost: Great Wall of China at Badaling – Shrunken

June 16th, 2010 No comments



Great Wall of China at Badaling – Shrunken

Originally uploaded by Doc Stampede


I had the opportunity to take my new Lensbaby 2.0 with me to the Great Wall at Badaling. This was one of the results, after much jostling and hanging over the edge of the wall and irritating people with my lingering for longer than usual..

Continuing my screening of my photos, and after much hunting found a Lensbaby image that had the focal point I intended… and had to post it right away. :)

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