Broek Pork Acres’ Pulled Pork

This recipe for Broek Pork Acres’ Pulled Pork comes from my friend Joanne Vanden Broek. Joanne and her husband Allan are Food Artisans of Alberta. I first met them in 2011 when I brought a group of city folk to their farm to learn how much TLC the Vanden Broek’s and their nine children put into growing their pasture-raised Berkshire hogs.

Since 2005, the Vanden Broek’s hogs are strictly pasture-raised. The family also raise the feed for their animals and process them in their provincially inspected butcher shop. Everyone on our visit was keen to taste the difference. So, Joanne made this pulled pork and I brought all the fixings for an al fresco picnic lunch in the family’s backyard.

Trust a mother of 9 children to have a great recipe like this up her sleeve. Of course, she usually uses a 12 lb pork shoulder when cooking for her family. Read on for the halved version. In the next post, I’ll share a fab coleslaw to go with it. Stay tuned.

Broek Pork Acres’ Pulled Pork

Time: 8 – 10 hours

Yield: 8 – 10 servings

Equipment: Bowl, measuring spoons, slow cooker or Instant Pot, forks.

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• 4-5 lb pork shoulder or rump roast
• 4 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 Tablespoons sweet paprika
• 3 Tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Tablespoons Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder or 1 teaspoon fresh garlic paste
• 2 teaspoons onion powder or 1 small chopped shallot
• 2 teaspoons celery seed
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or 1 Tablespoon Gochujang or other chili paste

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1. Rinse and dry the roast and place it in the bowl of a slow cooker (I prefer to cook meat in an earthenware vessel over the Instant Pot’s metal).
2. Combine the sugar, paprika, freshly ground black pepper, Kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed and cayenne pepper in a bowl and then rub all over the surface of the meat.
3. Turn on HIGH setting and leave for 8 hours, turning once at the halfway mark.
4. Use 2 forks to pull the tender meat apart and let it soak up the juices that have accumulated.
5. Enjoy on fresh buns with your favourite coleslaw recipe. Cold beer also goes awfully well with this meal.

NOTE: you can easily double this recipe. You’ll just need either a bigger slow cooker or two.