Pulled Pork Croquettes
Another recipe from our little city break to Bristol a few years back. We went for a walk along the river and stumbled across a wonderful pub. We'd already eaten, so I just fancied a snack with my Guiness 🙂 I saw their pork croquettes on the menu with apple sauce, and just had to try them. Bristol definately lived up to been a foodie destination!
For the Pulled Pork
1kg free-range boned pork shoulder
3 teaspoons Harrisa Paste
1 red chilli finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
30g coconut sugar
2 tbsp Black Treacle
5cm fresh ginger finely chopped
1tbsp Cumin Seeds
4 Thyme Springs
4 tbsp Rapeseed Oil
1 bottle of punk IPA (330ml)
Method
- With a Stanley knife, score the skin of the pork every 5mm. Pat the pork dry and pop it in a baking tin
- Put the harissa paste, chilli, garlic, sugar and treacle into a blender. Add 3 tbsp of tap water and whizz together. Tip into a bowl, add the ginger, cumin seeds, thyme and rapeseed oil. Tip the marinate over the pork, cover with clingfilm and leave to marinate for 2 hours.
- Pre-heat your oven to 220C (200C Fan). Make sure your pork is skin side up and marinate with salt and pepper, then cook for 30 minutes. Now turn the oven down to 110C (90C Fan), add the pale ale, and cover with foil and return it to the oven. Now leave the pork to cook slowly for about 10 hours, making sure you spoon over the marinade and juices every now and then.
- For the final 30 minutes, remove the foil and turn the temperature back up to 220C (200C Fan). Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for at least 20 mins. Once rested, use 2 forks to pull the meat apart and put on a plate and leave to chill.
For the Breadcrumb mix
75g Plain Flour
2 large Eggs, beaten
100g Panko Breadcrumbs
1-2 litres vegetable oil, for deep frying
Method
- Put the plain flour, eggs, and panic breadcrumbs into 3 individual bowls
- Divide the shredded pork into lengths of about 4cm. If the pork is struggling to keep together, you can chill the pork to help it stick.
- Now dip the pork into the flour, into the egg, then roll into the breadcrumbs. Place onto a parchment lined oven tray. Repeat this process with the rest of the pork. If the breadcrumbs are struggling to stick, then re-dip the croquette into the egg, then back into the breadcrumbs. Chill until needed.
- To fry your croquettes, use a deep fat fryer and heat the vegetable oil to 180C. Always cook in small batches for about 2-3 minutes, until your croquettes are golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, lift the croquettes out of the fryer and place on kitchen towel to drain. Transfer onto a plate, and cover with foil to keep warm until your ready to serve.
Tip- The croquettes can always be made up to 24hrs in advance!
For the Apple Sauce
2 Granny Smith Apples
1 Lemon
2 tbsp Caster Sugar
Method
- Peel and dice the apples
- Pop into a small pan, with the juice of half a lemon, the caster sugar and 2 tbsp water
- Heat gently until the apples are really soft, then squash with the back of a spoon. Add a little salt and serve!
Here's the imaegs of the food I took in the pub.... Not sure how many Guinness's down I was at this point!
