The journey to the perfect pulled pork

So although 'spring' is in the air, there's still a heck of a lot of white stuff on the ground. To chase away the cabin fever that has been building over that past few months, I'm preparing to wake up our taste buds and set them free. I can think of no better way than a slow roasted pork picnic lovingly teased into savoury pulled pork. I'm adding a little 'south' to my 'north'.

I started prepping and cooking last night. I washed the bone-dust off the picnic and slow roasted this little piece of heaven at 225*F for 4.5 hours. Before roasting, I liberally applied a maple sugar dry rub. The kitchen smelled fantastic!

The picnic is from the lower part of the front shorter of a tasty pig. This cut is very flavourful, tender and has a high concentration of fat. Remember fat=flavour. When smoked, this particular cut develops a very 'ham' like flavour and consistency. (Ham is from the hind legs of tasty pigs) I have it on good authority that the term picnic was given this cut as it was considered a good cut for casual dining, (like a picnic) whereas the proper ham was more appropriate for formal dining like Easter or Thanksgiving.

So I'm letting the cooked picnic rest for the day and tonight I will transform it into a tasty pulled pork meal inspired by Memphis Blues BBQ House in Kelowna, BC www.memphisbluesbbq.com . The perfect pairing I have in mind is an artisanal cider made in Ontario called Waupoos www.countrycider.com. I can't wait for dinner!