Spicy Shredded Pork

Okay folks – you must try this one.  Truly, it is fantastic.  First of all, it takes just minutes to prep which is always a good thing.  It certainly does take a long time to cook, but the active prep time is very minimal.  After roasting for just 45 minutes, my house was smelling so good that I was practically drooling (okay, so I was drooling – let’s be real).  It was very obvious to me when this was finished cooking, as I went to turn the pork and it completely fell apart.  Now that’s tender!  I prepped this early in the day and then reheated when Ben got home for dinner.  And OH, did he love it!  I think his exact words were, “Oh my God….oh my God….oh my God,” etc. etc. for a few minutes.  Then he announced that this dinner had shot right up the ranks into his top five favorite dinners.  Impressive!  I loved it as well, far more than I expected.  We served it up on flour tortillas, topped it with some homemade salsa and sour cream, and it was heavenly.  I had originally planned on freezing the leftovers but instead we ate it for lunches until it was all gone.  We will be having this again and again!  (For what it’s worth, I would not really call this spicy at all, but it is so tasty I don’t care what you call it!)

Spicy Shredded Pork

Ingredients:

4-7 lb. pork shoulder

1 onion, quartered

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground cumin

¼ cup brown sugar

3-4 garlic cloves

1-2 tbsp. salt

pepper

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

2-3 tbsp. white wine vinegar

2 cups water

 

Directions:

Rinse and pat dry the pork shoulder.

 

Combine the onion, spices, brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper to taste in the bowl of a food processor.  Add the olive oil and white wine vinegar.  Blend mixture until totally combined.  Pour over the pork shoulder.  Rub over the whole surface of the pork, being sure to cover any folds or crevices. 

 

Place the pork in a Dutch oven or roasting pan and add water to the pan.  Cover tightly and roast at 300° for several hours, turning once every hour.  When it is fork tender turn the heat up to 425°, remove the lid, and roast skin-side up for 15-20 more minutes until crispy.  Let rest 15 minutes.

Shred the pork shoulder using two forks.  Pour some of the juice from cooking over the shredded meat to keep it moist.  Serve with warm tortillas, lime wedges, sour cream and pico de gallo.

Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman