Texas-Style Roast Pork and Pulled Pork Made with Supermarket Pork Shoulder and an Oven

Brisket, a staple of Texas barbecue, uses a cut from around the cow's chest and is traditionally finished by smoking. It is sometimes sliced thin and eaten in bread. In Japan, however, brisket itself is rarely sold in the first place. So the cut Ryuji chose, as the one that "seems likely to have the closest texture," was pork shoulder. Their view is that pork is easier to get in Japan, and that it is delicious made with pork too.

What they prepared this time was 1kg of pork shoulder bought at a supermarket. It came divided into chunks of about 300g, and the small size of the pieces was a drawback, they say. In a previous video they made fall-apart-tender spare ribs, but this time the goal is fall-apart-tender roast pork using boneless meat.

There is a clear standard for choosing the cut. Ryuji explains that among pork shoulder, the meat won't become fall-apart tender unless it has a sinew running through the middle, and for a chunk with less of a belly-like quality, they added the caveat that "it might not become fall-apart tender." When a staff member asked, "Can you do it with leaner meat?", they answered flatly, "No." Without fat it won't become fall-apart tender, and pork shoulder is delicious because it has the best balance of fat and lean meat—that is the reason.

The seasoning consists simply of rubbing a spice mixture (Ryuji calls it a "mixed herb" blend) into the meat. For 1kg of meat, mix 1 tablespoon of salt, the same amount of sugar at 1 tablespoon, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, and half a tablespoon of pepper. As for the pepper, "you don't need that much," they say. Fresh garlic is sometimes used, but not this time. The staff had never seen this kind of barbecue and seemed to have no idea at all what the finished dish would be like, which Ryuji took as a sign that "that's how little everyone knows about American barbecue." They also noted that, strictly speaking, it is a little different from the authentic version, but that they are doing what can be done at home.

Before the spices, the meat is spread with yellow mustard. About 1 tablespoon per chunk of roughly 300g is a guideline. Ryuji explains that coating with mustard is to prevent the flavor from penetrating too much. The mustard also adds its aroma. When the spices are sprinkled on top, the surface of the meat turns pink.

The salt, at 1 tablespoon per 1kg, is on the generous side, but they say it's not a problem because the spices form a layer and are sometimes wiped off later. It's good to coat the sides of the meat thoroughly as well. The sinew is not cut. Because it is cooked at a low temperature for a long time, it will ultimately become fall-apart tender.

They also touched on MSG. It's tasty if worked in, but because it isn't used much in the authentic version, this time the dish is eaten with just the savoriness of the meat. It is positioned as a dish enjoyed for the savoriness of the spices and the flavors of salt and sugar.

As how they came to know dishes like this, Ryuji cited the YouTube channel "BBQ Pit Boys." It's a show where a bunch of middle-aged guys just do barbecue, and it features nothing but dishes like this. Ryuji says they watched every episode without fail.

Once the prep is done, all that's left is to put it in the oven. You can roast potatoes or onions alongside if you like, but this time they wanted to eat just the meat, so none were added.

Pork shoulder is fatty, and as it cooks the fat drips down and pools. Left as is, it looks like it would get soggy with fat, so a rack is set in to lift the meat up. This way the fat drips down and it becomes healthier, Ryuji says. No preheating is needed; the temperature is 150°C, and the time is about 2 hours as a guideline.

While it cooks, the meat is spritzed with water from a spray bottle every 30 minutes to prevent it from drying out. This makes the finished result considerably better, they say. After 30 minutes there's still not much visible change, but by around 1 hour 20 minutes the surface has dried out quite a bit and starts getting crispy. You can flip it partway through, but it's fine if you don't. Ryuji says it's also fun to check on the changes every 30 minutes. On the other hand, they cautioned in advance that because this time it's low-temperature cooking in an oven, it might not get the pitch-black look of the authentic version.

While the meat is cooking, the barbecue sauce is made. It's a sauce that tastes great in bread, and since leftovers can be stored, a generous batch is made. The amounts are 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 6 tablespoons of ketchup, honey, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, about 14 dashes of Tabasco, and about 18 shakes of garlic powder. Ryuji calls this their "go-to barbecue sauce," and says it can be used for regular barbecue too and is delicious just brushed on and grilled.

Normally, Ryuji often just coats meat in this sauce and cooks it as is. This time the meat and sauce are finished separately, so the sauce is brought to a boil once and reduced a little. Since the garlic powder sometimes doesn't mix in completely, it is dissolved while heating. As it reduces, it thickens and gives off a deep, smoky-like aroma. No MSG is added, but they say it's unnecessary because of the sweetness. Apparently it's also delicious poured straight over rice.

For the staff, "barbecue sauce" brought to mind the sauce for dipping McDonald's nuggets. According to Ryuji, in America barbecue sauce is sold as commonly as staple condiments and is used for everything, such as brushing on chicken and grilling it or putting it in sandwiches. Brushing it on and grilling seems to be the main way it's used—that is their explanation.

When taken out after about 2 hours and 10 minutes, the meat had become quite tender. The fat had dripped down and pooled, and the meat jiggled. The surface was crisp and dry, but inside, juices had pooled up. Ryuji presented this as the result of cooking at a low 150°C for 2 hours.

When cut, the leaner parts had a firm texture rather than falling apart. Ryuji also acknowledged that section as "a part that's not tender yet." Even so, the staff who ate it were surprised by how tender it was, and Ryuji urged, "Everyone should definitely make this." It was so delicious that wine and even beer came out during the shoot.

At first, without barbecue sauce, the meat with just the spices is eaten by hand. Ryuji described it as "the most American barbecue you can do at home." Staff reactions included "It's American but refined" and "This spice blend is amazing," with comments that it didn't feel greasy either. Ryuji emphasized that they just rubbed in the seasonings, put it in the oven, and left it, doing no more than spritzing it with water along the way. The meat wasn't premium pork either, but something bought at a supermarket.

Next, when barbecue sauce is poured on, the impression of the flavor changes again. The staff picked up on a fruitiness from the lemon, and Ryuji pointed to the generous use of lemon juice as the reason.

Up to this point it has been eaten as roast pork, and the rest of the meat is made into pulled pork. Pulled pork is meat cooked for a long time and then pulled apart, and Ryuji explains that eating it in hamburgers has become popular.

The cooked meat can be shredded by hand while it's hot. In Ryuji's estimation, cooking it about 30 minutes longer would make it fall apart more. Even in its current state it is delicious with its texture intact, but if doing it in an oven, about 3 hours is a guideline, they say. It takes time, but since you just leave it alone, it's suited to a day off.

Toss the shredded meat with about 3 tablespoons of barbecue sauce, and the pulled pork is done. Dishes like this are rarely made at home, but sometimes you want to eat something like this, Ryuji says.

Toast sliced bread, pile on plenty of pulled pork, layer on cheddar cheese, and sandwich it. Adding cheese makes it "American, right?" Ryuji laughs. Everyone shared and ate it.

The staff said it was more tender than the roast pork they first ate. They couldn't feel any sinew at all. Ryuji explained that the sinew turns into gelatin through 2 hours of heating, and added that no chemical seasonings were used either. After eating it, Ryuji was pleased, saying, "I can feel America in my mouth." They also said they had wondered who would make this, but that surprisingly, everyone might.

The cooking time varies with the size of the pork. Ryuji says they personally prefer pulled pork like this time's, where the texture of the meat remains. If you want it more meltingly soft, cooking at 150°C for 2.5 to 3 hours will make it fall-apart tender. Saying it can be used any way you like—made into pulled pork for sandwiches or sliced and eaten as roast pork—they encouraged viewers to try making it.

At the end of the shoot, a chunk that hadn't been cut yet was hastily sliced. The meat eaten first was plenty delicious, but this chunk was fattier, jiggly, and remarkably more tender. The staff also called it "next level." The final tasting also clearly showed that even within the same 1kg of meat, the fattier the chunk, the more tender it turns out. Ryuji wrapped up the tasting by saying the more time you give it, the more tender it gets.