BBQ Pulled Pork Wraps (without the nasties)

Suffice to say, I am a big fan of pulled pork. The kind of pulled pork that has been tossed through rich tomato sauce, and spiced with paprika and ground cumin. In the past, when searching out a recipe for this unparalleled deliciously tender cut of meat, I’ve raided blogs for tips and tricks with no luck. Almost all recipes I’ve found have been studded with hints (or blasts!) of refined sugar. Not something I want to feed my family often.
So, for this particular meal I have taken the skeleton from a recipe of a great chef – Al Brown – and made changes to recreate a recipe for an easy BBQ Pulled Pork that is not only delicious, but is also nourishing.

Because the succulent morsel can be cooked in a slow cooker, and the rich tomato based sauce can simmer away with little surveillance, I choose to make this on a Sunday morning and let it cook away over the afternoon while I potter around the house. With little hassle, at the end of the day I’ve wound up with a week’s worth of prepared lunches for my family.

All you busy mum’s and career people out there – take note! This is an easy way to ensure you have protein-packed lunches. Just add a salad, a gulp of olive oil for your fat intake, and you’re good to go!

The great thing about this recipe is that you will have left over BBQ Tomato sauce. I keep mine in the fridge and use it as a chutney for cheese or a marinade for meat. I also use it as a substitute for any recipe that calls for tomato sauce or sweet chilli sauce.

BBQ Pulled Pork Lettuce Wraps

This recipe makes enough pulled pork for a dinner of 10 people, or a family of 5 with left-overs for lunch.

You'll need:

Pork
1.5kg skinless pork shoulder
2 cups beef or chicken stock
2 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp cumin
salt and pepper


BBQ Tomato Sauce
gulp of olive oil
1 onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, diced

pinch chilli flakes
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
½ cup beef stock
1 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
2 tins whole peeled tomatoes, we used cans with no added sugar
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp soy sauce, gluten free


For the wraps
ice berg lettuce, pulled a part in to leaves
avocado, diced
¼ red onion, diced
spring onions, diced
alfalfa
radish, diced

To make:

 

For the pork

1. Rub the pork with the cumin, paprika, and salt and pepper.
2. Place in the bottom of a slow cooker and pour over the stock.
3. Turn the slow cooker on low and allow to cook for 6 – 8 hours.
4. Once the pork is cooked, when it can be easily pulled a part, remove the pork from the slow cooker and place in a large bowl. Proceed to shred the pork by placing two forks into the meat then pulling the forks away from each other.
5. Add one cup of BBQ Tomato sauce to the pork and mix well until fully incorporated. Set aside.

For the sauce

1. In a saucepan over medium heat place the olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cover and sweat for 10 minutes.
2. Add chilli flakes, cumin seeds, and paprika. Stir and cover for 5 minutes.
3. Add the beef stock, cider vinegar, and honey. Stir and simmer uncovered for a further 5 – 7 minutes. Allow to reduce by one third.
4. Add all other sauce ingredients and bring to the boil.
5. Once boiling, turn the heat down, and allow to simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to one hour.
6. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

For the wraps

1. To make the avocado salsa, mix together the spring onion, avocado, and red onion in a small bowl. Season.
2. Fill each lettuce leaf with pulled pork. Top with alfalfa, radish, and avocado salsa.
3. Serve.