Oven Roasted Pulled Pork & Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Pork butt was on sale at the market, and in my opinion there doesn't have to be any ther reason to make pulled pork. I normally opt for the slow cooker Kalua pork route, but I'm on a little more of a time crunch, so we'll have got for the oven instead.

The first time I made pulled pork at home was in the oven, but I've gotten lazy and have always had time for the slow cooker. So in the spirit of doing things a little differently, I'm using a Tyler Florence recipe from the Food Network instead of my usual Hawaiian inspiration.

Oven Roasted Pulled Pork

1- 6lb Pork Butt
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp dry mustard
3 tbsp Hawaiian salt, can also use coarse sea salt

Mix paprika, garlic powder, brown sugar, mustard and salt in a small bowl and rub all over pork. Let pork sit for at least an hour, up to 24 hours in the fridge.

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place pork in a roasting pan and bake for around 6 hours. After meat has reached an internal temperature of 170 degrees, remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. When pork has cooled, shred with two forks, pulling the meat apart.

Serve with BBQ sauce and coleslaw on a bun or over rice with hot sauce... or garlic mashed potatoes.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

1 head garlic, top cut off
1 tsp olive oil
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 tbsp butter
2-4 tbsp milk

Wrap garlic in aluminium foil and pour olive oil onto cut side of garlic head. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Boil potatoes in a pot of boiling water for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

When potatoes and garlic are cooked, place all ingredients in stand mixer and mix until desired consistency. I like lumps, so I didn't mix until smooth, but you can add more milk and mix longer for smoother potatoes.

Pulled pork with mashed potatoes, corn and sauteed veggies

This was my first time using my Kitchen Aid stand mixer since I first got it for my birthday. It's only appropriate that my first dish for my new mixer. It was the dish my mom used to make that I obsessed over, and probably made me become a foodie in the first place.

-Akemi-chan