Southern Style Pork Slaw Food

SOUTHERN-STYLE PORK & SLAW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to full whack.
• Score the pork skin about 1cm deep all over with a sharp knife. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pork and season generously with sea salt, black pepper and the paprika.
• Rub the flavours all over the skin, then place your pork in a roasting tray in the middle of the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 160ºC/320ºF/gas 3.
• Cook for about 4 hours, basting occasionally with the juices from the tray, then turn the oven down to 150ºC/300ºF/gas 2 and continue to cook for another 2 hours, or until you can pull the meat apart really easily.
• Remove the crackling and put it to one side, then remove any fat from the tray. Pull all the pork apart, discarding any bones and fat as you go, and use 2 forks to break the meat into small- and medium-sized pieces. Cover with foil until needed.
• To make the coleslaw, finely slice all the veg (peeling and trimming first, if necessary) or use a food processor or box grater, then very finely slice the apples. Put them into a large bowl and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Add the mayonnaise, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of cayenne and the red wine vinegar. Mix everything together until you've got a perfect coleslaw texture. Taste and season to perfection.
• Pick the mint leaves and finely chop them on a large board. Deseed and finely chop the chilli. Drizzle the olive oil and red wine vinegar all over the chilli and mint and add a good pinch of salt. Add this to the tray of pulled pork and mix it all together.
• Serve the dressed pork in a pile on to a plate next to some crackling and a good portion of that wonderful coleslaw. Finish the whole plate off with a little salt and a hit of paprika and tuck in with a lovely cold beer.

PULLED PORK SANDWICH WITH BBQ SAUCE AND COLESLAW

Steps:

• For the BBQ sauce: Combine the ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, garlic, cider vinegar, Worcestershire, Cajun seasoning and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until ingredients are completely incorporated. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the flavors have melded and sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. If not using right away, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
• For the pulled pork: Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Spread out the onions and garlic in an even layer in a roasting pan and pour in the chicken stock. Combine the Cajun seasoning and brown sugar in a small bowl. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels and then rub all over with the spice mixture. Set the pork on top of the onions and garlic and cover the roasting pan with foil. Transfer to the oven and cook until the pork is fork tender, 6 to 8 hours.
• Remove the pork to a cutting board to cool. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve.
• If the pork has a bone, remove and discard it. With two forks, shred the meat into bite-size pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the roasting pan. Add 2 cups of the BBQ sauce and a bit of the reserved cooking liquid if too dry.
• For the coleslaw: Combine the red and green cabbage, carrots and red onions in a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise, cider vinegar, sugar, and some salt and pepper in a medium bowl, and then add to the cabbage mixture. Mix well to combine. Taste for seasoning; adjust with more salt, pepper or sugar as needed.
• Serve the pulled pork on buns topped with coleslaw.

TANGY COLESLAW FOR PULLED PORK

Steps:

• Combine cabbage and red onion in a large bowl.
• Stir sugar, vinegar, vegetable oil, salt, dry mustard, and celery seed together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; remove from heat.
• Pour sugar and vinegar mixture over the cabbage and red onion. Toss mixture. Let cool, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.