Put the Basket Away, it’s Time for a REAL Picnic

 

The highest rung of the food ladder is composed of foie gras, truffles, saffron, caviar, and ice cream.  That is an undeniable fact.  I imagine if you were to eat a dish made up of a combination of these five items, the result would be akin to crossing the streams in Ghost Busters, or burping, sneezing, coughing, and hiccupping at the same time…“Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light” – Dr. Egon Spengler from the movie Ghost Busters.  However, if you fear the repercussions of eating these incredibly delicious delicacies, then play it safe and go for one of the two items on the second-highest rung of the food ladder: Short ribs and pulled pork.  Today’s post will focus on pulled pork, but there will be a short ribs post in the very near future.

 

 

The inspiration for this post came from a cut of meat that I have had zero experience with but have seen countless times at the supermarket…the picnic shoulder.  The picnic shoulder is not actually the shoulder of the pig.  Rather, it is the lower portion of the front legs, which is also where ham hocks come from.  The actual shoulder of the pig is called the butt or Boston butt.  I typically call Red Sox fans Boston butts, but then again I’m not a butcher…like Theo Epstein. 

 

 

 

I chose to prepare pulled pork using the picnic shoulder because it is a part of the pig that is used constantly by the animal, which must mean that the meat has ample fat and connective tissue running throughout it, making it an ideal candidate for smoking or slow-roasting.  I took a bit of a gamble here because the butt is typically used for making pulled pork, but I see no point in staying inside the box whilst in the kitchen.  Cooking is all about imagination, creativity, and trial and error.

           

The fat and connective tissue in the picnic shoulder should keep the meat plenty lubricated during the cooking process, but to ensure moist, succulent pork, I decided to brine the picnic shoulder overnight.  Brining the pork ups the water content in the meat and helps prevent the picnic shoulder from drying out while roasting.  Brining is a technique that can be applied to all meats and is especially great when preparing meats that need to be cooked beyond the medium rare point of doneness.  The brine recipe below can be used for absolutely any meat you plan on roasting and can be customized to your own tastes.  I have substituted apple cider for half of the water below and was thrilled with the results.

 

Brine –

 

½ C Salt

½ C Sugar

5 garlic cloves, crushed

10 Juniper berries, lightly crushed

15 Peppercorns

10 sprigs fresh thyme

4 Bay leaves

8 C Water

 

Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a boil.  Boil for a couple of minutes, making sure that the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.  Remove the brine from the heat and let cool to room temperature.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!  If you poor a hot or warm brine over your meat, you are not only going to par-cook and alter the texture of your meat, but you will create the PERFECT environment for bacteria to multiply.  Pour the brine over the picnic shoulder, being sure to completely cover the meat with the brining liquid.  This will require a large vessel since the picnic shoulder is a large, irregularly shaped cut of meat.  I was able to fit my 8 pound picnic shoulder in my Dutch over.  Put the submerged pork in the fridge and allow it to brine overnight, or for at least 8 hours.  When ready to move on to the roasting process, remove the picnic shoulder from the brine, rinse thoroughly with cool water and pat dry. 

 

 

 

Now that you have taken the step to ensure ample moisture in the final product, it’s time to up the flavor ante.  The way we are going to achieve this is by covering the picnic shoulder in a sweet, savory and spicy rub. 

 

Rub –

 

2 Tbsp. Garlic powder

2 Tbsp. Paprika

2 Tbsp. Salt

1 Tbsp. Black pepper

2 Tbsp. Thyme

¼ C Brown sugar

1 Tbsp. Cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp. Allspice

 

Combine all ingredients above and rub all over the picnic shoulder.  Be sure to get it in all the nooks and crannies and apply very liberally to all exposed meat.  Also, make sure that you do not remove the skin and fat from the picnic shoulder since they help prevent the meat from drying out. 

 

 

 

 

Once the picnic shoulder has been adequately rubbed down, wrap it up in 3 layers of aluminum foil, making sure that the meat is well sealed up, place the wrapped up pork in a baking dish, and put into a 225 degree over for 9 hours.  Yes, 9 hours.  The low and slow method is CRUCIAL with meats full of connective tissue because it is the gradual cooking process that allows connective tissue to break down into soft, succulent deliciousness.  If you were to roast the picnic shoulder in a very hot oven until the internal temp registered 160 degrees, you would have a very dry and VERY tough piece of meat. 

 

 

I think the best way to explain this process is by likening it to swimming in a cold pool.  If you jump into a cold pool, your body receives a serious shock, your lungs seize up, and you risk serious disaster.  However, if you very gradually enter the pool, allowing your body to acclimate to the water slowly, you will eventually be able to swim around and enjoy your time in the water.  Tough cuts of meat are the same in that if you cook them at high temperatures for short periods of time, their connective tissue seizes up and the meat will have the texture of a hockey puck.  However, cooked at a very low temperature for a long period of time, the connective tissue essentially dissolves, turning the meat into fork-tender glory.

 

 

Once you have removed the pork from the oven after it has cooked for a full 9 hours, allow it to rest until it is just cool enough to handle.  At this point, grab two forks, and start shredding the meat.  The size of the shreds is purely a matter of taste, so do whatever makes you happy.  Once the picnic shoulder has been fully shredded, there is a very important decision to make…what barbecue sauce should enrobe the delicious meaty strands?  For pulled pork, I prefer a savory and spicy BBQ sauce and LOTS of it. 

 

All in all the picnic shoulder produced delicious pulled pork.  I would certainly use it again.  I did find that the picnic shoulder seems to be made up of darker and lighter portions of meat.  The darker portions shred beautifully, stay extremely moist, and have a wonderfully porky taste.  The lighter portions do dry out a tiny bit, but they still shred well and, when mixed with the darker meat and BBQ sauce, are incredibly delicious.  While the time commitment may seem daunting, do realize that the actual amount of work needed to produce pulled pork is minimal and that the ends MOST DEFINITELY justify the means.

 

On a final note, the lowest rung of the food ladder is composed of celery, licorice, citrus pith, mealy peaches, cranberry lambics, and bread and butter pickles.