Cuban pulled pork recipes are famous for their special flavor. While some Cuban grandmothers claim such recipes to be among their biggest secrets, in reality it’s rather a matter of trial and error until discovering those ingredients that are the most appealing to your taste. Here’s how the Cuban grandmother of one of my friends used to cook delicious pulled pork:

Ingredients:

• 1 pork shoulder (Boston Butt), about 5-6 lbs, with bone
• 4 onions, chopped
• 15 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 bottle of Mojo sauce
• Zest from one orange
• 1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons thyme
• 1 tablespoon red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons black pepper, ground
• 2 tablespoons salt

Preparation time: 1 day

Cooking time: 12 hours

Serves: 12

Cooking method:

First, you need to prepare the rub: in a bowl, mix the chopped onions, garlic, Mojo sauce, orange juice, orange zest, herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil. You can use a whisk for better mixing everything together, until you get a thick paste. Rub the pork shoulder with the paste, taking care to cover it thoroughly. Put the meat in a plastic bag and let it sit in the fridge over night. This will help the meat marinate a bit and get more flavor from the rub paste. However, if this is not possible, you can skip this step.

Put the pork shoulder in a roasting pot, cover it and let it slowly roast in the oven for about 10 hours, at a temperature of 250 – 300 F. By the end of the cooking, check the internal temperature of the meat: it should be 185 F. When ready, let the meat sit for 15-20 minutes, then pull it apart with two forks. Serve it with Cuban black beans or with saffron rice. Optionally, you can add some barbecue sauce on top of it.

Mexican food is appreciated by many people, thanks to its special ingredients and to the specific preparation methods which can turn a dull chicken breast into a moist and flavored dish. Enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos or fajitas are only a few of the specific dishes that can be found in all Mexican restaurants. What if we don’t always feel like going out for dinner? This Mexican pulled pork recipe can be easily prepared at home, without needing a barbecue grill or a smoker (although it would be nicer if you used one of these).

Ingredients:

• 1 pork shoulder, about 2-3 pounds
• 6 corn flour tortillas
• 1 green pepper, seeded and cut in thin stripes
• 1 red pepper, seeded and cut in the same way
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2 onions, finely sliced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped small
• 1/2 cup hot chipotle sauce (if you don’t want to food to be really hot, get a milder sauce)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 tablespoon apple vinegar
• 1 tablespoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 8-10 hours

Serves 6

Cooking Method:

Trim the excess fat, then put the pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Mix together 1-2 cups of water with the salsa, vinegar, onions, garlic, cilantro, cumin, chipotle sauce, salt and pepper and pour the liquid over the pork roast, then cover the slow cooker and cook on high for one hour, then set it on low and let it cook for 8-9 more hours. By the end of the interval, you can try the meat with a fork, to see if it is tender enough to pull apart, or it needs more cooking. When the meat is done, shred it with two forks, then stir-fry the peppers and the tomatoes in olive oil for a couple of minutes. Fill the shredded pork into the tortillas, topping it with peppers and tomato dice and serve hot.

Sandwiches are one of the most popular ways of eating pulled pork. They are very easy to prepare, either using hamburger buns or mini French breads. Other ingredients that could go into such sandwiches can be anything you like and you think goes well with pork meat. Here’s a pulled pork recipe that uses homemade BBQ sauce, because homemade always tastes better.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs pulled pork meat
• 8 hamburger buns or French mini-baguettes

Ingredients for the barbecue sauce:

• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper (Cayenne), ground coarsely
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon paprika or hot chili powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes (the BBQ sauce needs simmering for about 20 minutes; the recipe assumes that you already have the pulled pork meat)

Serves: 8

Cooking procedure:

First, you want to make the BBQ sauce, so you can take care of the rest while it is simmering. In a frying pan, heat the oil, then cook the onion and the garlic for 2-3 minutes, until they start to get some color. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients, then let the mix simmer for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time. Meanwhile, pull the meat apart with two forks, adding a teaspoon of the hot barbecue sauce if you think it needs more moisture. When ready, pour the sauce over the pulled pork meat, then fill the hamburger buns or mini-breads. Serve immediately, with the remaining sauce as a side dish and with some season salad.