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Mike's (in)famous Southern Pork* Barbecue - updated
My husband and I arrived in New Hampshire from England in September 1987 and in January 1988 while experiencing our first New Hampshire winter we were invited to a Super Bowl Party. Now we knew what American football was but had no idea about the Super Bowl, plus being English we are definitely soccer fans. I don't believe I watched any of the Super Bowl, (but then neither did any of the other wives that day) but this was one of the dishes provided by the Host (Mike), a Southern Gentleman.
Don't be put off by the list of ingredients, apart from the meat, everything cooks together in one saucepan to make a sauce. In my cooking classes we had twenty different versions of this, from twenty different cooks, depending on what brand of chili sauce was used and how heavy handed people were with their measuring. Dare I say that it is foolproof? It tastes great, freezes well and is universally popular.
Ingredients - about 10 portions
- 2-3 medium yellow onions, peeled, thinly sliced and separated into rings
- 2-3 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 5 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 bottles chili sauce (I use Market Basket's own 12 or 14 oz bottle at about 99c/bottle)
- 2 tsp parsley optional
- 1 tsp dry English mustard (known as Colman's - my students used all different brands)
- 1 c water or so (I use water to rinse out the chili bottles)
- 6 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp salt (or less)
- 1 dash pepper (or few drops of cayenne hot sauce aka Tennessee Hot Sauce - Tabasco)
- 4 lbs pork roast - can be 2 roasts (I have done this with cheap pork butt cut up or thick chops as well)
Method
1. Brown onion in oil, add rest of ingredients except for pork. Simmer, covered, for at least 30 minutes until darker in appearance and thicker.2. Simmer pork roast(s) in water until tender, about 30 minutes per lb if you are using whole roasts. If using chops or cut up pork then about 1 hour.
3. When pork is cooked, remove, fat, gristle, bone etc and shred meat.
4. Combine sauce and pork and voila!
Notes
These are Mike's comments from the handwritten recipe that he originally gave me."Goes well with coleslaw ( or as they say down South, just plain "slaw") hamburger buns good, bulky rolls much better. (We just eat it with salad).
Sometimes I add another onion, or a little more brown sugar if the moods right -- Like when the magnolia's bloom or when I watch a Georgia-Alabama football game on the T.V.
Keeps in the refrigerator very well; some like it better reheated, but then some people eat frogs, snails and other weird stuff too!
* Pronounced "POKE" in Southern-ese"
Oonagh Williams, proprietor of Royal Temptations, has a Culinary Arts degree, offers Catering services, teaches a variety of classes in International Cooking, makes regular appearances on WMUR ABC Channel 9's Cooks' Corner and has her own series on Merrimack TV. You can contact Oonagh at 603-424-6412.