Pulled Pork for Two
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 14, 2011
Yield
Serves 2
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Use pork blade chops that are 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick. This recipe makes enough for 2 deli-style large sandwich buns or 4 regular soft hamburger buns.
Instructions
- BROWN PORK Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Cut chops away from bones and slice meat into 1-inch-thick strips. Combine 1 tablespoon brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper in bowl. Pat pork dry with paper towels and rub with spice mixture. Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 4 to 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Brown pork in 2 batches, 3 to 4 minutes per side, and transfer to second plate.
- BRAISE PORK Add onion to pot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, and remaining brown sugar, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to boil. Return bacon and browned pork and any accumulated juices to pot. Transfer to oven and braise, covered, until pork is fork-tender, about 1½ hours.
- SHRED PORK Transfer pork to bowl and, using 2 forks, shred into bite-size pieces. Return pork to Dutch oven and toss to combine. Serve.
Yield
Serves 2Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For our Pulled Pork for Two recipe, we found a rich, fatty, hulking pork butt—the traditional choice for pulled pork—took half a day to cook and was too much meat for two. We used bone-in blade chops that cooked in a more reasonable amount of time and comfortably fed two diners. Braising the meat in barbecue sauce tenderized the blade chops and added strong flavor. A spice rub of chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and dark brown sugar added some kick, while a few slices of bacon provided a nice smoky flavor.
Before You Begin
Use pork blade chops that are 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick. This recipe makes enough for 2 deli-style large sandwich buns or 4 regular soft hamburger buns.
Instructions
- BROWN PORK Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Cut chops away from bones and slice meat into 1-inch-thick strips. Combine 1 tablespoon brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper in bowl. Pat pork dry with paper towels and rub with spice mixture. Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 4 to 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Brown pork in 2 batches, 3 to 4 minutes per side, and transfer to second plate.
- BRAISE PORK Add onion to pot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, and remaining brown sugar, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to boil. Return bacon and browned pork and any accumulated juices to pot. Transfer to oven and braise, covered, until pork is fork-tender, about 1½ hours.
- SHRED PORK Transfer pork to bowl and, using 2 forks, shred into bite-size pieces. Return pork to Dutch oven and toss to combine. Serve.
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