Smokeless Pulled Pork
This was something my brain came up with watching Meat Church videos on Youtube, specifically one where he smokes one of those honey baked hams. He mentions that you if you don’t want to use a smoker or don’t have one, the oven is an alternative.
My brain went: “Do you know what could work? Pork loin.” So, I tried.
I bought one 10lbs pork loin from my local Costco ($2.29 per pound), trimmed the excess fat, cut it in half and placed then on individual aluminum foil half-pans. Nex they were covered in mustard (as binder) and then seasoned with salt, pepper, granulated garlic and my basic go-to seasoning for pork McCormick Grill Mates Brown Sugar Bourbon. Pan went in the oven under the broiler for 7-10 minutes each side, pulled out and I added about a cup each of a mixture of apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and inexpensive sweet BBQ sauce. I covered and sealed the pans with wide aluminum foil and into the oven they went at 310 degrees.
Baking time should be around 4 hours. I recommend you get a meat thermometer that allows you to check the internal temperature without having to open the oven. I use this ThermoPro Meat Thermometer because it is as simple as it can get and you can set an alarm for the desired internal temperature to be reached which in this particular case should be 210 degrees. Now you need both the temperature and the time to achieve the collapse of the meat fibers. If you feel the internal temp is rising too fast, reduce the oven temperature to 290.
When time and temperature have been reached, carefully remove the pans from the oven (a lot of juice has been created in the last 4 hours) and let it rest for 30 minutes. Once it cooled enough, remove the cover and carefully bring the loin out to a big bowl or tray and begin the shredding process. I do mine with a pair of steel tongs because the meat just comes apart so easy. Next is to taste and add more seasoning, probably more salt and Grill Mates, but you add what you like, but before you start mixing the seasoning in, get a ladle and pour 2 or 3 serving of the juices into the meat and stir everything till properly even tasting.
My final tally was seven pounds of pulled pork loin. Add one buck per pound for “costs" and my price per pound is $4.25
Now, if you excuse me, supper is ready.
When I was a kid we were a military family, middle class and we ate well. Pork loin was always a treat. We had it often enough. At 8 years old I was a decent enough speller. Once, at dinner, when we were having pork loin I said to mom, "this pork loin is great, but when are we going to have pork lion? They have it at Piggly-Wiggly." I wasn't dyslexic, I was 8.
Thanks for the recipe. I think it'll work with pork lion.
About to admit to a BBQ heresy here.
I do my pulled pork in a crock pot. (Please no pitchforks and torches. I am already ashamed of myself enough.) Then again, I did grow up in the metro NYC area, so there is zero southern in my blood. That's my story, and I am sticking to it.
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Pork shoulder (I have even used the pork tenderloin, and that works out wonderfully) hacked into three/four chunks about 1-1/2 to 2#. Rub them down with whatever BBQ rub you like. I have tried dozens of them, and frankly none stand out as the best.
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Pop them into the crock, add medium thick sliced onions. Rings or slivers. Enough to fill in the gaps, but not so much everything tastes like onion. Then put in about 1-1/2 inch apple cider vinegar. Use the cheap stuff, you are looking for the acidity more than the flavor.
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Low for 8 hours. No... do not do 10, you will get pork paste. No need to turn, or brown, or labor over it. Go about your daily business. The hard part is creating the BBQ sauces you want to have with it. And, I make your own. The store bought stuff is full of sugars, you can do better.
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And, do not tell anyone it was done in a crock pot. Pretend it was massively labor intensive.