Serves 8
Ingredients
1.5 kgBoston butt or pork shoulder roast
Brine
2lwater
100g kosher salt
3 tbsp pink sea salt
4 tbsp granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, bruised
3 fresh thyme sprigs
3 juniper berries
2 strips of orange zest
spice rub
1½ tbspfennel seeds
½ tspblack peppercorns
5 cloves
2 tspcumin seeds
4 tsp English mustard powder
2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
5 tbsp smoked paprika
Braise
2 yellow onions, diced
1 mediumfennel, diced
2 tbsp large carrots
½heads of garlic
25g fresh thyme sprigs
500ml chicken stock
Method
Place half the water, the salts, and sugar in a deep saucepan.Bring to a boil to dissolve the salts and sugar. Add theremaining ingredients and water for the brine. Cool to roomtemperature, then add the pork. Cover and refrigerate for2–3 days.
For the spice rub, place the fennel seeds, peppercorns, cloves,and cumin seeds in a dry skillet or frying pan over low heat.Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the remainingspices and cook, stirring for another 30 seconds. Turnonto a plate to cool, then grind in a spice grinder or mortarand pestle.
Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Sprinkle thespice mixture on a large piece of waxed (greaseproof) paper.Place the pork on top of the spices and rub them into thepork. Place the pork on a wire rack over a roasting pan. Coverloosely with foil and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Soak apple wood chips in water for 15 minutes. Preheat theoven to 250°F/125°C/gas mark 1. Drain the wood chips in acolander. Place one-quarter of the wood chips in a roastingpan in the bottom third of the oven. Place the pork on therack over the second roasting pan in the middle of the oven.Smoke for 2 hours, adding an additional quarter of the woodchips every half hour.
To braise the pork place all of the ingredients in a Dutch oven(casserole dish) then nestle the pork in the vegetables. Turnthe oven temperature up to 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3. Coverand cook for 3 hours, until the pork is tender.
While the pork is still warm pull into shreds. Serve theshredded pork with the barbecue sauce.
Find out more about Thomas Keller on his .
Eating With The Chefsby Per-Anders Jörgensen(£39.95), published by Phaidon
Photography: Per-Anders Jörgensen