Pomegranate pulled pork
I love free stuff and pomegranate juice (the 100% pomegranate juice not the ohh there is a couple of drops of pomegranate juice but the rest is just fillers and artificial crap “juice”). It was a natural reaction that when I arrived home to see a case of pomegranate juice on my front porch to start doing my happy dance. Unfortunately my neighbors do not know this and I understand why they gave me weird looks.
One of my favorite things to do with POM juice is just a simple drink consisting of squirt of simple syrup (optional), 3/4 pineapple juice, 1/4 pomegranate juice poured over top of the pineapple juice, and topped with mint leaves. The beautiful part is the pomegranate juice bleeds into the pineapple juice making for a cool presentation.
I did not want to blow my mini POM bottle army on a single drink and I started thinking of all the things that I could do with them. With spring slowly coming into full swing I instantly start thinking of BBQ sauce and the smoker going. However, the weather has not been fully cooperating so instead of making a POM BBQ sauce I chose to braise a pork shoulder in POM juice.
Pomegranate juice is tart and to offset that tartness I added a chipotle pepper and some brown sugar. The heat from the chipotle was not present in the final dish but definitely helped take some of the edge off. However, after I pulled the pork shoulder out I did add in a squirt of honey because the sauce was still a little to tart for my liking.
For this recipe you will need:
- 2.5 lb pork shoulder
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 cloves of garlic finely diced
- Thumb size piece of ginger finely diced
- 8 ounces of POM
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 dried chipotle pepper ground or 1 chipotle in adobo
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Canola oil
Salt and pepper the pork shoulder. In your favorite Dutch oven over medium-high add a squirt of oil and the pork shoulder. Brown the pork shoulder on all sides (about 5 minutes a side). Remove the pork shoulder and set aside. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and pepper and saute till softened (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and add in the POM juice, bay leaf, chipotle, and brown sugar. Stir to combine everything and add the pork shoulder back into the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover, and let it cook for a couple hours or until the pork is easy to shred.
Remove the pork shoulder from the pot and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Taste the sauce and if it still tastes tart add some more sugar or a squirt of honey to help balance it out.
Shred the pork shoulder and serve with the sauce drizzled over top.
Not a huge pork eater, but with the chipotle and POM juice added, I could be coaxed into changing my mind
Mmmm the mixing of ginger is good I bet. I just love reducing sauces down to their very best taste.
Wow, that looks scrumptious! I love pulled pork and pomegranate anything, so looks like a great combination!
amazing recipe! I have some POM as well so I’ll have to try this out. I’m imaging some great flavors here.
Oh that pork looks delicious. I like the idea of mixing POM with pineapple juice. I should try it. I have a bottle in the fridge right now. Congrats for your package. So funny about the happy dance!
I love the combination of flavors you used…the pork looks amazing.
Hey Jeff, came over from Dawn’s place…..this pork looks DELICIOUS, especially over that rice. I may have to drag out my dutch oven I haven’t used in centuries and try this one out. It’s getting a little colder here again so this is perfect! Great blog!
This looks amazing! You can’t go wrong with pulled pork but the POM would just send it over the top. Gorgeous!
I received some POM too! This sounds like a wonderful way to use it. I’ve already tried a POM margarita, but I wasn’t real pleased with it.
I love the inventiveness of this bbq sauce! And pulled pork is a favorite of mine. I will definitely be making this in the crock pot soon (that thing is SOOO handy). Now I just need to find a POM army to wage some battles for me…
Wow, that’s a creative way to use the POM juice!
I bet you could probably do that recipe in a crock pot??
What a great thing to come home to!
The last picture says it all. The pork looks perfect. A nice hint of sweet and spice.
Great sauce. I love pork shoulder.
I know pomegranite juiice is expensive, but there are so many creative ways to use it. I think it’s a really fun ingredient. Mixing it with chipotle sounds divine. Chipotle is a favorite ingredient of mine!
I don’t eat meat but the hubs does. I will have to show him this post, he can have his buddies over:)
I never made this pulled pork before, sounds so delicious. Adding pomegranate make it sounds more excotiq.
Cheers,
elra
Now this is a creative use of pomegranate juice! Great job.
Ooh great use of the POM! I used it mainly for sweets but I can so see how well it would go with pulled pork!
What a good idea! I have the same POM juice and I was thinking of making up a cocktail - this is way more impressive!
ahhh. i love pulled pork! this sounds delicious with the pom!
pom juice is a favorite, can’t wait to give this a try…
i hardly think that using your pom juice in a drink like that could be considered blowing it, but i really like the alternative–i’ll bet that’s some of the most succulent, tangy pork of all time.
I’m visiting
I love pulled pork any which way. I don’t know why I never think to make it as my family loves it too!
I think I’m the only blogger on the planet who didn’t get a case of that POM juice. I turned down their offer simply because I wasn’t sure what the heck I would do with a whole case of the stuff!! Instead, I bought a big ass bottle at Costco and managed a few recipes w/ that. Next time I’ll try this pulled pork… looks delicious!
This sounds like an awesome sauce. your drink sounds good and it might be even better with a shot of rum thrown in.
Good use of that little bottle of POM which, btw, I thought was pure pomegranate juice. Pineapple? Oh, well, your roast looks really delicious. P.S. I was LOL-ing from your comments about beer and tequiza!
Yum! What a creative way to use the juice.
This pork looks wonderful! After trying POM with pork myself, I know what a great combination it is. And, I still have a few bottles left……
Jeff, the star here really is the rendered, flaky meat…Oh and a little POM juice.