so i made pulled pork the other night. i didn't know that i was, but that's what i came out with. the words "oohmm! oohm my gawdd!' were often heard next to the slurping of sauce and the clink of my water glass. i am someone who historically claims that i do not enjoy spicy food. in fact-this is a bald faced lie!!! even unto myself, one i had suspected as my infatuation with indian food grew and reinforced after meeting my bf. this dish pushed the edge of my taste buds..but they loved the wild ride!
having newly relocated to a city a few thousand miles away from our families i find myself craving the comforts of tradition and hearty routines. and so it was sunday. i had bough a pork shoulder roast especially for this purpose: a sunday roast. keeping in my mind my bfs love of spice i had open range in my google searches looking for something i hadn't quite done before. i settled on a spicy cajun roast. i'm not sure what i thought i would end up with..and unfortunately was a bit mystified halfway through when after browning my pork in butter and a cajun rub (cajun seasoning, minced garlic, herbs, cracked pepper, paprika), i was directed to inject a creole butter sauce. wha....?? a quick search found me a recipe, and i even had half the ingrediants. so i slapped a few things together (worcestershire sauce, honey, paprika, the end of a bottle of white wine, lemon juice), having run out of my weekly supply of syringes (??) i settled for simply stabbing deep channels into the meat with a filet knife and then using the baster my mom bought me for christmas (thanks mom, i use it way more than i thought i would!), injected the sauce into both the front and the back. tossed into a pot with some carrots, celery, spuds, peeled garlic, and dumped the rest of the creole sauce on top, filled it up with water and decided to test out the heat sensitivity of the rubber handles on our new kitchen aid pot set (they did wonderfully, apparently oven ready to 475 or so, they performed well at 350). shut the door and went about the day. until-----the fantastic smells from the kitchen began to permeate the entire house frequently drawing my bf and i back to stare in wonder at the magical stove and drool in anticipation. after a rather lazy day spend mostly house bound it was agreed that an early dinner was in order..mostly due to the fact that we were going night skiing that night..right..that's why. i hastily whipped up a batch of my moms home style biscuits having drained off most of the liquid and returning the veggies and roast to the oven i began simmering a gravy simply with the addition of a bit of cornstarch. the results...breathtaking. the pork was fall apart moist, with a lovely spicy crust. the veggies super flavourful served in their own au jus. the gravy was decadent, and the biscuits a perfect foil. as we tucked in it's safe to say we were both surprised at the results..and it wasn't until the gluttony was over that i belated thought to grab my camera. i haven't been able to find the exact recipe i used the other day. perhaps it was written on a feather which floated down from the kitchens in heaven. whatever it was, i think that having prepared this once, i am now more familiar with these seasonings and their applications to a pork roast that i could easily recreate this hearty meal. hopefully soon before the snow melts, possible to spicy for summer. x
