Recipe: Gooseberry-roasted pulled pork buns

Ingredients

1,2kg pork shoulder, skin removed
Olive oil, to drizzle
10ml (2 tsp) fennel seeds, roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar
10ml (2 tsp) coriander seeds, roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar
400g gooseberries, roughly crushed with a fork
Handful fresh sage leaves
Handful fresh thyme sprigs
1 onion, peeled and quartered
5 garlic cloves, peeled
Sea salt, to taste
125ml (½ cup) red wine
125ml (½ cup) water
6 baby rainbow carrots, shaved into ribbons using a vegetable peeler
Small handful crimson microherbs
Small handful fennel leaves, roughly chopped
250ml (1 cup) barbecue sauce
4 drops hickory liquid smoke flavouring
4 sesame buns, sliced open and toasted, to serve
Crème fraîche, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C. Place the pork in a deep roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil. Rub the spices onto the pork and place the gooseberries on and around the meat. Sprinkle the meat with the herbs and scatter the onion quarters and garlic cloves around.

2. Season the meat generously with sea salt, and pour the wine and water in to the roasting tin. Cover tightly with foil and roast in the oven, 6 hours – the meat is ready when it can easily be pulled apart with a fork.

3. While the meat cooks, toss the baby carrot ribbons with the microherbs and fennel leaves. Drizzlewith olive oil and season with salt. Set aside in the fridge until needed.

4. When the pork is ready, pull the meat using two forks. Crush the pulled pork, garlic cloves and any remaining gooseberries together, but discard the onion and any thyme stalks. Combine the pulled pork with the barbecue sauce and liquid smoke (you could add a drop at a time and taste as you go – a little goes a long way!). Taste the mixture and season with salt to taste.

5. To serve, generously spread the bases of the buns with crème fraîche. Top with a generous amount of smoky pulled pork and baby-carrot salad and serve immediately.

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