Sour Orange Pulled Pork

With the election out of the way, forget about going red or blue and go orange with this recipe for Sour Orange Pulled Pork. The country may be divided on candidates, but (barring religious regions) we can all agree on the deliciousness that is pulled pork.

The sourness of the Sour Orange Pulled Pork goes great over a bed of mashed sweet potatoes. It’s a sour, sweet, salty, fatty combo that’s a great treat.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 12 garlic cloves, mashed into a paste
• 1 4-lb. bone-in pork shoulder
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 3 cups orange juice
• 1 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup plus 1 TBSP honey
• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 3 TBSP butter
• 1 small red onion, diced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Directions:

Sour Orange Pulled Pork is slow cooked in a mixture of orange and lime juice.

1. Whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil and garlic paste in a large roasting pan. Add the pork and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Remove from refrigerate 30 minutes before ready to cook.
2. Preheat oven to 300F.
3. Season the pork all over with salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock and cover.
4. While pork is cooking, put the orange and lime juices and honey in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce to 2 cups (it will be a syrup consistency). Let cool to room temperature.
5. Also while pork is cooking, cut sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes and boil in a large pot for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Once cooked, mash sweet potatoes to desired consistency.
6. Heat the butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and mased sweet potatoes and press into the skillet with spatula. Cook, scraping and turning as the bottom browns, until hot.
7. Once pork has cooked, shred the pork using 2 forks or your hands.
8. In a medium saucepan, toss the shredded pork with the sour orange honey glaze and reheat over medium heat.
9. Serve the pork on top of prepared sweet potatoes (reheated if necessary). Garnish with cilantro leaves.

There are several components to Sour Orange Pulled Pork, but none of them are difficult. The hardest part will be leaving with the wonderful smell of slow-cooking pork in the oven. Exercise some patience!

You can also add some cilantro to the sweet potatoes while cooking if desired. And if you really want to go hog wild (couldn’t resist!) you also add some bacon. The more pork the merrier.