Oven-roasted Pulled Pork, Green Cabbage and Sweet Cornbread

Credit: Catherine Roscoe Barr

Even though the cooking time is long, this pulled pork recipe takes almost no effort and is mmm, mmm good!

Tender and flavourful slow-roasted pork, delicious sautéed cabbage and lip-smacking sweet cornbread – oh yeah, it’s going to be a great dinner tonight!

The image of this meal might look a bit bland, but don’t let that fool you because it was incredibly good!

If cabbage doesn’t get your wheels turning consider this: cabbage is packed with Vitamin C and antioxidants, things you definitely want on your plate during cold and flu season. It’s also got loads of fibre. Sautéed in a little olive oil and butter and finished with a pinch of sea salt, cabbage is absolutely amazing!

The pulled pork recipe is the second one I’ve tried (see dry-rubbed chicken recipe) from the Memphis Blues cookbook, Bringin’ Southern BBQ Home, and it’s another winner! Once again, I used the Memphis Blues all-purpose dry rub (available for purchase in their restaurants) but you can make it from scratch following this recipe.

The cornbread recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks, Friday Night Dinners by Bonnie Stern, and was featured in a previous post.

Green Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1/2 head green cabbage, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp butter
• pinch sea salt

Instructions

1. Heat large frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add oil and butter, swirling to coat bottom of pan.
3. Add cabbage, stirring often, and cook until it is softened but still a little crisp, about 4 minutes.

Sweet Cornbread

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/12 cups cornmeal
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups buttermilk or sour milk*
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar.
3. In separate bowl, combine eggs, oil and milk.
4. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and combine.
5. Add corn and jalepeno and stir until all ingredients are moistened.
6. Transfer batter to oiled baking dish (recipe calls for 13- x 9-inch dish but I’ve also used two round pie dishes).
7. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes (less if using two smaller dishes), or until bread springs back when pressed in centre or a cake tester comes out clean.
8. Cool for 20 minutes before cutting into wedges or squares.

* To make sour milk, place 2 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup and add milk to make 2 1/2 cups. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before using (don’t worry if milk looks curdled). 

Oven-roasted Pulled Pork

Ingredients

• 2 kg boneless pork shoulder or picnic shoulder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose dry rub

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 225F.
2. Cover pork with rub.
3. Place pork in roasting pan (I used my fancy new cast iron Dutch oven) fat side up, and cook, covered, for four to five hours. You’ll know it’s ready when it easily shreds between two forks.
4. Shred pork with two forks and allow meat to soak up liquid.