I saw Chef Tyler Florence make some pulled pork sandwiches on a television food show several weeks ago which triggered an intense craving for pulled pork. The next day, I looked up his recipe online, here, and purchased a roughly 2 kilo piece of pork shoulder, eager to try making it myself. I noticed some differences in the tv version and the online one, the most obvious being a two-hour baking time vs. 5-6 hours in a 300F oven. At any rate, I followed the instructions for the most part, and it resulted in this wonderful looking and sufficiently satisfying sandwich…
A dry rub of spices was applied to the pork which marinated in the fridge over night. It was then baked in a low heat oven 300F for roughly 5 hours (lenght of time depends on size of pork and thickness. The aroma that fills your kitchen/home by about the third hour is just incredible. The low heat is essential for getting a soft, still moist and succulent roast. Best if you have a meat thermometer to make sure you haven’t overcooked and dried out the meat.
After removing the roast and letting it rest for 10-15 minutes, I took two forks and “shredded” the meat. It was incredibly “shred-able”, but I found that I might have overccoked the roast by about a half hour or so, making it a little drier than it could have been…
Meanwhile, I made the barbecue sauce as described by Florence, and I was concerned that the amount of vinegar seemed a bit much. If you have good organic cider vinegar in the U.S., maybe the proportions would work, but with poorer quality and highly acidic del monte apple cider vinegar in Manila, it would definitely have come out too sour. So I reduce the vinegar in the recipe to just one cup from 1.5 cups and it still seemed a little too sour… I added about 1/2 tablespoon of Kikkoman soy sauce and could have probably added a little more to balance the flavors a bit more. But having said that , the sauce was pretty good, and when mixed in with the shredded pork, made for an incredibly tasty filling for a sandwich…
We toasted some good crusty rolls from L’Artizan bakery and added the shredded pork and more homemade barbecue sauce and it definitely met the craving. Leftovers were great the next morning… served with some rice. :)
52 Responses
Wow! looks delicious! Though 5 hours is a bit too long especially when craving for a good pulled pork sandwich. Not unless you’re in pasig (charlies) or makati (wingman).
wow looks yummy! what kind of bread is best for this one?
btw, Charlie’s has a new branch along ortigas avenue, right before Santolan if you’re coming from Greenhills. :)
I just saw a similar recipe from Lynn Crawford Restaurant makeover episode on AFC this weekend. https://www.foodnetwork.ca/ontv/shows/Restaurant-Makeover/recipe.html?dishID=10435&titleid=86270
Will try it out one of this day !
Although the best BBQ meat for me is the Salt lick (Austin, Texas) smoked beef brisket !!!
https://www.saltlickbbq.com/about_press.html
hmmmm sarap naman lalo na sa katulad kong wala pang breakfast at this time of day (12:21pm to be exact) :)
Five hours ? Dapat ten slow grill na half carcass. Para maganda mga leptokurtic variables
oh my .. looks delicious!!
Wonderful! It seems like this could be frozen too, for a treat later.
AWESOME!!!!!
In case you don’t want to wait 5-hours for the pork to cook, there is this little bar and grill here in Cebu, called Blue Zydeco Bayou (BZB) at Crossroads, that serves very good cajun and tex-mex food. There “po-boy” sandwich is worth the hassle of eating in a bar ala the french quarters in New Orleans.
Saltlick bbq is also my favorite place in Austin, TX. Use to drive up to their FM1826 in driftwood for some good BBQ.
This looks amazing. I saw the show too and thought I’d try the dish myself. Now that you have made it and confirm how good it is, I have no other choice but to try, asap :) Thanks MM!
Hooray Artisan! Your a saltlick fan too
One thing I don’t crave for because BBQ joints are plentiful where live. They make very good smoked pork, brisket, ribs, sausage, ham, etc. But if I were in Manila, I would definitely try this.
now I’m craving too! guess i have to settle for asado rolls muna :)))
hahahaha, hinimay na karne, hehehehe pagandahin ang tawag hehehehe susyal na!
Would love to have a pulled pork sandwich… and extra rice on the side.
Looks delicious!
I love pulled pork on pandesal with KC style bbq sauce and a sprinkling of chopped onions. Kinda too sweet for the hubby, who prefers a thinner, “tangy-er” sauce, but then I have a sweet tooth.
Hi MM, That looks scrumptious !! Did you think about pairing with a traditional sweet creamy coleslaw ? This may balance the acidity.
Hi MM! I wonder if that would work if you were to use Lechon or Crispy Pata meat that have been pulled apart and mixed with the a Carolina BBQ sauce?
Reading thru the post and I’m craving for a pulled pork sandwich and some SMB!!! ;-)
In Manila, the pinoy version would be roadside bbq and a hotdog roll where one simply went into the other. Some have even done business this way and it always seemed to take off well. If executed correctly, it would probably even be the next big food cart chain
I have a Filipino version of a pulled pork sandwich. My daughter loves eating my slow-cooked pork adobo inserted in a fresh ciabatta. I usually set aside a portion of my slow cooked pork adobo (the basic recipe of vinegar, garlic, pepper and bay leavels only) and let it rest for 2 to 3 days. I then shred the meat and use it as filling for a hearty sandwich. I usually add tomatoes and the adobo sauce to complete the taste sensation! That’s a quicker way of having a pulled pork sandwich! :)
Ms Carol, dat does sound Michael Jackson BAD ! and may i opine that that is really the way the best adobo is cooked yun pinapamantika muna and a really long resting time to infuse and settle textures and incorporate flavors but noticed your basic recipe is a pork adobo and so i can imagine how your chicken pork adobo would go. Pa share naman po kung salt or toyo. Cheers and salamat po
I use same everything except cooked pork in a slow-cooker; meat sitting on an elevated metal grill (came with the cooker-set). 3-hrs on high, and the meat falls apart. I use the mexican french-bread (bollilo) toasted until crispy. On the barbecue sauce though, I add a drop of hickory flavor liquid smoke. Oww, its awesome.. but being here in Texas, most restaurants and cafeterias around where I live serves this sandwich with different cuts of meat.
Okay, I am going to try this. It sounds really, really good. Or I will go to Carol’s house and eat because the adobo version sounds delicious!!!
Kikas_head, by accident, I made this adobo version, cooked low heat in a a smoker-grill for 4 hours. I came out so good, with burned bits and all. I served it with achara-coleslaw. Ummm, ang sarap, maluto nga ulit this coming weekend.
I think they featured saltlick in the lifestyle channel show “the best thing i ever ate” and the episode was about the best bbq they’ve had. i also an episode about bacon.
Hmm…saw that episode too. That’s an appetizing sandwich you made. I used to like L’artizan baguette and go all the way to Santis’ but lately, I noticed the bread has more holes inside and has become flatter. It’s still crusty though.
Artisan chocolatier, I couldn’t find you in Cebu City the last time I was there which was 2 months ago. :)
wow, i’m reminded of Famous Dave’s chopped pork.
this is just massive!=)
Ooh la la! Looks juicy and sumptuous!!!
Hi Present Tense – For my simple slow-cooked pork adobo, I only add a tablespoon or two of soy sauce before I turn off the fire (I usually cook 1.5 to 2kgs pork). The vinegar that I use is sukang Iloko with lots of chili in it. I use about 2.5 cups sukang iloko and 1 cup del monte vinegar. I do not add water. Put in lots of chopped garlic (about 3 heads), peppercorns and 2 bay leaves. For the pork, it’s nice to use the pork portion used for making lechon kawali. Sometimes I put in the pork spareribs too, since I like pork meat on the bone. Simmer for about 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring towards the end of the cooking time. Good luck and I hope you will be able to enjoy this soon with your family, either as a Filipino pulled pork sandwich or with lots and lots of steaming white rice! :)
Hi Kikas_head – I hope you can also try this recipe in the meantime I am trying to get well, and not yet able to invite you to our home :)
“Discovered” some leftover pork roast in the fridge, cut it up in chunks and sauteed it in lots of garlic and onions and gently simmered withsome liquid and Bullseye Barbecue sauce; pulled the now very tender meat and slathered a mound onto a roll of potato bread; shredded lettuce salad on the side. Dalish!… pulled pork by accident.
MM, would certainly work with left over Zubuchon, yes? sauce is your choice.
@Corrine, I’m at BTC’s Sunday Market from 10a.m to 6p.m. Right across the Zubuchon counter
Wow! I have been craving the same thing ever since I saw Tyler’s Ultimate a few weeks back but so far I still don’t have the time to make it as well as the coleslaw. Aggghh now the craving is even worse :P
My gratitude for your graciousness Ms Carol – Salamat po
Ms Carol, I am tempted to think we cook almost the same way right down to the sukang ilokos and the absence of onion but was agonizing over whether to brown room temp meat in some garlic infused olive oil just to get some olive oil into it but slow cooking it may take longer because of the encapsulation of flavors brought about by the quick fry but the thought of olive oil mingling with pork fat is just too much to resist. And i use tons of garlic – big and bruised and small and finely minced. And share ko lang that a batangueno once told me that he only used marca pina as the soy of choice for adobo and i always wondered why. And I have never been surprised that adobo is a classic beach staple. Salamat po
That looks delish!
Pulled Zubuchon next time? :)
This looks delicious!!!!
MM, did you forego the coleslaw (spicy slaw) that came with tyler’s recipe? i figured it would just texture contrast and not much flavor (well some tanginess at least)?
@Carol Geron – thank you for the recipe! With the cooler weather, this sounds so good!!
eric, we just didn’t have good cabbage in the house when I made the pulled pork, hence no coleslaw…
Hi Present Tense – masarap ang adobo when you keep it longer and as you reheat it when you eat it. The pork becomes browner as you reheat it in its own fat. Since I usually use the liempo or cut used for lechon kawali, lagi syang may fat na and no need to add olive oil. I do add some olive oil if happen to cook the non-fatty pork portion – i.e., kung puro spare ribs ginamit ko. in any case, that’s the beauty of adobo, it can be cooked as many ways possible as the cook pleases :).
MM, can’t vote in the poll… Why kaya? =(
mudra, is it possible that someone else has voted from your computer or IP address? The poll function only allows an IP address to vote once, so people don’t pad (more important) polls… Unfortunately that means only one person per large office can vote for example…
Hi. I’m liking marketmanila. There’s not too many websites on Filipino food. I am just glad to have stumbled on yours. Would you post Christmas recipes? Keep ’em coming. Thanks.
jene, there are roughly 2,500 posts over 6 years in the archives, try all the DECEMBER archives for several dozen Christmas related posts… thanks. :)
Hi Carol. Food porn. I am more on homemade embutido, some tekila, and firecrakers that make you jump. Cge po..
I should never read your blog first thing in the morning.. not even have my tea yet and now craving for this!
Now my Med season over I can now check your posts every day;-)
Hello from Valencia,Spain.. I will be wintering here and not so bad markets are great!
apparently, in America, they also use soda to help in tenderizing the pork? but they sometimes use slowcookers too! yummy post! wanna try it! :)
five hours. enuff to discourage u. bili na lang ng pulled pork sa costco.
Hi MM, what is pork shoulder in tagalog, a vendor in our local market said it was pork loin?
cutejoos, I think I used pork kasim. I am pretty sure it was not pork loin.