Chili Pulled Pork with Cornbread

Here's a terrific recipe for a slow cooked weekend meal; tender pulled pork with the familiar flavor of a very good bowl of chili. Perfect with some plain rice or even french fries but don't forget the cornbread!

Begin by dry rubbing a 5 to 6 pound pork shoulder roast with a mixture of

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dry thyme
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 ½ tbsp kosher salt

Heat 4 tbsp oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and brown the roast on all sides. Set aside.

In a large covered roasting pan add and combine well:

3 medium sized onion chopped

4 cloves minced garlic

3-4 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp dry oregano

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme ( or one tsp dry thyme)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 cups plain tomato sauce

3 cups chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup molasses

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 bottle beer

2 tbsp chopped jalapeno peppers (optional or to taste)

Add the browned roast to the roasting pan with the other ingredients. Cover with aluminum foil then the lid of the roasting pan. Roast in a 300 degree oven for several hours ( approximately 3-4) until the meat is very tender and falling off the bone.

Remove the braising liquid to a saucepan, skim all the excess fat and reduce the liquid until it slightly thickens. At this point you can puree the sauce with an immersion blender or in a food processor to smooth it out and incorporate the cooked onions and tomatoes. Serve over the pulled pork.

Corn Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an flour a standard size loaf pan.

Sift together:

1 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 rounded tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Whisk together
2 eggs
3/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups milk

Fold in the dry ingredients. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If baking in greased muffin tins bake for only about 13-15 minutes. I like silicone baking cups for cornbread too; they bake well without drying out and are so easy to remove from the pans.