Shelly's Recipe

BEER-BRAISED PULLED PORK

Category: Roasts/Tenderloins - Pork

2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp ground chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4- to 4-1/2-lb boneless pork butt, butcher’s twine or netting removed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
8 medium garlic cloves, smashed
2 medium habanera chilies, sliced into rounds
2 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
24 oz brown ale
1 tbsp cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 300 and arrange a rack in the middle. Place salt, chili powder, and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir to combine. Coat pork butt with 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil, and then coat all sides with all of the spice mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a tight fitting lid until just starting to smoke, about 5 minutes. Add pork and brown on all sides, about 15 minutes total. Remove pork to a plate and discard all but 1 tbsp of the fat in the pot.

Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, chilies, and onions. Cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, until softened, about 15 minutes. Increase heat to medium high, add reserved pork and beer, and bring to a boil. Cover, transfer to the oven, and cook until pork is tender and falls apart when shredded with a fork, about 3 hours.

Place a large strainer in a large bowl and pour the contents of the pot into the strainer, reserving the liquid. Place pork and strained solids back in the pot and shred pork with two forks, removing any large pieces of fat. Measure 3 cups of the reserved braising liquid (you may not need all of it). Use a fat separator to remove the fat from the liquid until you have 1 cup. (Alternatively, let the pork and braising liquid cool, then refrigerate both overnight or until the fat solidifies on the surface of the liquid. Once the fat has formed a hard layer, scrape it off and discard.) Add liquid to the pot and stir to combine. Add cider vinegar and stir to combine.