Pulled Pork | ChefsOpinion

Pulled Hoisin-Pork Ciabatta Sandwich

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When it comes to pulled pork, the heavily smoked American version is a wonderful dish
– however, like everything else that has overpowering smoky smoked flavor, it is my least favorite version. I rather have a latin style pulled pork, such as Mexican, Puerto Rican or Cuban.
But on top of my list is the pulled pork featured here. The sauce is my own concoction, which grew out of my desire for a tasty, juicy and slightly Asian-inspired flavor. In my opinion, the ciabatta bread is ideal for this kind of sandwich. It is tasty and robust enough to hold its own next to the stuffing, yet slim enough to make a rich and substantial, but not ridiculously thick sandwich. (A “modern”, bad culinary habit) 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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drizzle generously with Thai chili sauce

Pulled Hoisin-Pork Ciabatta Sandwich

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: Prepare the amount of pork butt you need

: I used half of the butt, bone-in, and reserved the other half for another dish

: score the skin into1 inch squares, with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and granulated garlic to taste, place in a roasting or cast iron pan, add 2 cups water, braise in a pre-heated 375F oven until very tender, 2 to 3 hours

: yes please………

: remove to a schallow dish

: remove the bone, discard (or give to your dog),

: remove the skin and chop, shred the meat with two forks

: while the pork butt is braising, prepare the BBQ-hoisin sauce; mix 1/3 cup hoisin sauce, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup ketchup, 1 tblsp chili sauce, 1 tblsp honey, 1 tsp five spice pwd, 1 tsp mustard pwd, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

: mix the BBQ hoisin sauce with the schredded meat and the chopped chicharrones

: slice ciabatta (large enough to make 4 portions) horizontally in two halves

: remove top of ciabatta

: cover bread with crisp romaine hearts

: top with the shredded pork

: slice 1/2 medium size onion, 3 ea scallions, 1/2 red pepper into fine julienne, add 1 tblsp chopped cilantro and salt to taste, mix and arrange even over the shredded pork

: drizzle generously with Thai chili sauce

: return the top of the ciabatta

: cut into sandwich size portions

: Pulled Hoisin-Pork Ciabatta Sandwich

: Pulled Hoisin-Pork Ciabatta Sandwich

: Pulled Hoisin-Pork Ciabatta Sandwich

: Pulled Hoisin-Pork Ciabatta Sandwich

: Pulled Hoisin-Pork Ciabatta Sandwich

: Pulled Hoisin-Pork Ciabatta Sandwich

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For most of my life I detested the very idea of pulled pork. My professional training as a cook had taught me that if something falls apart, it is overcooked and therefore non grata. In addition, the pulled pork I was introduced to during my early years in the USA was almost always smoked for many hours, then completely inundated in (most of the time crappy) “bbq sauce”.
The whole thing seemed to me to have the texture and taste of some lousy half-smoked cigars mashed-up and mixed with ketchup and vinegar, more often than not served on a limp, tasteless burger bun. As a result, for many years I stayed away from pulled pork.
This changed when I got to travel in Latin America and in Latin American-circles, where pulled pork took on a very different dimension, one which I was finally able to wholeheartedly embrace. Usually braised in the oven for hours, with lots of cilantro, lime, garlic, various citrus juices and sometimes the addition of onions and/or chilies, the pork tastes lively and fresh, not at all heavy or greasy or overly sweet. Usually, it is served with white rice and yucca or a simple salad and most of the time with some kind of spicy, vinegar based condiment.
Below find my own take on pulled pork, as I imagine I would serve it at my imaginary, popular nightspot in a Havana of long-gone times, with hot girls dancing to the Rumba, Mojitos flowing freely and eating, drinking, dancing, making love and enjoying life being the only thing on everybody’s mind……………..
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Pulled Pork “Havana Loco”

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: whole porkbutt, shank removed

: cut pork butt in half, reserve one half for another recipe, score skin of porkbutt in a criss-cross pattern

: orange, lime, kosher salt, chili flakes, garlic paste

: mix the juices from the fruit, 2 tblsp salt, 1 tsp chili flakes, 2 tblsp garlic paste with 2 pints of water, pour into pan with porkbutt, lightly cover with alu-foil, cook at 350F for 4 hours or until pork falls apart when lightly squeezed

: meanwhile, make sauce by blending with a beurre-mixer or in food processor : lime juice, garlic paste, cayenne pepper, cilantro, kosher salt and olive oil