Roast

Memphis Style Pulled Pork

/ Yusen Ye / Leave a comment

I spent a lot of time living in Texas and Tennessee when I was growing up, and smoked meat was a big part of my daily meals. After I moved, how to recreate that perfect smoked, tender, juicy meat with an indoor oven became my obsession. This recipe is gonna take a lot of time, so if you want to make this, do it a day(24h) ahead of the time.

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You need (Pulled Pork):

  • 3 lb pork shoulder roast(or called butt)
  • 2 tbsp sweet paprika
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 20 g apple wood chips

How to make this:

  1. Mix the sweet paprika, ground black pepper, dark brown sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, dry mustard, ground cumin in a bowl, this will be the dry rub for the meat
  2. Rub the pork shoulder/butt with olive oil, then generously rub it with the dry rub, place it inside a container and let it marinate for 8-12 hours
  3. Preheat the oven to 100C or 210F degrees
  4. Roughly chop the onion, place them on a bottom of a dutch oven or a roasting tray, place the marinated meat in the pan or tray, then burn 1/2 of the applewood chip little bit with a lighter or torch and place them an oven-proof baking dish and place it next to the meat
  5. Place the meat in the oven without the lid for 8 hours first
  6. Lightly burn the other half of the apple wood, replace them with the wood in there, then close the lid and cook for another 4 hours
  7. Take it out and let the meat rest for 20 min, there is a bone in the center of this cut, and you should be able to pull it out with very little force
  8. Pull the meat apart, mix it with any BBQ sauce you like, serve it on a bun with some cole slaw to make a great pulled pork sandwich, or just serve it with some cornbread
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Piri Piri Chicken

/ Yusen Ye / Leave a comment

As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to start roasting whole birds again, and one of the best roast chicken dishes is the “Frango Piri Piri” or the Piri Piri Chicken, a Portuguese dish with a southwestern Africa root (that’s where the Piri Piri or Bird’s Eye Chili pepper is from). This dish is sweet and spicy, and super easy to make, it’s traditionally grilled, but you can bake it in an oven, or sear it on a pan.

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You need:

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 poblano pepper
  • 2 red chili peppers (Piri Piri or Bird’s Eye Chili pepper would be ideal)
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 whole chicken or 3 lb chicken parts
  • 3 Yukon gold potato

How to make this:

  1. Roughly chop the garlic, shallot, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, red chili peppers and cilantro, then blend them in a food processor or blender with the smoked paprika, dried oregano, olive oil, and salt. You can use the marinade now, but for a proper Piri Piri sauce,  let the sauce sit in a sealed container for 5 to 7 days before use
  2. Mix the juice of one lemon and the red wine vinegar into the sauce, save 1/4 of the sauce for later, rub the rest on the chicken and let it marinate for at least 6 hours
  3. Slice the onion into 1/2 cm or 1/5 inch slices, toss them in some olive oil, salt, and pepper, then place them on the bottom of a baking tray or a cast iron pan, and place the marinated chicken on top
  4. If the Chicken is already cut into piece, you can grill it on hot grill for 5 min each, a whole chicken takes about 13 min per sides
  5. If you use an oven, heat to 220 C or 425 F degrees, let the chicken bake for 30 min, brush a layer of sauce, then bake for another 30 min or until the meat reaches 75 C or 165 F. Broil the chicken for 2 min at the end
  6. Sever it with some chopped fresh herbs