This recipe is a really easy alongside being an exceptionally tasty addition to the ever growing reel of the Gecko recipe archive. It can be done in a crock pot in the oven but I used a slow cooker. Two of my recommended cuts of pork are a shoulder or leg joint. Feel free to adapt the rub or marinade to your taste by cranking up the spice a bit or lowering it to your particular preference! I did this one Friday at work with the intention of feeding 3 of us and had so much left over I ended up supplying lunch for 8 people and getting a great reaction from all of them. I served it on wholemeal buns with pickled red onions and a garlic mayonnaise.

Smokey BBQ pork

Dry rub:

2 Tbspn cayenne pepper
2 Tbspn dried oregano
2 tbspn garlic
2 tbspn smoked paprika
1 tspn chilli powder
1 tbspn brown sugar
1 large pinch sea salt

MIX/CRUSH well (pestle is handy but not essential) and Rub evenly onto the meat and leave for around 30 minutes.

Marinade:

1/2 submerge the pork in vegetable stock
Add the rest of dry rub and mix well with 3 tablespoons of good barbeque sauce.
Add pork (with any major fat cut off. I had to butcher it to get it into the slow cooker anyway it was a rather big piece of meat as the picture shows) and cook for 12 hours on low.

Once cooked:
Drain the liquid from the slow cooker/Pot.
Rip apart with a pair of forks until completely shredded, add q further pinch of sea salt and add another drizzle of BBQ sauce and mix until evenly distributed. Leave to rest in the pot for a few minutes to absorb any remaining juices and take on the sauce nicely.

And that’s all there is to it. This one really is a personal favourite of mine as it really makes an impression considering it is left to its own devices over night, not really been meddled with. It showcases how simple good cooking can be and its comfort food at its best. I’m pretty sure it would go down a storm at a big get together for a sporting event or a family occasion for an alternative to soggy sandwiches and sausage rolls…

final thought: Go the extra mile and fit a good spoon full into a wrap with a good quality chili sauce and some sliced mixed peppers. bang on.