Pulled Pork in the Oven

From inthekitchenwithkath.com

(Adapted from a recipe from Eating Well)

This is the original recipe; it makes 12 (3-ounce) servings. Double or triple the ingredients to serve more people.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

2 teaspoons paprika (I used hot paprika)

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

12 ounces beer, preferably lager (1½ cups)

¾ cup ketchup (I substituted ¾ cup unsweetened ketchup plus 1/3 cup maple sugar)

¾ cup cider vinegar

½ cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce

1 4 – 5 pound pork shoulder roast (I found that bone-in and boneless both worked.)

Slider buns or bread of your choice

1. Preheat the oven to 300˚.

2. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof pot over medium-low heat.

3. Add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is quite soft. This will take about 20 minutes.

4. Increase the heat to medium. Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, and cayenne. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

5. Add the beer, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, tomato paste, chipotle pepper, and the adobo sauce.

6. Bring the sauce to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer until it has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

7. Trim the visible fat from the pork while the sauce is simmering.

8. Add the pork roast to the pot of sauce, spoon the sauce over the pork, and put a cover on the pot.

(If you’re doubling or tripling the recipe and you can’t put the pork in the pot, put the pork roasts in a roasting pan. Pour the sauce over them, and cover with heavy duty foil.)

9. Put the pork in the preheated oven and bake for 1½ hours.

10. Turn the roasts over; cover and bake for 1½ more hours.

11. Remove the cover and continue to bake until it is fork-tender, or for 1 – 2 more hours.

12. Take the pork out of the pan and put it in a large bowl.

13. Let the sauce cool a bit, and then skim off some of the fat. Cook the sauce over medium heat so it can thicken and reduce a bit.

14. While the sauce is cooking, pull the pork into shreds using two forks.

15. Add some of the sauce to the pork and stir it together. You’ll probably have more sauce than you need to blend with the pork. Extra sauce can be served on the side for those who want more.

16. Serve hot on slider buns, or the bread of your choice.