She encourages us to buy local, keeping aware of what smaller producers are offering in our neighbourhoods. 

Discover the seasons wherever you live and keep home cooking simple, local, joyful and unapologetically personal.

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The best American southern style pulled pork is made in a professional smoker, but this tender and sticky recipe is adapted so that anyone can make it in a regular oven (using a good quality cast-iron pot) at home. 

I love my pulled pork packed with saucy goodness, ready to fill soft burger buns or freshly toasted tortillas topped with some slaw and salsa. It is intended to be deliciously messy, so get ready to eat with your hands and lick your fingers.

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Oven-braised BBQ pulled pork tortillas

Serves at least 6

Ingredients

BBQ rub

30 ml (2 tablespoons) soft brown sugar
15 ml (1 tablespoon) salt
15 ml (1 tablespoon) smoked paprika
5 ml (1 teaspoon) ground cumin
2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) ground black pepper

Pork & BBQ sauce (recipe can easily be doubled)

2 kg boneless pork shoulder, cut into 5–6 large chunks
45 ml (3 tablespoons) olive oil
1 bottle lager beer (or apple cider)
125 ml (1/2 cup) tomato sauce or ketchup
45 ml (3 tablespoons) apple cider vinegar
45 ml (3 tablespoons) Dijon mustard
10 ml (2 teaspoons) brown sugar
15 ml (1 tablespoon) Worcestershire sauce
15 ml (1 tablespoon) soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
Salt and pepper, to taste

To serve

8–12 toasted flour or corn tortillas
Sour cream (or mayonnaise)
Tomato salsa and/or cabbage slaw
Sliced red onion
Fresh coriander

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Method

For the rub, mix all the ingredients together in a wide mixing bowl. Now add the pork chunks and toss to coat all over, rubbing the mixture into the meat. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge, if you have the time, or continue straight on.

Preheat the oven to 150 °C. In a large cast-iron pot (I use a 31 cm oval Le Creuset casserole for the doubled recipe) over medium-high heat, heat the oil. 

Working in batches, add the rubbed pork and sear on all sides (remember there’s sugar in the spice mix, so it will tend to burn quickly – watch carefully). 

Place all the meat back in the pot, add the beer and cover with a lid. Transfer to the preheated oven and cook for 3 hours, then remove the lid and cook for another hour, or until the pork is very tender and pulls apart easily. 

Remove from the oven, transfer the meat to a clean bowl and let it rest while you prepare the sauce in the used pot with drippings.

To make the BBQ sauce, add the tomato sauce or ketchup, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and garlic to the pot with the remaining drippings and stir well. 

Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes over medium heat, scraping the bottom and sides to incorporate all the dark roasted bits, then taste and season with salt and pepper. 

Now shred the rested pork using two forks. Toss the shredded meat with about half the barbecue sauce (or more if you want). 

Serve warm with freshly toasted tortillas, sour cream or mayonnaise, salsa and/or cabbage slaw, red onion, coriander and some extra BBQ sauce on the side.

NOTE: I always double the recipe for the rub, meat and sauce, because pulled pork freezes exceptionally well and is a fabulous quick-fix filler for rolls, sandwiches etc. DM/ ML

Simply Seasonal: Recipes Inspired by Nature by Ilse van der Merwe is published by Penguin Random House SA (R400). Visit The Reading List for South African book news – including recipes! – daily.