For those of you that follow along with the daily ins and outs of the Deerslayer household, you have recently discovered that we have become the proud owners of a plethora of wild pork. Deerslayer slew 6 wild pigs a couple of weeks ago. Two went to his brother and the other four were packaged up, labeled, and carefully placed like puzzle pieces in our freezers.
It’s ironic that right before I heard the news, I had found a pork roast from January of this year that I knew would need to be eaten.(I suppose you’d like to know that it was in the freezer.) Boy, was that providential, or what?!? I found this “cook all day” recipe in the files of The Pioneer Woman a year or so ago and have added it to my “staples” recipes. I need to say right now that the Pioneer Woman is my hero. Her recipes, lifestyle, family life, and taste in general parallel my own. Except that she has a show on Food Network, and a huge cattle ranch, and a crew of people to help her with the chores. But, other than that….
What hunters need to know about this recipe is that it works for any big hunk of wild pork that will fit into a cast iron dutch oven with a lid. I’ve used bone-in shoulder, bone-out shoulder, hams, roasts, pork butt, you name it. What I love about it is that, depending on the size of your family, this one recipe will provide several meals. Usually the first day, the meat cooks for several hours, filling the the house with delicious, savory aromas. It’s virtually impossible to keep everyone’s fingers out out of the pot, after it’s been taken out of the oven. I’ve learned to roll with it and prepare some mashed potatoes and a salad and serve it like that. Over the course of the week, the remainder of the meat will be used for pulled pork sandwiches and maybe some wild pork and green chile stew, or enchiladas with creamy poblano sauce. One big hunk o’ pork will provide the Deerslayer household with three or four meals. Yay!
Spicy Cook-All -Day Wild Pork
One big chunk of pork that will fit into your cast iron dutch oven
One large onion, quartered (If you love onion, use two)
A liberal amount of Tommy’s secret salt and pepper mix or any salt and pepper mix
3 tbsp. of brown sugar
Approx. 4 tbsp.crushed chipotle peppers, depending on how much heat you like
I always use the San Marcos brand. It’s readily available down here in South Texas. It adds a wonderful, smoky flavor to the pork and sauce.
About 1 ½ cups of Dr. Pepper
Preheat oven to 350°. Place quartered onions in the bottom of a large cast iron dutch oven (that has a lid).
Liberally season with salt and pepper mix a large “hunk o’ pork” that will fit into your dutch oven and leave room for the lid to fit on without touching the meat. Be sure to season all sides. Place meat on top of onions.
Spread brown sugar over the top of the meat.
Then smear crushed chipotle peppers over the brown sugar.
Pour Dr. Pepper around meat.
Cover with lid and place in preheated oven. Every hour, for about 4-5 hours, turn meat over in pan until meat begins to fall apart.
The meat will fill the house with an amazing aroma that will render your family members virtually unable to keep themselves from hovering around the kitchen. Let them hover. Make some mashed potatoes and a salad. Revel in the glory.
