WetLeather Recipe Database - food for bikers

Name:	Rhubarb Pulled Pork	Contributor:	Mark Morrissey
Description:	Diaz Pulled Pork, Rhubarb Variation	Posted:	2003-10-26
Key words:	diaz, pork, rhubarb	Category:	Main Dishes
ID:	1	Updated:	2006-04-04 21:20:09
Ingredients:	1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1/2 c cider vinegar 1/2 c ketchup 1/4 c light (mild) molasses (can also use regular, IMO) 2 Tbsp sweet paprika 2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or so, we like about 1.5 tsp) 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt 3 c rhubarb stock 1/2 tsp liquid smoke flavoring (optional) 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder-blade roast, cut into 4 pieces
Preparation:	First, the prep. You need to make a rhubarb stock (or reduction, or whaterver). I cut up 8 pounds of rhubard and simmered in water (after an initial "bring to boil") for about 4 hours. Then you must strain it completely. Cheesecloth works great for this. For me, this made about 6 cups. There are two sauces for the pulled pork that are designed to be both simple and tie it all together. 1. Prunes and apple brandy. Stew prunes in a double boiler until they fall apart. Remove from heat. Once the heat reduced to about "finger hot", add apple brandy to taste. Don't be overpowering, but you need enough so that once it steeps, the brandy doesn't disappear into the prunes. Conversely, you need to be able to taste the prunes. 2. Apples and rhubarb stock. Core and peel two nice eating apples. Place in blender with about 2 cups of the rhubard stock. Pulse until blended but make sure that there are still some apple chunks. Adjust rhubarb so that the rhubarb flavor is very dominant. The apples are just for structure. Mix sauce ingredients in crock pot, add pork to sauce mixture and toss to coat. Cover crock pot and cook on low setting, 8 to 10 hours or until pork is very tender. Remove pork for shredding. Move remaining liquid into a pot for reduction. Reduce by 1/3 to 1/2. Return to crock pot. Return shredded pork to stock pot for marinating. You can add more rhubarb stock if you have any left.
Notes:	The next time I make the original Diaz recipe, I'm going to add pear towards the end of the cooking. Figs have also been suggested. The base recipe is absolutely fantastic and a wonderful platform for experimentation.
Equipment:	Crock pot