Culture

This pulled pork with a naughty black pepper crust is so tender it should be illegal. Juniper berries, which are typically used to flavour gin, are lovingly bashed to release their fragrant pepperiness and are combined with tropical, flirty pineapple. Hours upon hours of cooking time gently allow the fat in the pork to break down while all the flavours intermingle. The resulting pork is wickedly soft, with the cooking liquid serving as the baddest gravy out. Pack it inside soft ciabatta buns with crunchy lettuce and grated carrot to contrast its delectable texture and let the juices dribble down your hands as you wolf it down.

Ingredients

1.5-2kg pork shoulder
Loads of ground black pepper
4 tsp salt
10 juniper berries, ground
1 can pineapple chunks in juice (not syrup)
2 tsp cumin (optional)
Soft ciabatta buns, iceberg lettuce and grated carrot, to serve.

Method

1.Rinse the pork, then slap it down on a large plate. Pat it dry with a paper towel if possible.

2. Coat the pork in pepper all over until it is completely black. Shake over the salt and press into the pork.

3. Place the pork in a slow cooker, or large pot with a tight fitting lid. Add the juniper berries, pineapple juice and chunks, and cumin. Swirl everything together. Set to high initially – for an hour if using a slow cooker, or 15 minutes on the stovetop. After this, set to low and leave for at least 7 hours with the lid on.

4. Remove the pork from the slow cooker – some of it will have broken apart but you may well have some very large pieces intact.

5. Place the cooking liquid in a small pot and boil until reduced by half. This should take about 10 minutes. Pour this lip-smacking, runny gravy over the pork to keep it moist.

6. To serve, grab a chunk of the meat and shred it with two forks, or even your hands, you wild thing. Place it in a warmed, split ciabatta bun with a spoonful of the juice, a handful of iceberg lettuce and some grated carrot. Devour. Repeat.