Porter-Braised Pulled Pork Sliders #LitHappens

This was inspired by reading the July Lit Happens online book group. Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm had us reading Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books: When Banned Books Shake Up a Small Georgia Town by Kirsten Miller.

On the Page

I had never heard of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books: When Banned Books Shake Up a Small Georgia Town by Kirsten Miller before Wendy picked it for this month. So, I had no idea what this was about. It ended up being a thought-provoking satire that is timely in this administration. But it is admittedly left-leaning and paints stereotypes with very broad strokes. Think Nazis in the basement and teenage sex offenders. I think it you lean one way, you can find humor in the satire; but I can also see it might be offensive to some readers.

The setting: the small town of Troy, Georgia where high school arch enemies Beverly Underwood and Lula Dean were born and raised. At the center of the story is Lula Dean's little lending library. Lula Dean has waged war on the reading lists in classrooms and shelves in libraries, pulling banned books off of the shelves for being "pornographic" or otherwise objectionable; then she places innocuous reads in her library. But, unbeknowst to her, Beverly's daughter Lindsay swaps out the books, replacing titles with the banned books and rewrapping them in the approved books' dustcovers. One by one, the diverse group of readers, including the local postman, the prom queen, a former District Attorney, and more folks borrow the books and find their lives changed and improved.

On the Plate

There was plenty of food on the pages in addition to the drama and comedy between all the residents.

“We buy people’s love with pie.”

“Then you’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me.”

The girl took a bite and closed her eyes as she savored the strawberry rhubarb. “This is great. I’m so glad Mama’s not baking the cake for your birthday."

"The door to Mara Ocumma’s office swung open just as she turned a page of the latest Stephen King novel and took a giant bite of her roast beef sandwich with homegrown horseradish and wild greens."

"The doctor added that to the long list of things he’d experienced in Georgia that he’d never expected. He’d been shocked by just how different a homegrown peach could taste. Delighted by the old lady who paid him in produce and insisted on making him his first tomato and mayonnaise sandwich. After that, he’d eaten one every day."

"He’d been touched by how thoughtful people could be, inviting him to their homes, churches, and cookouts—and introducing him to their local cuisine, one remarkable dish at a time. Brunswick stew—always with peas—hoecakes, succotash, and an astounding amount of fried chicken."

But what sent me to the kitchen was this passage...

There were four kinds of potato salad, a mountain of fried chicken, platters of pulled pork, heaps of hush puppies, and all the other delicacies of the region, along with homemade modak courtesy of Dr. Hank Chokshi.

Platters of pulled pork sound delicious!

Ingredients

• 2-3 pound pork loin roast

• 10 cloves of garlic, peeled

• 2 Tablespoons sea salt

• 2 Tablespoons organic coconut sugar

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 2 teaspoons ground coffee

• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• 1 bottle beer (I used a local brewery's porter)

• 1 cup organic chicken broth

• Also needed for serving: slider buns and slaw

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using a sharp knife, pierce the roast, making ten 2" holes evenly spaced throughout the meat. Push a peeled clove of garlic into each hole until the garlic is no longer visible.

Mix the salt, coconut sugar, black pepper, smoked paprika, coffee, and chili powder together in a small bowl. Rub the spices over the surface of the pork.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil until it's hot but not smoking. Sear the pork on all sides, about 2 minutes on each side.

Move the meat to an oven-proof baking dish. In a medium saucepan, bring the beer and chicken broth to a simmer. Pour the liquid over the meat. Cover and place in the oven. Turn the meat every 30 to 45 minutes. If the liquid evaporates, add extra broth or hot water. Cook until the meat is tender and falling apart, approximately 3 to 4 hours.

Once it's cooked, pull it apart into shreds. I like to use two forks. Stir in some of the cooking liquid to keep it moist and juicy.

To serve, spoon some of the meat into a roll. Top with slaw and dinner is served!

In addition to sharing this with our #LitHappens group, I am adding it to the July #FoodieReads link up.