Barbecue Pulled Pork

For fun, I decided to have an O'hana party...  And what's an O'hana party without some dishes from the Polynesian?

This recipe was a fun one because I'd decided to make it awhile ago, however I could tell from the recipe floating around that it wasn't complete.  I got in touch with the fine folks at Disney and they were able to fill in the missing pieces, resulting in a great dish.

Keep in mind, some of the measurements for the pulled pork aren't exact.  They depend on the size and thickness of the meat, what kind of pot you're using, how high the heat is, etc etc.  The nice thing is that the meat is being slow cooked in liquid so it's pretty hard, even for the cooking dunce, to screw it up.  If you'd like, keep an eye out for the pork shoulders that have a pop-up timer to let you know when it's done.  However, it's really not necessary.  If you notice the pork isn't cooked through when you shred it, simply add it back to the liquid and continue to cook until all pink is gone.

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Barbecue Pulled Pork

As is served in Kona Cafe, Polynesian Resort

 

Pulled Pork ~ 

°o°  Boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
°o°  Salt and pepper
°o°  Pineapple juice (I used 12 ounces of Dole)
°o°  Coconut Water (I used one can of Goya)

°o°  Garlic cloves, crushed

 
Season pork with salt and pepper.  Put in a large pot, crockpot, or slow cooker.  Add pineapple juice, coconut water, and crushed garlic.  Cover and turn heat to medium/low.  Cook several hours until pork is cooked through.  Remove meat from liquid (reserving liquid for the barbeque sauce), allow to rest about 10 minutes on a cutting board.  Using two forks, shred the meat and set aside.

Barbecue Sauce ~ 

°o°  1 tablespoon oil

°o°  2 ounces onion, chopped

°o°  1/4 ounces garlic cloves, crushed

°o°  1/8 ounces cinnamon

°o°  1/4 ounce cumin

°o°  15 ounces tomato sauce
°o°  5 ounces tomato paste
°o°  4 ounces mango in syrup, do not drain!

°o°  1/4 ounce liquid smoke

°o°  8 ounces cooking juices from pulled pork

°o°  2 ounces sweet chili paste

°o°  Salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, sweat oil and garlic in oil for about 2 minutes.  Add cinnamon and cumin, stirring until onions and garlic are covered being sure to not allow cinnamon to burn.  Quickly add tomato sauce and tomato paste, stirring until blended and tomato paste is incorporated.  Add mangoes and syrup, liquid smoke, cooking juices from pulled pork, and the chili paste.  

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Using a blender or food processor, blend until smooth.  Return to saucepan and add pulled pork, cooking until pork is warmed. 

Serve in hamburger buns or ciabatta rolls and top with cheese or onions, if desired.  

Alternatively, do not add pork back into the barbeque sauce and instead put undressed pork directly onto buns and top liberally with barbeque sauce and serve warm.

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