Pulled pork for Father’s Day

When it comes to Father’s Day, I ask the expert, Dad himself, what he would enjoy for his special day. Nowadays, men are often the cooks in the family. They take a real interest in what is served and experiment with the most up-to-date recipes. Pulled pork is one of those requested items on current menus. I hope Dad will find these suggestions finger-licking good! Happy Father’s Day!

Alexa’s Pulled Pork in the Slow Cooker
Slow cookers have become popular again especially as people have to be away at work for long periods, or simply require something that cooks itself, leaving the cook free for any number of other tasks.
This is my daughter’s recipe she and her friends enjoy with a minimum of fuss. Serve on toasted Kaiser buns with a coleslaw salad.
1 pork shoulder 4 lb (2 kg) trimmed of excess fat
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup (50 mL) water
2 tbsp (25 mL) cider vinegar
1 tbsp (15 mL) Worcestershire sauce
Serve with:
1 cup (250 mL) apple butter (President’s Choice)
4 – 6 toasted Kaiser buns
Arrange pork in slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, stir together onion, garlic, water, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over meat. Cook in slow cooker on low for about eight hours or until meat pulls apart easily with two forks (thus the name). The meat should be pulled into shreds. To serve: drain the liquid from the meat; using two forks pull meat apart into shreds and pile onto toasted buns with a lavish dollop of apple butter.

Barbecued Pulled Pork
This pulled pork version is cooked on indirect heat on the barbecue. It uses a readily available lean pork loin, instead of the pork shoulder, cooked to moist tenderness. My husband swears by the Pulled Pork Barbecue Sauce put out by President’s Choice, but please use your favourite barbecue sauce.
3lb (1.5 kg) pork loin
Pork Rub
2 tbsp (25 mL) each, paprika and packed brown sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) each, chili powder, ground cumin and dried thyme
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each, salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) favourite barbecue sauce
8 toasted Kaiser buns
In a small mixing bowl, stir together paprika, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, thyme, salt and pepper. Untie the pork loin and spread this rub all over the surface of the meat. Place meat in mixing bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat one burner of the the barbecue to 300˚F (150˚C). Arrange meat fat side up on grill on the side of the barbecue where there is no burner lit (called cooking by indirect heat). Cook about 3 1/2 hours lid down. Cook until internal temperature reaches 160˚F (70˚C). Remove meat from grill. Place on board; tent meat with foil and let stand 20 minutes. Using two forks, pull pork apart into shreds. Meanwhile toast Kaisers, cut side down on the barbecue grill. In a bowl, mix the shredded pork with the barbecue sauce and pile high onto the toasted Kaiser buns.

Marinated Coleslaw
An ideal dish for entertaining, this can be prepared up to one day ahead of serving kept covered and refrigerated. The flavour of the coleslaw improves with longer marinating.
12 cups (3 L) finely shredded cabbage (mixture red, green, savoy, Chinese)
2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 red or yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly
1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped fresh parsley
Dressing:
3/4 cup (175 ml) vegetable oil
1/3 cup (75 ml) granulated sugar
1/3 cup( 75 mL) cider vinegar
1 tbsp (15 mL) dried tarragon
2 tsp (10 mL) dried basil
1 tsp 5 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) fresh black pepper
In a large mixing bowl, combine cabbages, carrots, red pepper, green onions and parsley. In small saucepan, bring to boil vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, tarragon, basil, salt and pepper. Pour hot dressing over prepared vegetables and toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate. Salad should marinate at least 2 hours or up to 1 day before serving. Makes eight servings.

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