I think I pulled a muscle: Kalua pig and some pulled pork sandwiches to remember

Bet you didn't know I'm a little obsessed with pork shoulder, did you?  Yes, I love the occasional steak, pork tenderloin, or lamb chop, but dollar for dollar I can't think of a better piece of meat.  I must be alone in this opinion, because many butchers do not carry this cut.  When asked, the butchers I've spoken to say that people simply don't want to buy it.  "People want steak and chicken breasts," they add.  Those people should be beaten senseless with a veal shank.

On second thought, that too would be a horrific waste of yet another delicious cut of meat people don't buy enough.

Though you may not know it, many of you are familiar with pork shoulder (aka Boston butt) via pulled pork, a dish so good I think it may be the reason God gave pigs shoulders.  From my perspective, the problem with traditionally barbequed pulled pork is that it requires long, slow cooking over low heat with lots of smoke.  When you live in an apartment like we do, twenty hours of smoking is an impossibility.

But I still want my pulled pork.

To this end, I have tried any number of preparations, all of which must be cooked in our oven.  The best result I'd achieved was by brining a shoulder in salt and apple cider for twenty-four hours, spicing it with dry rub, then cooking it in a 121C/250F oven until the internal temperature of the pork reached at least 88C/190F.  I cannot emphasize how much of a pain in the ass this is.  It involves schlepping off to the market at six on a Saturday morning to buy the pork, so it can soak in the brine before having to be put it in the oven around midnight, to be eaten for dinner later that day.  The results were good, not great -- frankly, I found the meat a little dry -- and this pulled pork was inferior to even mediocre barbecue.

Then fate smiled upon me.  I was flipping through a Bon Appétit when I stumbled upon a recipe for Kalua Pig. Kalua pig is essentially Hawaiian pulled pork.  The big difference is that the shoulder is wrapped in banana leaves and seasoned only with a native Hawaiian sea salt, alea salt.  Alea salt gets its distinctive red colour and mineralized taste because it is actually mixed with red clay.

Perfect.  All I needed was alea salt and banana leaves, neither of which I could find.  As luck would have it, right about then Michelle from The Accidental Scientist sent me a package full of goodies, including some alea sea salt (and some Scharffen-Berger chocolate which has already been put to good use). Kalua pig became my destiny shortly thereafter, when I stumbled onto frozen banana leaves at Lively Life International Fine Foods in the St. Lawrence Market.  After a brief call to Rowe Farm Meats to order a pork shoulder, the pulled pork train was back on track.

And what fine pulled pork it is.  The trick to tender pork shoulder is collagen breakdown.  Without it, tough cuts of meat like pork shoulder remain tough.  For pulled pork, I cook to an internal temperature of 90.5C/195F (82C/180F is sufficient for sliceable shoulder).  This meat came apart beautifully, and was so moist and tender that we didn't add any of the pork drippings back into the meat.  Devoured on a hamburger bun or kaiser slathered with Rachel's impromptu pineapple barbeque sauce, this is a sandwich to savour.

Then I tried a pulled pork sandwich that was out of this world.  The note accompanying this recipe for grilled cheese and kalua-pig sandwiches says that the sandwich is usually served with a slice of foie gras, though the foie gras is conspicuously absent from the recipe itself. After a quick trip to Chris' Cheesemongers in the St. Lawrence Market to pick up some foie gras mousse and fontina cheese, I remedied that little oversight.  After melting the fontina over one side of my Ace baguette, I smeared the other side with the mousse.  Think of it as the world's best butter.  Actually, given the amount I put on, think of it as the world's best cream cheese.  Piled high with pulled pork, this sandwich is over-the-top delicious.  Crunchy bread, tender pork, gooey cheese, and unctuous foie....  Sorry, I need a moment.

My pulled pork odyssey is far from over.  I desperately want to try making one in true barbeque style -- with low heat and lots of smoke. My fantasy, however, is to try making sous-vide pulled pork.  Sous-vide is the technique whereby meat is cooked in a circulating water bath under a Cryovac vacuum seal.  The great advantage to this technique is that the cooking temperature can be controlled to such a degree that no part of the meat would be subjected to heat greater than the boiling point.  This should make for the tenderest juiciest pulled pork you've ever tasted.  The downsides are that the use of smoke is impossible, and most importantly, that circulating water baths are ridiculously expensive.

Next stop on the pulled pork odyssey:  the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, the best reason to visit Memphis in May.  That's where we're headed this May long weekend, with some like-minded friends.  We'll be leaving the fontina and mousse at home.... Probably.

Comments

[Tania]

I must admit to never having tried pulled pork, but wow, it sounds delicious ... especially with the foie gras mousse and melted fontina.

I am already tucking in my bib in anticipation of reading your pulled pork adventures in Memphis. Have fun!

[Bea at La Tartine Gourmande]

I did not know this about you Rob indeed but fully share this love! This sandwich of yours seems like Heaven indeed! I wonder how often you indulge in making it!

[Ivonne]

Hi Rob,

I'm so glad to hear someone extolling the virtues of pork shoulder. We make roast pork shoulder (our version of Italian porchetta) at least two or three times during the winter.

And there's nothing like it! Your pulled pork sandwich sounds lovely.

Good luck in Memphis!

[Manolo]

I love your blog! I've found so many great T.O. spots that you mention here, so I thought I would share with you my favorite spot to get Pork Shoulder. O Nosso Talho (a portuguese butcher) on Bloor between Dufferin & Dovercourt. The strange thing is that I stopped off today and picked up a 7 pounder to brine Friday and smoke on Saturday. Nothing says Mothers Day like pulled pork sandwiches for Brunch!

[sarah]

Yum! My husband's favorite cut is pork shoulder too. I bought him an indirect heat smoker a few years ago and he has made many delicious pulled pork meals since. He absolutely loves tending to the pork every couple hours, even if he has to wake up in the middle of the night to do it (I only hope he's this attentive if we have children). I bet he will like to try this kalua style. Also, I saw a behind the scenes of Iron Chef America on Food Network and Jeffrey Steingarten made some souse-vide ribs. The circulating water bath almost looked like a stand mixer. Anyway, we live in the St. Louis area and are driving down to Memphis in May for our first time next week!

[Bill Belew]

Oh my goodness, this looks delicious. Far, far better than what they try to pass of as a pulled pork sandwich at the Hard Rock anyway!

[rob]

Tania, pulled pork is not to be missed. There's something very special about taking a cut of meat that is virtually inedible and turning into something artful and delicious.

Bea, this was the first time I'd ever indulged in making this sandwich. I will most certainly continue making it from now on whenever I make this recipe. By the way, I really love it when the recipe for the leftovers is just as good as the recipe for the original dish.

Ivonne, Italian porchetta is a thing of beauty. Rachel and I had the pleasure to enjoy some in one of the hill towns of Rome on our honeymoon. That was a very fine meal I will never forget.

Manolo, do you have a smoker in your backyard? I'm about as jealous as a man can be right now. Having just returned from Memphis, I now yearn for one. I'd not heard of O Nosso Talho before, but I'll be sure to check it out next time I'm in the area. Out of curiosity, do you know of any traditional Portuguese preparations for pork shoulder?

Sarah, I'm jealous of you and your husband too. How did you enjoy Memphis? If hope you get a chance to read our posts about our experiences there (I've only published the first one so far).

Bill, thank you for your interest in our blog. No, I've never tried the pulled pork at the Hard Rock. I'm afraid my recent experiences in Memphis are going to spoil me forever, so I'm not sure what to do for my pulled pork fix now. Perhaps annual pilgrimages to the southern US....