Simple Pulled Pork

I've been continuing to experiment with different cuts of meat. I've regularly been buying pork tenderloin as well as pork chops. But those are fairly expensive cuts of meat, especially since I only buy pastured pork.

One of the cuts of pork available is the pork roast, which is a similar size to the beef chuck roast, but significantly less expensive. So one week I decided to just pick one up and see if I could cook it.

I searched the web for sous vide pork roast recipes and I found one for which had a complicated set of instructions. I'm a bit impatient so I decided to drastically simplify the recipe, but it still takes 24 hours to cook.

The pulled pork turned out really well and Pineapple and I savor it for 2-3 days in a row because of how large the roasts are.

Tools

• Sous vide cooker: this is essential, my cooker looks like a crock pot, but any kind will work
• Zip-top bags: name-brand will be better; off-brand may leak which results in less-flavorful meat
• Meat tongs
• Skillet or Pan: This is optional, in case you want a good sear. A thick one (e.g. cast iron) will work more effectively
• Spatter Guard: This is optional, but helps reduce the mess
• Plate
• Forks

Ingredients

• Pasture raised pork roast
• Salt: Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is easy to apply via pinching
• Mild-flavored oil: I use a refined coconut oil which is liquid at room temperature
• Butter or cooking oil: (optional) I employ olive oil

Directions

When I cook this steak I follow a basic process. The process comes from more-detailed instructions.

Quick Reference

1. Cook the meat sous vide to 163 degrees for 18-24 hours
2. Pan-sear the meat for 60 seconds per side at about 60% heat
3. Shred the meat
4. Salt the meat as desired

Full instructions

1. Start heating the sous vide to 165 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Place the pork roast in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. You might even cut the meat in half so it will fit better, or so you can cook the remainder later.
3. Add a few tablespoons of the mild-flavored oil to the bag.
4. Submerge most of the zip-top bag in water to drive out the air.
1. The oil is there to fill in the gaps instead of leaving bubbles next to the meat.
5. Zip seal the zip-top bag.
6. Place the bag in the sous vide (you can put the meat in before the device is at temperature)
7. After the sous vide is at the correct temperature, let it cook for 18-24 hours.
8. After the 3-day waiting period, start heating the skillet/pan on the stove stop with 2 tablespoons of either cooking oil or butter
1. For a gas range, I recommend a smaller heating element to avoid potential flames
2. I recommend setting the temperature to about 60% of maximum; where butter will bubble quite a bit when initially put in the pan but won't cook away for a few minutes
3. You may want to use the spatter guard to reduce the mess and subsequent cleanup
9. Remove the pork from the zip-top bag
10. Sear the pork in the skillet for 60 seconds per side
1. You should get nice caramelization on each side. Butter or olive oil will give you a darker color than coconut oil, so if you use coconut oil you might cook it for 90 seconds per side.
2. Make sure that there is plenty of oil/butter between the pan and the pork and that you cook over the center of the heat. You will get uneven cooking if the meat is toward the side of the pan or the pan is significantly larger than the heating element.
11. Place the pork on a plate
12. Using forks, start tearing into the meat. This is generally a pretty quick process as the meat should just fall apart into shredded chunks
13. Serve/Enjoy immediately
1. Salt as desired
2. Use a barbecue sauce if you would like

Juices

After cooking, the zip-top bag will have a lot of juices left in it. You could discard them, but I prefer to eat it like a soup. The juices are flavorful, which indicates good nutrition, so as long as you enjoy the flavor you won't be wasting that portion of the pork.

In a single sitting I:

1. take a portion of the juice proportionate to the amount of meat I will be consuming
2. generously salt it (a couple of pinches of salt)
3. stir
4. eat it like a soup

You could also use the juices to make a stew (add some good veggies), or a stock (reduce it for days on a low burner), or even au ju for dipping some sort of bread (which I, of course, won't eat). However, I do not have any specific recipes for those options because I love eating straight juices.