Pulled Pork and Fontina Panino
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Putting together a pulled pork and cheese combination wasn't something I originally planned to do, but once I'd made up a large batch of pulled pork and needed to think of some interesting serving ideas, it seemed like a logical thing to create.
It almost seems ridiculous now, but when I first moved to Canada I hadn't even heard of pulled pork before, and I certainly had no idea how to create it myself. With this creation it's all about your pulled pork, as that's going to be the key thing that dictates the flavour you get out at the end. Because of this I've included two versions below, one more gourmet version that basically raids your spice rack for whatever it can find, and another which just takes a bottle of cola or root beer to put together. I've used the spice rack version this time around, but I've previously made pulled pork using cola and it works perfectly well.
On the cheese side of things, I was originally thinking of using the smoked versions of either Havarti or Gouda; I figured that the smokiness of the flavour would be a good complement the barbecue backbone of the pulled pork. In the end however, I went with a Dutch Fontina. This is a mild cheese with a slightly nutty flavour that has excellent melting capability, and it's this latter factor that I wanted to take advantage of; you end up getting an almost cream-like, richly flavoured pulled pork filling that truly delights.
Once you've got the pulled pork and cheese figured out, it's simply a case of mixing them together, slapping it between two slices of bread and shoving it all in a panini press until it's nice and toasted. Enjoy.
Pulled Pork and Fontina Panino
Serves: 2 People
Slow cooked pulled pork blended with Fontina, lovingly pressed into a panino.
Ingredients
- 4 Slices Plain White Bread
- 100g Fontina
- 2 Large Scoops Pulled Pork
Instructions
- Take 2 large scoops of pulled pork, and put it in a mixing bowl
- Finely grate the Fontina, and mix it into the pulled pork until you get a consistent creamy texture.
- Divide the mixture in half, and spread onto two slices of plain white bread.
- Add the remaining two slices of bread on top, then place in a panini press until suitable toasted.
Notes & Tips
This is all about creating a great pulled pork, as that's going to dictate the resulting flavour. I've included two varities below: a gourmet one using a variety of common spices; and an easy one that just makes use of cola or root beer.
Slow Cooked Pulled Pork ('Raid The Spice Rack' Version)
Gourmet slow cooked pulled pork using everything you can find on your spice rack: beef stock, cumin, smoked paprika, sage, oregano and chipotle chilli pepper.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg Boneless Pork Roast (eg: Centre Cut, Rib End etc.)
- 500ml Water
- 2 Tablespoons Beef Stock
- 2 Tablespoons Cumin
- 1 Tablespoons Smoked Paprika
- 1 Tablespoons Sage
- 1 Tablespoons Oregano
- 1 Tablespoons Chipotle Chilli Pepper
- 200ml Barbecue Sauce (Optional)
Instructions
- Slowly add the beef stock to the water, mixing in as you go to prevent it from clumping together.
- Repeat with each of the other spices in turn, until all have been added to the water.
- Pierce the pork several times with a knife, then place it into the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Pour the spiced water over the pork, spooning it over any spots that are missed.
- Set the slow cooker to a higher temperature (typically about 300 celcius) and cover.
- After 90 minutes, reduce to a low temperature (about 200 celcius). Baste the pork again if necessary.
- After a further 5 hours (or longer, up to 24 hours), uncover and shred the pork with two forks.
- Optionally mix in the barbecue sauce. This will determine if you get a more traditional barbecue flavour, or stick with the subtle spiced flavour of the stock mixture.
- Raise to a high temperature again, and cook for another 90 minutes.
Slow Cooked Pulled Pork ('Lazy Sunday' Version)
Really easy slow cooked pulled pork using just cola or root beer and barbecue sauce.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg Boneless Pork Roast (eg: Centre Cut, Rib End etc.)
- 500ml Cola or Root Beer
- 200ml Barbecue Sauce
Instructions
- Pierce the pork several times with a knife, then place it into the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Pour thecola/root beer over the pork.
- Set the slow cooker to a higher temperature (typically about 300 celcius) and cover.
- After 90 minutes, reduce to a low temperature (about 200 celcius).
- After a further 5 hours, uncover and shred the pork with two forks.
- Drain some of the excess liquid (but not all), then mix in the barbecue sauce.
- Raise to a high temperature again, and cook for another 90 minutes.
