Pulled pork reminds me of my days in the South, binging back many fond memories of my road trips across the States.

While it is simple to prepare, it is not exactly a quick dish, taking HOURS to simmer away to get to the point where the pork literally falls apart as it is gently tugged on with a pair of forks.

Finding the 400g of pork shoulder proved much harder than I thought though. Being close to Christmas gammon is the flavour of the day and the shoulder I could find was big enough to feed an entire village and then some.

The block master at Pick n’ Pay Claremont finally came through for me, but not before packing me LAMB first, hmmm, none the less after several failed attempted I returned home with pork… I think…

After a quick trip into a scalding hot pan to sear the meat it was into a cast iron pot with selection of sliced onions, garlic, chilli and sliced red pepper, seasoned with coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, a cinnamon stick, bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Into the oven for a couple hours, after which a can of red kidney beans and chopped tomatoes joined their friends.

The really special ingredient comes from my friends over at NoMU, their cocoa powder is heavenly and the only cocoa we use, in went a 1/2 a tablespoon, rich & dark, in both texture and taste.

Incidentally I’ve blogged at length about their fabulous Fonds range and was excited to read that they garnered ‘Product of the year’ at the Good Food and Wine Show. Congrats to Paul, Tracy and the NoMU team!

After the cocoa the pork went back into the oven for another hour, by this time the smells and fragrances were doing my head in!

Once ready I served them with some tortillas, sour cream and garnished each plate with some fresh coriander.

It was delicious and a welcomed addition to my ever growing collection of international comfort foods.