Easy-Peasy Maple Pulled Pork

For me, nothing quite hits the taste buds like delicious maple pulled pork. My first memory of rediscovering authentic New England food as an adult relocating to the Northeast was a chance encounter with the perfect maple BBQ pulled pork sandwich at a popular tourist spot. Despite having BBQ across the country for years, there is nothing like the maple, heat and succulent pork explosion in your mouth! So let’s get busy and bring this delicious recipe to your next summer gathering.

Ingredients

The Meat & Fixings

• 6 to 10 pound Boston butt pork. (Note: A pork picnic roast can be used, but will yield less meat.)

• 3-5 oz of yellow mustard (the entire pork surface needs to be well covered)

• 1/2 sweet onion sliced in half

• 8 tablespoons of Maple BBQ Dry Rub (see recipe on this page) or your favorite rub.

Note: Canned or bagged Jackfruit can be prepared according to the package and topped with maple BBQ sauce for a vegan option.

Sweet & Fancy Maple BBQ Sauce

• 12-oz retained pork stock from pressure cooker

• 4 tablespoons of Maple BBQ Dry Rub (recipe on this page)

• 4 tablespoons of organic coconut aminos (Trader Joe’s or Braggs)

• 6-oz apple cider vinegar

• 26-oz. jar or can of traditional tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 tablespoon garlic

• 4 tablespoons molasses

• 4 tablespoons apple butter

• 2-oz maple syrup (Copper Cannon Barrel aged Maple Syrup was used)

• 1 shot or a nip of your favorite rum or bourbon (optional)

Maple BBQ Dry Rub

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 2 teaspoons black pepper

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon Tajín Clásico Seasoning powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

Get the rub. First, you will need to create the maple BBQ dry rub. Assemble the ingredients for the rub, or use your favorite premixed dry rub. Locally, Jenna’s Market (at 255 West St. in Keene, NH) and Copper Cannon (at 2 Lyman Way, West Chesterfield, NH) have two of my favorite dry rubs.

Prepare pork. Unpack, rinse, and pat dry your pork. Once dry, you will need to apply at least 3 ounces of yellow mustard all over the pork. This rub will allow the rub to adhere better and help the flavor from the rub to saturate the pork. Evenly pat the pork with the rub and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Get out your pressure cooker. With your pork prepared, you will need to find your favorite 6 to 10-quart electric pressure cooker and set it up in a safe place. Set the setting to “high” with a 90-minute pressure time.

Cook the pork. Place the pork in the preheated cooker and sear on all sides moving frequently. Adding oil or fat is optional since this piece should be very moist and have a fatty cap. For larger pieces over 8 pounds, consider cutting in half. Once seared, you will need to add approximately 24-48 oz of water or up to the max fill line on your pressure cooker. Do not exceed the max line! Several cloves of garlic and a couple of onion quarters can be added for flavor. Then shut your pressure cooker lid and allow it to cook on the high-pressure cooker for 90 minutes.

Cool and shred. Once done, allow the pork to cool and remove from the vessel to cool. Once cooled, shred the meat and set it to the side. Keep stock on the side for warming the pork and the BBQ sauce.

Create BBQ sauce. Get a large pot and assemble the Sweet & Fancy Maple BBQ sauce ingredients. In a large 8 quart or bigger pot, add the pork stock and all other ingredients one at a time, stirring and mixing constantly. Cook down for 10 to 12 minutes over medium-low heat until sauce is thickened to desired. For a richer sauce, add more molasses or maple sugar. Garlic or ginger could be added but was omitted from this recipe since rum was a large contributing flavor. The better the apple cider vinegar, the more depth of flavor you will experience. Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother is a great and healthy product.

Combine. Once the BBQ sauce is ready, remove 1/2 of the sauce mixture for later use and combine the shredded pork and 8 to 12 oz of the pork broth while stirring over medium heat until the pork is thoroughly reheated. Let rest for a few minutes, and then serve! It pairs well with all your favorites like BBQ beans and potato salad, and don’t forget your buns, pickles and onion.

So there you go! This can serve 8-20 guests and will be easy on the budget as we are talking under $25 for all the ingredients listed.

About the Author Rob Parisi is the owner/operator of Keene-based PoshHaus. His newest mission, Shop.Design. Build brings local homes to life by remodeling and renewing kitchen spaces throughout the region. The first stage is in the new PoshHaus test kitchen, located at 104 Emerald Street in the former Kipco building in Keene, NH. Learn more at poshhaus.com.