Easy Pulled Pork, Casseroled to Perfection

/ October 3, 2014

It says a lot about my lack of au-fait-ness that I have completely missed the craze for pulled meat – until now, that is. Having had pulled beef as part of a Colombian dish during the world cup, I was amazed at how tender and tasty these strands of – ultimately – overcooked meat could be. The long, drawn-out cooking process clearly brought out the best in the meat.

Have you ever noticed that when you discover a new topic, or learn a new word, it suddenly crops up everywhere? Well, that’s exactly what happened to me here: once familiar with the concept, I noticed pulled meat everywhere. What had seemed a unique discovery became an embarrassing testament to my ignorance of trends. Even our local burger joint offers pulled meat burgers, advertising them on giant billboards in the street. The time had come for me to act.

Armed with a giant piece of meat, I called round to my neighbour Chris, a fantastic chef, to get some last-minute advice. Chris suggested to use various spices, as well as cider. The last obstacle on my way to pulled bliss was the fact that I didn’t want to barbecue it, and that I don’t have a slow cooker. Instead, I was going to use a casserole dish on the hob.

Pulled Pork 1

Pulled Pork (serves loads of people, again and again)

  • 2.5 – 3 kg pork shoulder, with or without bone
  • 2 onions, quartered
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tbs peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 star aniseed
  • 4 tbs ketchup
  • 1 dram of whisky (Islay, to make up for the lack of a barbeque)
  • 1 bottle of beer (280ml)

Place your meat in a large casserole dish, together with the spices, the ketchup and the alcohol. Chris had suggested cider, but the inner German insisted on a bottle of German Pils. Genius? More likely the fact that we didn’t have any cider in the house.Pulled Pork in Casserole dish 1

Bring it to simmer, then close the lid and keep the temperature fairly low. I started out on the largest ring but ended up moving the pot onto the smallest: you want it to simmer ever so lightly, for around 5-6 hours, or until you can easily pull the meat apart.

After five and a half hours and a bit of pulling, this is what we were left with:Pulled Pork in casserole dish

The spices and the whisky give this dish a wonderful depth – it might not sound a lot but I wouldn’t use any more for fear of overpowering the wonderful meat. You’ll have plenty of pulled pork to make these simple sandwiches, which I am bringing to Angie, who is hosting the weekly Fiesta Friday event at The Novice Gardener, assisted by her co-hosts Selma, of Selma’s Table (who is bringing some delicious roast lamb shoulder!), and Foodbod‘s Elaine, whose mezze look absolutely mouthwatering. , is hosting the weekly Fiesta Friday event. Fiesta Friday Badge Button I party @

I hope you’ll like this simple part dish!Pulled Pork 2

By the way, I put the leftover bits, such as some of the fat, into a smaller pot, covered it with water and a lid and simmered it for a further 40 minutes, resulting in a wonderfully thick gravy-like liquid. I strained it into freezer bags, froze it and have used it instead of stock cubes or as a basis for gravy. Waste not, want not 😉

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32 thoughts on “Easy Pulled Pork, Casseroled to Perfection”

  2. Wow – that looks fantastic!! I think the addition of beer and whiskey is pretty great along with those seasonings. I bet the aromas drifting out of your windows had the neighbours wishing they were invited round for dinner!! Yes, it is quite funny how all of a sudden you start seeing something that you only just noticed, everywhere. Yesterday, as I was walking down the High St, I noticed that KFC had a large poster in their window – they now do pulled chicken in buns – how mainstream is that?! Could be anything in there though… Thank you for bringing this to the party – I just know that I will be having at least two helpings – Happy Fiesta Friday!!

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  4. This is very similar to the way my mom makes is, apart ftom the whiskey thing eghm. ..I think the pot you use is important too, I use the cast iron one, judging from the picture you too don’t you, I still don’t know why but only the cast iron can give this delicious melting texture- at least I think so. Next time I will try it with whiskey ! It looks delicious 🙂 I will email you this weekend about our little plan xx

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  6. Like you I keep seeing pulled meat everywhere and then “that” advert for the pulled chicken burgers and I find myself thinking “I need to make pulled pork”. As I am currently restricted to my hob and slow cooker I think this will be a good one for me – and I LOVE that you used whisky (and a great one at that) for flavour 🙂

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  7. Pingback: Crepas de Mole | Fiesta Friday #36 | The Novice Gardener

    • Tacos! I completely forgot about tacos! Personally I was quite impressed with my idea of using ice cube bags for the sauce: when we had bangers and mash the other day I sautéd some onions and defrosted 5 cubes for an incredibly tasty gravy. The pulled meat is really a dish that keeps on giving 😉
      Must get tacos now …

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  11. whiskey with pork! I think cooking with alcohol is so underrated – it always adds a clingy flavour, especially with slow cooked meats – delicious, delicious, delicious! Definitely bookmarking.

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  13. I know exactly what you mean by seeing something you were once oblivious to, now everywhere.
    It happens to me more often than I care to acknowledge, especially the ones that simplify a process.

    But specific to this, I think you did the pulled pork process justice! This looks sooo damn good and what a genius treat using alcohol the way you did.
    *applause*

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    • Smoker??? Did you say smoker?????? I’m bothering my brother to get me a mincer with a sausage-filling attachment for Christmas, so any hints on smoking are very welcome!
      How’s the business coming along, btw?

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