Recipe: Mashed Medley with Red-Eye Pulled Pork

This is another inspired recipe that I am proud of. I had the opportunity to get some pork and LOTS of it. Being someone who has to be in the mood to eat pork, I thought of ways to cook it with a recipe that uses a large amount and can be diverse. Enter the pulled pork. And enter the barbecue sauce. Scouring the internet for pulled-pork recipes brings up many versions made with a slow-cooker. Well...that is not in my kitchen pantry so slow cooked it will be, but in a slow cooker it will not be. The marriage of any meat and barbecue sauce is always a match made in foodie heaven.

Pork is popular in the Caribbean. It is the more affordable white meat and the waste-not, want-not practice means all parts get used from pickled pig feet to pig-tail soup. Barbecue has just as infamous a reputation because who doesn't love firing up the grill on a beautiful day and sharing funny stories over some drinks?

So here I am, with pork, wanting to make a BBQ sauce, but what flavours do I use? With some instant coffee on my hands(which for obvious reasons I have in my cupboard just to cook with), the decision was made. Coffee + BBQ + pork = the below end result. Try it out and enjoy!

Mashed Medley with Red-Eye Pulled Pork

Ingredients

Mashed Medley:

7 small white potatoes, chopped

1 540ml diced sweet potatoes

3 small carrots, chopped

1/4 cup 3% Lactose-free milk

4 tbsp unsalted butter

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste.

Red-Eye Pulled Pork

1 cup regular instant coffee, mixed as directed on package

1/2 tsp allspice

1 whole cinnamon stick

Pinch grated nutmeg

1/2 tbsp paprika

2 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Maggi Seasoning

4 whole cloves

1 oz semisweet chocolate

2 tbsp brown sugar

Pinch coarse salt

1 tbsp cider vinegar

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 lbs pork loin centre, rib and pork chops.

2 tsp  low sodium, msg free, gluten-free chicken broth powder dissolved in 1/2 cup water

Vegetable Oil

For the pulled pork:

BROWN all pork pieces in vegetable oil on both sides(about 2-4 minutes per side). Pull out port pieces and rest aside on plate. Pour in coffee, tomato paste and apple cider vinegar. 

BRING mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Place pork pieces back into pot. Add all seasoning ingredients, including broth mixture. Boil for 30 minutes.

REDUCE heat to minimum, stirring occasionally for 3-6hrs, until pork falls off the bone and sauce has thickened.

For the mash:

POUR chopped white potatoes and carrots in medium pot. Cover completely with water.

BRING to a boil over high heat and boil until potatoes and carrots are soft and break apart easily when pierced with a fork.

DRAIN can of sweet potatoes and pour into small pot. Warm up over medium heat.

POUR all potatoes and carrots into blender. Add butter, milk, salt and pepper. Pulse until mash is completely smooth. Continue adding milk, butter, salt and pepper until desired taste.

Serve mash and pork together.

After-the-fact Wisdoms:

I like my pork with some bite hence why I only cooked it for 3 hrs. The longer it cooks the softer it'll get-feel free to cook until desired texture.

Coffee is bitter and tomato paste is acidic. The sugar and vinegar help to balance that out. This sauce came out sweet but if you want it less so, feel free to reduce the quantity of the sugar and vinegar. Make sure to taste along the way as well so it comes out exactly how you want it.

In the recipe, I used the a copper lined stainless steel pot. This means that it heats up faster and cooks faster. If using anything else you may need to increase the heat during the steps.

Unsure if your potatoes are cooked to how you want them? Taste a piece. For the mash to be lump-free there needs to be no bite at all when tasting the potato. 

Bon Apetit and happy eating!