Recipe: Caryl Smith's Barbecued Pork for Sandwiches

CARYL SMITH'S BARBECUED PORK FOR SANDWICHES

6 pounds pork shoulder, bone in, trimmed of fat, skin*
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 medium onion, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon

Rub the pork all over with the minced garlic. Place it in a large heavy stockpot, and add the tomato juice, the tomatoes and their liquid, the bay leaf, and 1/4 cup of the vinegar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Cover and cook, turning the meat occasionally, until it is very tender and beginning to fall apart, about 3 hours.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup vinegar and all other ingredients to the pork, stirring them into the juices. Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the pork shreds easily and has absorbed most of the liquid, another 3 hours. Stir and turn the pork every hour so it cooks evenly in the juices and doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove and discard the bone when the meat easily falls off it. Stir frequently during the last 30 minutes to break up any large pieces and to prevent sticking.

Serve the pork immediately; or refrigerate it overnight, remove any excess fat, reheat, and serve.

*You can use either pork shoulder or pork butt for this recipe. Be sure to leave the bone in because it deepens the flavor; it's easy to remove when the meat is cooked.

Notes: The pork cooks for hours in an aromatic tomato sauce lightly spiked with vinegar and lemon, until it literally shreds itself. All that's left to do is to scoop it over fresh hamburger buns or thick slabs of bread, arm yourself with a stack of napkins, and eat away.

If you make the barbecued pork a day ahead, you can refrigerate it and then easily skim off the solidified fat before reheating and serving it. If the pork is well trimmed to begin with, there isn't much fat to skim at the end.

Servings: 10-12
Source: Farmhouse Cookbook by Susan Herrmann Loomis