Chef Daren Nesbit – Bourbon House Seafood and Oyster Bar
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
3/4 cup Creole seasoning
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 pork picnic shoulder, 5 to 6 pounds*
2 bottles Abita Amber
2 white onions, chopped (about 4 cups)
2 carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup minced garlic
1 cup tomato paste
2 cups Creole mustard
1 cup Steen’s 100% Pure Cane syrup
1 cup Steen’s Cane Vinegar
1/2 cup Tabasco® Chipotle Pepper Sauce
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 quart chicken or pork stock
*Pork Picnic Shoulder is also known as pork arm picnic, pork picnic roast, fresh pork picnic, pork picnic shoulder roast or fresh pork picnic ham. Southerners like to use this fatty, bony cut to make barbecued pulled pork. It’s also available boneless. This is also a good, economical cut to get if you want to make ground pork, kabobs, or stir-fry strips. Substitutes: Boston butt (similar, but with a slightly different flavor)
Directions
Combine the Creole seasoning and brown sugar in a bowl and mix to blend. Coat the shoulder with the mixture and wrap securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Unwrap the shoulder and sear it evenly on all sides in a large roasting pan over high heat. Transfer the shoulder to a large roasting pan and bake uncovered until the meat is falling off the bone, 5 to 6 hours. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and transfer the shoulder to a platter and set aside to cool.
Put the roasting pan on two burners on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and garlic to the drippings in the roasting pan. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the beer and stir to loosen bits in the bottom of the pan.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, about 1 hour.
Remove the pork from the bone, shred and add to the mixture in the pot. Cook for an additional 30 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns or po’boy loaf with coleslaw.
