Pulled pork just sounds wrong. It sounds like something a million teenage boys across the world may be doing at any one time. It sounds like something I should not touch if it were served to me on a plate. It sounds… well it just sounds wrong, that’s all. SO WRONG IT’S RIGHT (insert crazy pork addicted eyes and loud voice here. Mess up your hair a bit, too), in fact. This stuff is the goods. Whether it be with jerk spice, a tasty Asian inspired marinade or the traditional Tex-Mex style bbq sauce, you should (maybe you already are you filthy little boy) embrace the pulling of the pork. Do it. Eat it now. Put it in your face!!

Pulled pork with jerk spices / apple, fennel and radish slaw / jalapeño yoghurt / pickled carrot (for 4-6 with left overs)

For the pork
1 hand fresh pork (the front leg of the piggy, often found pickled/corned and also in the last century)
1 brown onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup jerk seasoning (store bought or recipe below)
• In a casserole dish, sauté onion and garlic in a little oil until starting to soften
• Add pork and cover with jerk spice, then add 2 cups of water to the dish
• Cover and cook in a preheated 150C oven (or simmer gently on the stove top. If you rock the stove top styles you will need an extra couple of cups of water) for 6 hours or until meat is falling away from the bone
• Remove pork from braising liquid and reserve liquid, skimming away excess fat (if you believe there is such a thing)
• Discard skin and pull pork away from bones. Shred into smaller pieces using two forks or your fingers if you want me to love you
• Put the pulled pork back into the reserved liquid and set aside to stay warm, or save it for later, or maybe re-heat it over a low flame if it has cooled down a little too much in the “pulling process”… which, unless you have chef’s hands, it most probably would have
• Serve with ‘slaw, jalapeño yoghurt and pickled carrot for a kinda smart casual looking dinner as I have here, or add some tortillas for a Sunday bbq type thing, or put it all into a big soft bun for a burger to be washed down with beer and plenty of good times

Jerk seasoning
1 tablespoons each dried thyme, ground allspice, coriander and black pepper
½ teaspoon each salt, ground cinnamon and cumin
1 pinch dried chilli flakes
• Mix all ingredients together
• Store left overs in an air tight container

Apple, fennel and radish ‘slaw aka. posh ‘slaw
1 granny smith apple, julienned
4 radish, julienned
1 small bulb fennel, finely sliced how ever you see fit
¼ medium green cabbage, finely sliced (a mandoline is good for the slicing if you have one… or possibly you may have an Asian supply store next door where you could purchase one for a minimal fee)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
½ teaspoon castor sugar
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
salt and pepper
• Combine and mixy mixy

Jalapeño yoghurt (enough for some leftovers for your pork sandwiches tomorrow)
½ cup jalapeños (use less if you can’t handle the heat. The yoghurt does mellow the heat though… a bit)
½ brown onion, finely diced
½ bunch coriander, chopped
2 cups thick natural yoghurt
• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly

Pickled carrot
1-2 carrots, peeled and sliced finely (possibly on that mandoline you just bought?)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon caster sugar
• Combine all ingredients and allow to sit from 30 minutes to whenever you remember about them, to pickle the carrots