But wait! It all turned out okay - I made the gluten soaked pulled pork BUT ALSO some kick ass pulled chicken! Huzzah! Here's how I did it all:
For the pulled pork, I did an all night marinade. I used a three pound bit of pork shoulder that had a lovely fat cap on it. In a large glass bowl I whisked together 3 tablespoons of salt (kosher, people!), 1 tablespoon of cracked black pepper, 1 and 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 3 smashed cloves of garlic, 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper (yup! make it as spicy or not spicy as you want though - but don't be wussy) and the leaves from three sprigs of fresh thyme. Next add half to three quarters of a bottle of your favorite beer - I recommend a summer brew or a hefewiezen to counter act the cayenne; I used Honeymoon by the makers of Blue Moon. Dude, it's delish! Whisk everything together and put your pork shoulder in. Make sure the pork is covered with this delightful mixture, then cover with saran wrap and refrigerate overnight. If you can't do overnight, I'd recommend at least three hours so the flavors can penetrate (heh) the meat.
Okay, fast forward to the next day, time to cook! I heated a three count of olive oil in a heavy bottomed frying pan (Sisie's Le Creuset risotto pan to be specific) and browned that gorgeously marinated piece of pork shoulder. After I got a good sear on all sides, I put the meat along with the liquid marinade into a handy dandy crock pot and covered. I went with the high setting for three hours, then set it down to low until we were ready to eat. The liquid was poured out and discarded (thank you delicious gluteny marinade!) Take two forks and shred that meat - it will fall apart and you'll be taking taste after taste because you won't be able to resist! After the meat was shredded, I poured some BBQ sauce over it and it was AMAZING. Use your favorite flavor of sauce - Sweet Baby Rays would be good, especially with the cayenne pepper that you used. Serve on some buns and you're in pulled pork heaven.
Hold on! If you are allergic to wheat and gluten, here's what I made for sis! I bought three leg/thighs combos from the butcher - bone in skin on. Gotta go dark meat here, sports fans, if you want the falling apart consistency. Prepare the chicken by giving it a good ol' spice rub. Use your favorite BBQ spice rub, or make one up! I used chili powder - probably a tablespoon total and just massaged it all over the meat. Next, take one leek and thoroughly clean that sucka. Dirt loves to hide between those leaves. Slice up the leek and and throw it in a frying pan that has a cover with a three count of olive oil. Saute the leek for three minutes (add some S and P), then add two sliced carrots. Cook for a few minutes more, then make some room and add the chicken skin side down. Once the chicken is properly browned, add enough rose wine (NOT white zinfandel, shudder) to deglaze and simmer the chicken in. There should be about a half inch of wine covering the bottom of the pan - I eyeballed it, probably a third of a bottle. You could also use white or red wine, or your favorite beer. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to low and simmer for about an hour. You'll know when it's ready - the meat will be fall off the bone, just poke at it with a fork. Once it's ready, turn off the heat and let it cool a bit so you can debone and deskin the chicken. After you've removed the skin and bones shred the chicken back in the pan with the veggies and mix with your favorite sauce! For Sisie's chicken I used a spicier sauce because the chicken was cooked with sweet carrots and the wine. We served her sammich on a delicious gluten free roll and she was in birthday heaven!
I also made a yummy cole slaw. I threw ingredients together into a bowl until it tasted right. It was mayo based, so all you mayo haters out there just need to GET OVER IT. Mayo is freaking delicious. Use one cup of mayo, and whisk in in the bottom of a salad bowl with a 1/4 cup of white or red wine vinegar, two tablespoons of Dijon mustard, a squeeze of honey or maple syrup, a pinch of cayenne or chili powder and some S and P to taste. Whisk and taste, whisk and taste until it's right. A squeeze or two of lemon would be great too. Add some shredded cabbage and carrots on top of your dressing (we used shredded broccoli too, yum) and toss. Now, if you're super cool, you'll put coleslaw on top of your pulled pork or chicken and eat the sammich like a pro.
Serve this all up with some goat cheese polenta and you've got a Brooklyn SND for the ages!
-D
PS I realize I've written this post in several different voices/tenses. Deal with it. It's Sunday Night Dinners not Sunday Night Grammar. Boosh.
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