Potluck/Tailgate pork shoulder emergency
October 17, 2024 5:04 PM Subscribe
Pork shoulder emergency! I’m attending a potluck tailgate tomorrow. I was going to make my Famous Salt-and-Pepper Pulled Pork, which I cook on a smoker overnight, but I just realized I’m out of charcoal. I’m not going to buy more charcoal tonight and I don’t have time to make pulled pork in the morning…help me figure out what to make!
Okay, I have a 7-lb, bone-in pork butt, an Instant Pot that it can fit in, and all of your normal kitchen appliances. What can I make for the tailgate tomorrow that meets these criteria:
1. Total cook time is less than 6 hours
2. I can hold at-temperature in cooler for a couple of hours without a substantial loss in quality
3. I need something that is fairly stand-alone as a dish (e.g., I can’t warm tortillas on-site), or just needs something like buns
4. I need something that is really freaking good
At first, I was just going to find a carnitas recipe, but most of the carnitas recipes I’ve seen call for a boneless pork butt…and I won’t have tortillas for carnitas, anyway. There are lots of pulled pork recipes, but they either call for boneless or are super-sweet, and I’m hesitant to make something super sweet.
Anyway, I can Google stuff, but I’m looking for first-hand experience to help me win the tailgate. Thanks!
Okay, I have a 7-lb, bone-in pork butt, an Instant Pot that it can fit in, and all of your normal kitchen appliances. What can I make for the tailgate tomorrow that meets these criteria:
1. Total cook time is less than 6 hours
2. I can hold at-temperature in cooler for a couple of hours without a substantial loss in quality
3. I need something that is fairly stand-alone as a dish (e.g., I can’t warm tortillas on-site), or just needs something like buns
4. I need something that is really freaking good
At first, I was just going to find a carnitas recipe, but most of the carnitas recipes I’ve seen call for a boneless pork butt…and I won’t have tortillas for carnitas, anyway. There are lots of pulled pork recipes, but they either call for boneless or are super-sweet, and I’m hesitant to make something super sweet.
Anyway, I can Google stuff, but I’m looking for first-hand experience to help me win the tailgate. Thanks!
Oven pulled pork. You can do it with a bone-in butt, it'll just take a little longer (you might want to put it in the oven overnight, given your time constraint), and the mop makes it not sweet.
posted by pollytropos at 5:31 PM on October 17
posted by pollytropos at 5:31 PM on October 17
The difference between pork shoulder on the smoker and pork shoulder indoors is mostly bark. You’ll miss the smoke flavor because you know it’s supposed to be there, but everybody else will just say “this pork is delicious.” At the simplest, I’d just season it the way I would for the smoker, put it on a wire rack on a baking sheet to catch drips, and roast it overnight in the oven at whatever temperature you maintain your smoker. You could do Kenji’s trick in the morning and turn the oven up to max to crisp up the exterior (note: hope you have a good vent hood), but mostly pork shoulder is its own magic.
We’ve also done it in a slow cooker, but we save any seasonings other than salt and pepper until we’re actually serving it, so we can use some of it for ragù and some for tacos (it’s not carnitas until you crisp it up in a skillet).
posted by fedward at 5:40 PM on October 17 [1 favorite]
We’ve also done it in a slow cooker, but we save any seasonings other than salt and pepper until we’re actually serving it, so we can use some of it for ragù and some for tacos (it’s not carnitas until you crisp it up in a skillet).
posted by fedward at 5:40 PM on October 17 [1 favorite]
Cubans are possible, too.
Or if you have a stick of butter, jar of pepperoncinis, ranch mix and au jus mix, can make Italian/Chicagobeef pork. Throw it in a slow cooker for 6hrs on high.
posted by po822000 at 6:45 PM on October 17
Or if you have a stick of butter, jar of pepperoncinis, ranch mix and au jus mix, can make Italian/Chicago
posted by po822000 at 6:45 PM on October 17
Wanted to second Bo ssam, which my grill loving partner was high skeptical of when I told him I was making it in the oven and then completely blown away by when we had it for dinner.
posted by lepus at 6:58 PM on October 17
posted by lepus at 6:58 PM on October 17
I agree with fedward that you can just cook it however you normally would in the smoker, but in the oven instead. If you have a little liquid smoke on hand, you can rub some in to get some of that smoky flavour that you'll be missing.
But I also want to say that you can serve carnitas on a bun! For one thing, it's just food and you can do whatever you want and carnitas is perfectly delicious on bread. But also, serving what we think of as taco meat on a bun is very common in Mexico and perfectly authentic. Kenji's oven recipe is good, but don't worry if you don't have all the ingredients, it is fine even without the oranges . Crisping it up is optional (uncrisped is more common in Mexico, at least the parts I'm most familiar with). The bone doesn't matter because you'll be cutting it up before cooking anyways. Either throw it in, keep it for stock or to throw in with a pot of beans.
A little salsa to serve it with would be nice, but in a pinch some hot sauce would do the trick. Maybe a little thinly sliced cabbage? Quick pickled onion slices? Pickled jalepeños? Radishes?
posted by ssg at 6:58 PM on October 17
But I also want to say that you can serve carnitas on a bun! For one thing, it's just food and you can do whatever you want and carnitas is perfectly delicious on bread. But also, serving what we think of as taco meat on a bun is very common in Mexico and perfectly authentic. Kenji's oven recipe is good, but don't worry if you don't have all the ingredients, it is fine even without the oranges . Crisping it up is optional (uncrisped is more common in Mexico, at least the parts I'm most familiar with). The bone doesn't matter because you'll be cutting it up before cooking anyways. Either throw it in, keep it for stock or to throw in with a pot of beans.
A little salsa to serve it with would be nice, but in a pinch some hot sauce would do the trick. Maybe a little thinly sliced cabbage? Quick pickled onion slices? Pickled jalepeños? Radishes?
posted by ssg at 6:58 PM on October 17
If the bone in can fit in the IP, I would still make pulled pork. It won't take more than two hours to cook, probably closer to an hour. I would adapt the seasoning to whatever your normal recipe uses or look for a keto version of the recipe. If you want to pre-brown the pieces, cut them off the bone.
posted by soelo at 7:16 PM on October 17
posted by soelo at 7:16 PM on October 17
Cochinita pibil is delicious. Lots of recipes online if that one doesn't strike you. I've made this in the Instant Pot.
posted by Dr. Wu at 7:19 PM on October 17
posted by Dr. Wu at 7:19 PM on October 17
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So I would just do the equivalent of maybe split the 6 hours between high and low instapot equivalent of slow cooker high and low with a cup or two of your favorite bbq sauce, sounds like not one that is too sweet
posted by akabobo at 5:29 PM on October 17