Nigella introduces us to this recipe with a sweet headnote about her amusement at eating the butt of the pig, which actually relates to the shoulder and not the rear end. Pork Shoulder is a good value joint (usually around a fiver) and I was looking for a faff free recipe that did not require separates rubs and sauces and marinades. This recipe did not disappoint on the faff-free front.
A simple rub made from store cupboard staples, I did have to buy Sherry vinegar – but this is now stocked in most supermarkets own-brand range so hardly a big ask but any mild vinegar would suffice. The rubbed pork shoulder gets put into a scorching oven for ten minutes before being turned right down for its 12-18 hour hibernation. I think my Barbecuey Butt stayed in for about 14 hours in total. Once out, I took the rind of fat off, scraped off the gooey fat and popped it back in a 180 Fan oven for a final crisp into some superior crackling. The meat shredded like a dream with the gentlest of forking. The fatty, barbecuey meat juices were then poured back over the meat to give it an extra hit of flavour.
Quick-Quick… slowwwwwww.
The rub itself was perfectly balance for all its simplicity – sweetness from brown sugar; heat from Dijon mustard; spicy depth from the Chinese 5-Spice and the sharpness of that sherry vinegar. I also added a heaped teaspoon of smoked paprika because smoked paprika is life. Nigella follows her recipe with a sweet and sour coleslaw which sounds delicious, but I normally go for a classic slaw and cheese, additional BBQ sauce optional. To bulk out the pork fest, I roast new potatoes and make a big, fresh green salad.
The first time I made this recipe I actually went hunting for brioche rolls, but these discounted Sheldon’s Oven Bottom muffins appeared in all their yellow-stickered glory with their unusual name. They’re more like a flat, dense bap than a typical English muffin but they were the perfect foil for pork n’slaw. Not a single muffin fell apart under the weight of its contents..
The only drawback to this recipe was that I had no leftovers. I even had to have force myself to have second even though I was uncomfortably full for fear of missing out. The minimum 12 hour cooking time (up to a marathon 18 hours) may sound daunting, but it really is a delicious, relatively faff-free recipe. It reminds me of some of the recipes in Nigella Express.
I have now cooked this recipe so so many times. I’ve started to cook two joints a time to get more efficiency out of the oven. The second joint and any leftovers can be squirrelled away in the freezer for a rainy day defrost. If you are a meat-eater, I really cannot recommend this recipe enough. It features in Simply Nigella (along with these other recipes). The Guardian have also published the recipe in a piece about laid-back Christmas cooking.
