And the winner is…

Amy McCoy, also known as the “Poor Girl Gourmet” was the winner of our Pork Recipe Contest for Food Bloggers!  She blew the judges away with her recipe for Pear & Sweet Onion Pulled Pork.  The dish takes several hours to cook; but, boy, is it worth it! 

I actually the prepared the dish in the kitchen that the prepared foods chefs use as a courtesy to Amy (and because the Health department won’t allow us to sample anything that is not made in an inspected kitchen – as far as I know, Amy does not have access to an approved facility).  And I have to attest that it is actually a very simple recipe.  Her instructions look lengthy but it’s only because she is meticulous about giving step-by-step directions. For example, she reminds the cook to “pat the surface of the pork dry with a paper towel” before seasoning.  And then adds some cute & humorous comments like admitting how she couldn’t resist referring to the meat simply as “the butt,” which it is, a pork butt. 

Amy’s instructions on how to go about browning the pork on all sides were especially helpful.  It is cute how she ends the paragraph with “It’s nice of the meat and the pot to band together to let us know when we’re ready to move on to the next step, isn’t it.”

Only after speaking with her at the Pork Recipe Finalist Tasting Event last week did I learn that she was serious about having a ”stuck-to-the-bottom butt on your hands.”  I wasn’t going to stand around the kitchen for 3 1/’2 hours waiting for the butt to cook so I left to do some work in my office.  After about an hour or so, I asked Lisa to go and check on Amy’s pork butt for me.  She reported that the meat had gotten kind of dark on the bottom and needed add some more apple cider and pears.  What she meant by “dark” was “black.”  While the meat looked really burnt, it came out tasting delicious!  When I mentioned the little “mishap” to Amy, she admitted that the same thing happened to her the first time she made the dish.  And we joked that burning the pork was the secret to the recipe.  Since it is such a good culinary secret, I am sharing it with you.  I hope you enjoy Amy’s pulled pork. 

Next time your in the mood for pork, Ask the Butcher for a butt from Simply Grazin’ Organic Farm.

Pear and Sweet Onion Pulled Pork by Amy McCoy

serves 6 to 8 (or more)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
(1) 3 to 4 pound pork butt (pork shoulder is also fine, just try to get one with as little bone as possible)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

2 medium pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 2-inch cubes (approximately 2-inch cubes – they are a rounded fruit after all)
1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon fresh
2 cups apple cider

Though the active time of this recipe is around 30 minutes, the pork does braise for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, so this is most definitely not a weeknight meal. Unless you’re somewhat unemployed like me, then you have time to braise away on a Wednesday. However, if you’re gainfully employed, it’s a good Sunday afternoon dish from which you may then repurpose leftovers during the week.

Remove the pork from the refrigerator about an hour before you plan to cook it. Pat the surface dry with a paper towel, then season the butt (could. not. resist. This will get worse. You have been warned.) all over with salt and pepper.

In a large, heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid (such as a braiser or Dutch oven), heat the oil over medium-high heat.

Once the oil has a shiny, shimmery appearance, carefully place the pork into the pot to avoid the hot oil splattering back at you. You want to hear the meat sizzle as soon as it hits the pan (as a test to determine whether the oil is ready for browning, you can also drop a breadcrumb or two into the oil to see if it sputters away).

Brown each side of the pork (including the short ends, which I usually do last. They do require a little balancing act with the tongs and a steady, oven-mitted hand holding the pot still), 3 to 5 minutes per side. If the meat doesn’t pull off of the pan easily, it’s not completely browned. It’s nice of the meat and the pot to band together to let us know when we’re ready to move on to the next step, isn’t it?

After all sides have been browned, reduce the heat to medium. Add the pear cubes and quartered onion (don’t worry about breaking the onion layers apart – that’ll happen as they cook, or if they fall apart on their own), then drizzle the honey over the roast, and sprinkle the thyme over the pork, pears, and onions.

Pour in the apple cider, bring the liquid to a gentle simmer (keep an eye on this – if the pot gets too hot, and the cider is percolating away rapidly – say, at near-boiling – the cider will cook off and you’ll have a stuck-to-the-bottom butt on your hands), cover, and cook, flipping the butt occasionally (also to avoid that stuck butt we just discussed) for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until the pork is pulling apart from itself.