Rachael's Daytime Talk Show
The Ultimate Pulled Pork -- 03/31/11

The Ultimate Pulled Pork

Ingredients

  • 13 long, red, hot chili peppers, divided
  • 6 frying peppers (cubanelle) or red bell peppers or mix of both
  • 1 6-pound pork shoulder
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus some for drizzling
  • 1 bulb of garlic, cloves cracked from skins
  • 6 fresh bay leaves
  • 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, stripped
  • 2 tablespoons picked thyme leaves
  • 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, a handful
  • Salt and pepper
  • Kitchen twine
  • 1 large onion, very thinly sliced
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes
  • 2 bundles broccoli rabe, trimmed
  • 4 cups shredded sharp provolone cheese or 24 deli-cut slices provolone
  • 8 Italian large style sub rolls or ciabatta breads, cut for 8 sub-size sandwiches

Yields:

Preparation

Place the broiler on high.

Arrange 12 hot peppers and all of the sweet peppers on a baking sheet and char evenly all over – keep oven door slightly ajar to allow steam to escape. Place charred peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool, then peel, seed and slice.

Turn off broiler and preheat oven on to 325°F.

Step

Butterfly the pork shoulder open and flatten it out.

Step

Place lemon juice and about 1/4 cup EVOO in a food processor. Coarsely chop remaining red chili pepper and add to processor bowl with garlic, bay, rosemary, thyme and parsley. Pulse-chop into a thick, pesto-like sauce.

Step

Season the meat with salt and pepper, and slather with the sauce. Roll the meat up and secure it tightly with kitchen twine. Drizzle the meat with oil to coat and season liberally with salt and pepper.

Step

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the meat all over. Remove the roast, add onions and wine to the pot, and stir to deglaze. Add stock, set meat back in the pan, pour tomatoes over top of meat and lightly crush with your hands, arranging tomatoes over meat. Cover pan and roast for 2 hours. Switch on broiler, uncover and broil to brown tomatoes a bit. Remove from oven and let rest 30 minutes.

While the meat rests, bring a few inches of water to a boil. Salt water and parboil the broccoli rabe, 3-4 minutes. Cold shock and drain well.

Step

Shred pork, place in a dish then strain or mill sauce and pour over top. Warm through when ready to serve.

Step

Split rolls and cover with cheese, broil to melt. Top with rabe and peppers, then cover that with hot juicy pork and serve.