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Recipe Detail Page
Slow-Barbecued Pork with Herbed Beans
Winter 2014
This recipe requires a little pre-planning including soaking the beans, brining the pork and barbecuing for several hours. But the incredibly tender barbecued pork and flavourful herby beans are well worth the wait.The bonus is that there’s very little labour required—just a little patience.
Serves 4 to 6
8 cups (2 L) cold water
1 cup (250 mL) kosher salt
⅓ cup (80 mL) granulated sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL) peppercorns
3 to 4 lbs (1.5 to 2 kg) pork shoulder, butt or picnic roast, preferably bone-in
2 cups (500 mL) dried navy beans
9 x 10-inch (23 x 25-cm) foil pan
3 thyme sprigs
1 sage sprig
1 rosemary sprig
3⅔ cups (900 mL) chicken or vegetable broth
½ cup (125 mL) barbecue sauce
2 tsp (10 mL) each oregano and smoked paprika
1 Place water, salt, sugar and peppercorns in a pot. Heat until salt and sugar are dissolved. Let cool completely. When cool, submerge pork. Refrigerate overnight. Place beans in a large bowl. Immerse in water. Refrigerate and soak overnight.
2 When ready to barbecue, preheat barbecue to medium, 450°F (230°C).
3 Drain pork and pat dry with paper towels.Drain beans. Place in foil pan. Add thyme, sage and rosemary to beans. Seal pan with a piece of foil.
4 Place pork on one side of grill. Turn off or reduce heat to low on pork side of grill. Slightly loosen foil from pan with beans. Place beans on other side of grill. Reduce heat to medium. Pour broth into beans. Carefully seal with foil. Barbecue beans until very tender and most of liquid is absorbed but mixture is still loose, about 3 hours. Barbecue pork until very tender when pulled apart with a couple of forks and is loose around bone. This will take 4 to 6 hours. Flip pork halfway through grilling. In a small bowl, stir barbecue sauce with oregano and paprika.
5 When pork is very tender, brush both sides with barbecue sauce mixture. Grill until nicely glazed, 5 to 10 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board. Loosely cover with foil. Let stand for at least 15 minutes. Sprinkle beans with more fresh herbs, if you like. Shred pork, if you like, and serve alongside beans.
Serves 4 to 6
