Whenever I go to my parent’s for dinner, my mum’s always making delicious pulled pork or gammon in the slow cooker for us to enjoy. It’s the ideal year-round dinner as it can be served with roast potatoes and vegetables in the winter, or with homemade wedges and salad in the summer.
A few weekends ago, amidst this gorgeous weather we’ve been having, I received a huge delivery from Mash Direct. With potato and vegetable-based side dishes galore, I decided to serve my first attempt at pulled pork with some gluten free, low FODMAP potato croquettes and mashed turnip, as I was intrigued to try these. I don’t recall ever eating turnip before, and I love to try new things, especially if they are low FODMAP too! I’ll be reviewing all of the Mash Directs soon so watch this space! The first attempt at pulled pork was a little on the dry side, so I’ve revised the recipe to ensure it literally falls apart and retains all the delicious flavour.
This weekend, as the weather is once again hot and sunny, I’ve had another go at pulled pork, to tweak the recipe before sharing it, and because I really enjoyed it last time (despite it being a little dry)! This time I’m serving it with homemade potato wedges, a light organic salad and a homemade slaw. I’ve tried making low FODMAP coleslaw in the past, however despite red and white cabbage supposedly being low in FODMAPs I had a bit of a stomach ache after. This time I’ve fried the cabbage in garlic infused oil to soften it, and to hopefully make it more digestible. I then added grated carrot to the pan until all of the veg has softened. Once cool I stirred in lactose-free yoghurt, paprika and chilli flakes to taste. It goes so well with pulled pork!
The pulled pork takes quite a long time to cook in the oven, so it’s best made on the weekends when there’s time to keep an eye on it. You don’t want to rush it as the longer it spends in the oven, the easier the meat falls apart. If you want it to really fall apart, then try this recipe with a gammon joint too!
Ingredients – Serves 4 or fewer with plenty of leftovers
Pork shoulder joint (boneless)
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp smoked paprika
3 tbsp garlic-infused oil
2 tsp brown sugar
100ml waterMethod
Make the marinade using all of the ingredients above (except the water) and mix well. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 (180 degrees).
Marinate the pork shoulder joint using your hands, ensuring the meat is covered in all of the spices (I sliced the layer of fat/skin like a flap so that I could marinate all of the meat, and then replaced it). Add water around the joint inside the foil to prevent it from going dry during cooking. Place in the oven for about an hour.
After an hour, turn the oven down to Gas Mark 2 (250 degrees), wrap the joint tightly in foil and return it to the oven for another few hours.
About an hour before you are due to serve, take out the pork, remove the foil and lather the skin with oil and salt, before putting back it in the oven. Turn the oven back up to Gas Mark 4 (180 degrees) and continue to cook, to create a crispy crackling. If it’s not crispy after an hour, turn it right up to Gas Mark 7 (220 degrees) for 15 minutes or so.
Once you remove it from the oven, take off the layer of crackling and pull the joint apart with two forks to serve. It should just fall apart effortlessly (I always take on this role as I can ‘taste test’ during preparation… Nothing quite beats juicy pulled pork straight out of the oven!)
This relatively easy meal is great if you want an alternative to a barbecue. It resembles those barbecue flavours without the hassle of having get out the barbecue, get hold of coal/gas, then eat in waves as and when the food is ready, not forgetting the big clean up after! If, however you do just fancy a barbecue, check out my suggestions for a low FODMAP barbecue here.
Let me know if you give my pulled pork a try, it’s a nice change from the traditional Sunday roast for sure.
Alice x
very well presented !