Good things grow in Ontario

North Carolina Style BBQ Pulled Pork

by Edith Jakobs

Winding Fences is a local Muskoka farm that is raising animals naturally. The meats they provide are totally organic with no steroids or hormones. What you get is great tasting meat, just like what you’re Grandparents used to eat.

They raise pigs that are fed a strict diet of mixed grain, corn and minerals as well as vegetables from their garden. No processed foods, breads or fillers are ever used to make up there custom feed program. In response to a growing demand for better tasting pork they began raising Berkshire pigs in late 2008. Recognized as superior flavored pork by chefs from around the world, Winding Fences is proud to be one of the few farms to reintroduce this heritage breed.

Here’s a bit of a twist on what I usually write about – a great grilling idea, from my dear friend Ted Reader. (You know Ted: he is the chef that made the world’s largest hamburger last month in Toronto topping the scales off at whopping 590 lbs…as Ted says its pure burger heaven. He made the Guinness World Book of Records beating last record of 185 lbs.) Wow your guests and family with this truly amazing recipe created by the master himself. Grab a cold Muskoka Cream Ale and get to work…your patience will truly pay off.

You can do this recipe on a gas grill but a charcoal/hardwood smoker works so much better. Low and slow is the key. Take it easy, have patience and tend the fire.

You need…

Ted Reader’s World Famous BBQ Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning and Beerlicious BBQ Sauce

½ cup Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning

2 x 3-5 lbs bone in Pork Picnic Shoulders

Kosher salt, cracked black pepper and crushed red chillies to taste

1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar. I use White House Apple Cider Vinegar out of the USA. Hard to get here so I order it direct from White House. It’s what makes this recipe.

1-1 ½ cups Beerlicious Barbecue Sauce (or more)

1 doz soft white rolls, thick cut white bread

Rub the pork picnic shoulders with Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning rubbing the seasoning into the meat so it adheres. Trust me this burger seasoning is made up of my original Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning recipe from all my cookbooks. It rocks. If you want you can let the meat stand overnight refrigerated to allow the seasonings to penetrate the meat, but it is not required.

Set your smoker up according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Adjust the heat to maintain the smoker at no more than 180 F to 225˚F. Smoke the shoulder for 6-8 hours adding smoking chips or chunks as required and adding charcoal as required maintaining a temperature of 180-225 degrees F. .

Take the pork out of the smoker and double wrap in aluminum foil and return to smoker. Maintain temperature and continue to cook for 4-8 hours longer until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 200-220 degrees. A thermometer works but what I like to do is after about 12 hours I check the meat by giving the bone in the picnic shoulder a twist. If there is resistance wrap it up and continue if the bone spins cleanly from the meat it done. Unwrap, allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Remove pork rind and bones and discard. Using (extremely clean) rubber gloves shred the meat into strips.

Season shredded pork to taste with kosher salt, cracked black pepper and crushed red chillies. Add apple cider vinegar and Beerlicious BBQ Sauce. Mix well

Serve on warmed buns with Mustard Coleslaw

Now ya got some pulled BBQ Pork

Serves 8 or more

Bonus recipe

Crazy Canuck Ribs

A sticky Quickie!

You Need… My World Famous BBQ – Crazy Canuck Sticky Chicken and

Rib Sauce and my original Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning!

Get Ready…

4 1½ lb Racks of Maple Leaf® Moisture Enhanced baby back ribs

½ cup Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning

1 medium Onion, chopped

2 Jalapeno peppers, chopped

3 cloves Garlic minced

2 cans Muskoka Cream Ale

2 cups Crazy Canuck BBQ Sauce

Get Grilling!

• Using a sharp knife, diamond score the membrane on the backside of the ribs.

Get Rubbin’ and Lovin’ the ribs with the Bone Dust pressing the seasoning

into the meat so that it adheres.

• Preheat your oven to 325ºF.

• Place the onions, garlic and jalapenos in the bottom of a roasting pan.

• Lay the ribs meat side down on top of the onion mixture. Pour in the beer and

cover with lid or aluminum foil.

• Braise ribs in oven for 1½ hours until tender or until you can pull a rib bone easily

from the meat. Remove from oven and let cool and then head to the grill!

• Preheat grill to medium high approximately 350 to 450ºF.

• Grill ribs for 6 to 8 minutes per side basting liberally with Crazy Canuck

until the ribs are lightly charred and heated through and really sticky

from the sauce.

• Serves 4 – 8

Edith Jakobs is owner of Opulence Catering and Gourmet Food Shop located in both Toronto and Muskoka www.opulenceevents.com