We are big pulled pork eaters in our house. I make mine in the oven most of the time (though I have tried the slow cooker as well) and have a standard recipe I have used in the past that makes a nice, spicy pulled pork with a great barbecue sauce, but sometimes I like to try things a little different to spice things up a bit. I have a couple of recipes for pork that I had been holding onto and when I saw pork shoulder on sale the other day I decided to pick it up and give one a try. I chose to use this recipe, which came from White on Rice Couple, for an Asian oven roasted pulled pork. It was easy to make, used some great spices and created a great tasting meal for us.

Asian Oven Roasted Pulled Pork

4-5 pound pork butt or pork shoulder

1 onion, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

5-6 garlic cloves, minced

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup fish sauce or soy sauce

2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat the oil until it is shimmering. Add the onion and the garlic and cook until the onions are soft and fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, ginger, fish sauce or soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, brown mustard, brown sugar and black pepper. Gently stir the sauce and simmer the sauce on low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.

Heat a large cast iron pan or deep ovenproof skillet on medium-high heat. Lightly coat the pork butt or pork shoulder with olive oil and season the pork on all sides with salt and pepper. Sear each side of the pork in the skillet until the pork has browned all over, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the tomato sauce mixture over the pork to coat it completely. Cover the pork with aluminum foil. Bake the pork for about 3 to 4 hours or until the pork is tender and easily shreds when a fork is inserted into the meat.

Allow the pork to rest on a  cutting board for about 15 minutes before shredding the entire piece of pork. Keep aluminum foil over the pork to keep it warm until you are ready to serve it.

You get some tremendous flavors from the pork thanks to the fish sauce, ginger and chili sauce in this one and the mustard and brown sugar set in with their own sweetness and spiciness as well. I used a boneless pork butt for my meal but I think you could use either one if you prefer the flavoring you get with the bone in. I would recommend using fish sauce over soy sauce if you have it since it adds a completely different type of flavor, but soy sauce will work well if that is what you have around.Also, I did place the pork under the broiler for a couple of minutes to crisp up the outside just a little bit before I shredded it to add some extra crunch. This dish is perfect on rolls for pulled pork sandwiches, or to serve for tacos or quesadillas or even just by itself with some rice, which is what I did with it when we first made it and then used leftovers for tacos. It’s a nice twist if you want something a little different from the usual pulled pork.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!