Chef Nicole (Inspired by St. Augustine, Florida)
Serves 8–10
A custom-made spice rub is an ingenious way to add a tremendous amount of flavor to any tough cut of meat. The almost excessive amount of dried herbs and spices are necessary to penetrate through the fatty exterior of this otherwise tasteless piece of pork. The touches of sweet apple and cinnamon help to create an overall depth of flavor while balancing well with the other spicy ingredients.
Story by Nicole Roarke
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon each whole cloves, yellow and/or brown mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds (see Chef’s Tips on nuts and seeds, this page)
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground chili powder
½ tablespoon cayenne pepper
½ tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ tablespoon ground garlic
5 pounds pork shoulder or butt (cut in half)
2 tablespoons blended oil (see Chef’s Tips on blended oil, this page)
1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced
½ gallon apple cider
4–6 cups chicken stock (see this page)
3 whole bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 whole cinnamon stick
¼ cup each cornstarch and water (optional; see Chef’s Tips on slurry, this page)
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Mix all of the dry spice rub ingredients into a large container. Set aside.
Remove pork from package and pat dry with a clean paper towel; cut in half and set aside. Score the pork by using a knife to make shallow cuts (½-inch deep) in a cross hatch pattern on the top of each piece. Place pork into the container with the dry spice rub and begin coating each piece with the rub. Continue to coat each piece with as much spice rub as possible, being sure to rub the spice mix into the scores. Cover the container with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Remove pork from refrigerator, pat off any excess spice rub, and set aside. Rest the pork on a counter top for 30 minutes to allow it to acclimate to room temperature.
Heat a large roasting pan or sauce pan over a medium-high flame for 2 minutes. Add oil and begin searing each piece of pork for approximately 1 minute per side or until the pork has a golden brown crust (be sure not to blacken or char the pork; if this begins to happen, immediately lower the flame and remove the pork until the pan has cooled). Once cool, begin searing again. Remove pork and allow to rest on a sheet tray.
Add yellow onion and stir for approximately 3 minutes or until onions begin to brown and soften or caramelize. Return pork to the pan and place over the bed of sautéed onions. Add the apple cider and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock until it reaches ½ inch from the top of the pork. Add remaining ingredients (except cornstarch and water), turn off the flame, and cover the pan with foil or a lid.
Place the pan on the middle rack of a preheated oven for 2 hours. After 2 hours, check if the pork is fork tender and if the surrounding liquid has reduced by half. If pork is still tough or if more than half of the liquid has reduced, add more chicken stock, cover, and return to oven for an additional hour. Check the pork every 30 minutes for desired doneness (fully cooked pork should be fork tender all the way through and can be easily pulled by hand).
Once the pork is fully cooked, remove it from the pan, loosely cover with foil, and set aside. Once cool enough to handle, pull the pork by hand or cut into pieces. Strain remaining liquid through a mesh strainer (to remove large spices and herbs) into a sauce pan and simmer on the stovetop until it has reduced to a thick sauce, or add a slurry. Add salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
Mix pulled pork with the sauce from the pan or with additional barbecue sauce (see this page for recipe).