Pulled Pork and Pickled Onion Ravioli with Whiskey BBQ Sauce

-By Chef Theresa

This is something I’ve dreamed of for some time. Last Monday we went for it and it was a complete success. It takes a little time and patience, but with a good pal and a few whiskey/cokes on hand any time-consuming task becomes a fuzzy delight.

This is a four parter, and I would suggest doing them in the order of the recipes as shown.

Recipe: Pulled Pork and Pickled Onion Ravioli with Whiskey BBQ Sauce.

 

Pulled Pork

Ingredients

3 lb pork butt bone in

1/4 cup of WhiskeyBeard’s best damn pork rub

1 cup water

Directions

You can do this one of two ways. I went with the slow cooker on high but if you don’t have one you can do it in a dutch oven or roasting pan covered well with either a lid or aluminum foil at 200F. Whichever way you go it will take about the same time.

Give your butt a good rub down, coating it generously in all nooks and crannies and what have you. Place it in your preferred cooking apparatus, pour in one cup of water and let the low heat do its thing. You’re going to want to let this cook for at least six hours. Personally, I’m a fan of the eight-hour wait.
While this is hanging out we will start our pickled onions, sauce and finally the dough for the ravioli.

 

Pickled Onions

Ingredients

1 large red onion sliced into rings

1 cup champagne vinegar

4 allspice berries

1 tsp jalapeño diced

Directions

Add all ingredients into a medium sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a bowl stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour the onions and liquid into a glass jar or container and pop it in the fridge.

fuggetaboudit.

 

Boss Whiskey BBQ Sauce

I like my sauce more bitter than sweet. This is completely adjustable to taste. Like a sweet sauce? Just add a little more brown sugar.

Ingredients

2 large shallots minced

2 cloves garlic minced

2 cups ketchup

3/4 cup Gentleman Jack

1/4 Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

 

Directions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine shallots, garlic and butter and cook until the onions are translucent. Add whiskey and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and let simmer for a half hour.

Sauce…done.

 

Start your dough an hour before the pork is done cooking. I use a pasta machine for mine but you can just as easily roll it out by hand with a rolling-pin. So long as your dough is thin, almost to a point where you can see the filling then you are good to go.

Ravioli dough

Ingredients

3 cups unbleached flour

2 large eggs

3 tbls water

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 yolk for egg wash

Directions

On a clean surface take your mound of flour and make a well in the center. In a bowl combine your eggs, olive oil, water and salt and whisk well. Pour your wet ingredients into the well slowly. Begin to incorporate the ingredients carefully with your fingers pulling the flour into the wet mixture from the side of the well. You may not need all the flour so don’t force it into the dough. Form dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for an hour (if you are going to roll this out by hand, knead it for 8 minutes before letting it rest).

 

Putting it all together

First things first, get your pork off the heat. I like to let it sit in a large bowl for a few minutes before attacking it with two forks to pull it apart.

Get your sauce back on the heat for a nice warm up while you’re rolling out your dough and bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil while you work your dough.

Cut your dough into four pieces and shape each piece by hand into a rectangle. Set your pasta machine at the highest setting and run it though twice. Keep lowering the settings and running though until it’s about 1/8-inch think. Just about paper-thin. Dust your counter with flour and lay out the dough. Using either a pasta wheel or a sharp paring knife cut the dough into strips then into 1 1/2 inch squares.

Add a little of your pulled pork and a nice piece of the beautiful pickled onion. Brush the edges of the dough with the egg wash, add top layer of dough and pinch edges together with your fingers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you have all of your ravioli finished they’re ready to cook. I made about thirty ravioli and did them in batches of ten. Gently add them to the boiling water and let them cook for about 4-5 minutes.

It’s a bit of a process but they are fun to make and extra delicious! The sweet onion and savory pork marry inside the tender pasta, then add the tart sauce and it’s magic! We served ours over a bed of coleslaw that we kept nice and simple (a mix of cabbage with mayo, vinegar and sugar) as to not compete with the star of the plate.

Have fun and enjoy!