The Most Delicious Pulled Pork

I could have titled this post 'Spicy Pulled Pork,' or 'Pulled Pork in a Spicy Dark Beer Sauce,' or 'Pulled Pork Tacos,' but none of them were as fitting at 'The Most Delicious Pulled Pork.'

Seriously, I will never make pulled pork any other way again.  This is my recipe, forever and ever until the end of time. 

I've made pulled pork several times before, and I've loved them all. But, this time I tried to get creative by creating a darker sauce, a bit more spice, and the addition of a Pasilla pepper.  And that, my friends, it what threw the flavor over the edge.  Slight smokey and medium heat, the Pasilla pepper did something very special to this pork and I will forever be grateful.  Now, if you don't have access to a Pasilla pepper, which you probably don't unless you live in Texas, you can substitute for an Ancho chile.  Both a Pasilla pepper and Ancho chile are dried versions of a poblano-type pepper.  And that's all the education I'm going to give you on this topic, because it's all I know.

Do yourselves a favor, and MAKE THIS FOR YOUR FAVORITE PERSON THIS WEEKEND.

Recipe

• 3 lb boneless pork shoulder
• 1 Pasilla pepper or Ancho chile, ground/finely chopped in a food processor
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons chile powder 
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (I used a food processor)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 can Mexican beer (I used Tecate)
• 1-3 cups Beef broth

Preheat the oven to 300.  Mix together the chopped up dried Pasilla or Ancho pepper (I used a little over a tablespoon of the coarsely ground pepper), cocoa powder, brown sugar, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and chile powder.  Cut the pork shoulder into about 4 large chunks, and rub all over with the seasoning (reserve all the extra seasoning that doesn't 'stick').  Heat a large dutch oven (or oven proof covered pot) over medium high heat, with plenty of olive oil.  Sear all sides of the pork until browned, working in shifts if you need to. Reduce the heat to low and transfer pork to a bowl. Add the onion, and cook for several minutes. Add the pork back in (and any remaining seasoning that fell off), and add the beer (use GF beer if cooking gluten free).  Pour in enough beef broth to pretty much cover the pork (you can use half broth and half water here to cut down on the salt content).  Bring to a boil for a few minutes, then cover the pot and transfer to the oven.  Cook for about 4.5 hours, remove, and shred!! To reduce the sauce a bit, you can place it on the stove top and bring to a low boil for 15-20 minutes (if you want a thicker sauce to pour over the meat). Serve on tacos with avocado, corn salsa, cheese, sour cream, and thank your lucky stars that you're not a vegetarian.