IF you have never had 'pulled pork' you have missed out. The long slow method of cooking required to make the meat soft enough to be pulled apart makes pork tender, juicy and incredibly flavoursome.

Pulled pork has its origins in the deep south of the United States in places like North Carolina and Tennessee were early settlers brought pigs with them. They were the only animals that survived the weather conditions as cattle perished and hence the the only variety of meat that was available for the settlers. Eventually the pulled pork cooking was invented. Slow cooking was recognised as a way of cooking the cheaper or tougher cuts of meat. Pulled pork is usually made from the shoulder and although the exact recipe varies from area to area all involve marinating the meat before it is cooked, and authentically it is cooked over a barbecue to give it a smoky flavour, although it can be cooked in a slow oven for hours on end.

The traditional American way to serve your pulled pork is with a smoky barbecue sauce in a bread roll or with rice.

People are not sure how barbecue sauce came to life but they have found some traces of evidence that in the fifteenth century Christopher Columbus brought back an ancient sauce used for cooking alpaca (small llama meat) back from 'hispaniola'. The art of barbecuing was introduced to the Europeans by the native tribes of South America, the barbecue sauce started to involve over the last 200 years.

The four basic types of barbecue sauce was originated in South Carolina and is still used today in America.

These are mustard, vinegar and pepper, light tomato and heavy tomato.

INGREDIENTS

6-8 people

2kg pork shoulder

2 onions

for the marinade rub

50g brown sugar

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

mix all the ingredients in a small bowl

rub the mixture over the pork shoulder

wrap the pork in cling film put in fridge for several hours or overnight

Smoky Barbecue Sauce

120g tomato ketchup

2 tbsp dark brown soft sugar

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp cider vinegar

1- hot sauce such as Tabasco

1 clove of garlic minced

¼ tsp mustard powder

¼ tsp salt

Add all the ingredients to a small sauce pan bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

METHOD

1. Place the pork in a large roasting tin on a bed of onion halves temperature 120c fan/240f/gas 4. for 6-7 hours. Remove the pork from the roasting tin, scape the tin and add half a cup of water to loosen the bits and cook for 5 minutes add the barbecue sauce.

2. Shred the meat with two forks toss in the barbecue sauce until it is coated to your liking.

Serve with steamed basmati rice or on hamburger buns, brioche buns, with coleslaw.