DJ BBQ's pulled pork, Mix of Rad and pineapple salsa
Now the weather may not have got the memo - but there's no getting away from it - summer is well and truly upon us! So in true British style we’re braving whatever the elements throw at us and opening the doors of our This Morning pop-up food festival!
DJ BBQ gets us started with delicious smoky pulled pork. Then if you've still got room we’ve got mouthwatering mac and cheese, a cheeky Italian and the most unusual ice cream stall you've ever seen, plus some rosé wine to wash it down with.
All the inspiration you need to mix up your meals and make this weekend delicious!!
Taken from The BBQ Book by DJBBQ
Serves:
Ingredients
1 x 3kg piece of pork shoulder, blade in, skin and most of the fat removed1 x mix of rad (see below)
For the baste
250ml fresh unsweetened apple juice75ml fresh unsweetened pineapple juice75ml cider vinegar
You also need
Soaked fruit wood chips (300g approx.)
Method
Remove the pork from the fridge to come up to room temperature. Meanwhile, set up your barbeque for the lonely island technique (see below). Cover with the lid, adjust the vents for a nice low temperature of around 115°C.
Then the barbecue is ready, mix the baste ingredients and put 125ml into a drip pan, the place inside the barbeque on the indirect side- this will keep the meat really moist (if you are using a smoker, place it in a pot next to the meat). Sprinkle a good handful of wood chips onto the hot coals, the liberally rub the pork all over with the mix of rad and place on the barbeque. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 hours or until a dark mahogany colour (you want it to look black and burnt – this is called the bark). Replenish with hot coals every 45 mins or so, sprinkling over more wood chips at the same time, for the first 3 hours. Don’t be tempted to keep checking it – the less heat you let out, the better!
When the time is up, generously brush the remaining baste all over the pork. Loosely wrap in extra-strong tin foil and cook for at least 5 more hours, or until the meat is soft and easily pulls away from the bone. The longer it cooks the better – a total of 10 hours is good but 16 hours is what I call butter – it all depends on how much time you have and how hungry you are. Replenish with hot coals every 45 mins or so. Once ready, rest the meat for 30 mins, then pull apart with tongs. Keep it simple, or serve with my grilled pineapple salsa and enjoy the toils of your hard labour.
Mix of Rad (8 tablespoons)
Taken from The BBQ Book by DJBBQ
Ingredients
2 tablespoons soft dark brown sugar1 heaped tablespoon sea salt1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper1 tablespoon ground cumin1 tablespoon ground coriander1 tablespoon onion granules1 tablespoon garlic granules½ teaspoon mustard powder½ teaspoon chilli powder½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
Method
The mix of rad is a deep, sweet, earthy rub with a bit of a kick. You can maintain that level of heat by playing with the chilli powder and chilli flakes – if you don’t like hot food, then don’t use them. If you think you can handle it, I sometimes throw in 1 teaspoon of each! Sometimes I like to add ½ a teaspoon of ground cloves too, so if you’ve got them throw them in as well.
To make this mix, simply place all the ingredients in a bowl, give it a good mix up and it’s ready to go.
Grilled pineapple salsa
Taken from The BBQ Book by DJBBQ
Serves: 6
Ingredients
1 medium pineapple250g ripe cherry tomatoes, on the vine1 fresh red chilli1 bunch of fresh coriander, leaves pickedJuice from 1 limeSea salt
Method
Set up your barbeque for the half and half technique – you want a high direct heat.
Top and tail the pineapple, then slice off the skin. You now need to create nice slabs of fleshy fruit, so chop it off in big rectangles, roughly 2cm thick, then throw away the core. Grill the pineapple slabs on both sides, until turning golden, then remove to a plate and let those slabs of rad cool right down.
Meanwhile, quarter the tomatoes, finely chop the chilli (keep the seeds in if you like the heat) and roughly chop the coriander leaves. Once cool, finely chop the grilled pineapple then mix it with the other chopped ingredients and add it to a bowl. Squeeze over the lime juice, give it all a mix and season to taste with salt. Now, bask in your awesomeness and enjoy this amazing salsa. I like to make big bowls of it to go with chilli, corn tortillas, tacos or my pulled pork.