I’ve been following a blog called Cooking with Corinna who has been doing the Ducan diet (you know, the French diet). Corinna has been very successful in losing weight following this diet and has decided to try and healthy up some of her favourites so that she doesn’t fall back into old bad habits and jeopardize her success. The first recipe she ‘healthed up’ was pulled pork. JT loves pulled pork but it’s not something I ever make at home, mainly because it is so unhealthy, or so I thought. Corinna’s method was relatively simple and frankly quite obvious but, for some reason I never thought of it myself. She simply chose a leaner and healthier cut of pork — pork tenderloin instead of pork shoulder. Genius! I was inspired to make this pulled pork for dinner the other night and boy was it a success! Corinna used a slow cooker, but I chose to get my roasting pan on the grill outside (it was so hot and humid that day, I couldn’t bear even the slow cooker!). The trick is low and slow; I cooked our 300g tenderloin for almost four hours on 121°C (250°F). I turned it a few times and made sure it was always covered in BBQ sauce. You can use a store bought BBQ sauce, or you can throw one together in minutes like I did. Soooo easy. You will be surprised that you won’t be able to tell the difference from the unhealthy version! And if you want to keep it even healthier, choose a BBQ sauce based with fruit instead of sugar.
Thanks Corinna, this one will be a keeper, that’s for sure!
A Healthier Pulled Pork
Serves 3, 100 g portions
BBQ Sauce Ingredients:
Original recipe can be found here.
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup vinegar, preferably red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp prepared mustard
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tbsp espresso coffee powder
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the flavours have blended well. Remove from heat and set aside.
Pulled Pork Ingredients:
Original recipe can be found here.
- 300 g pork tenderloin with silver skin and excess fat removed. This is a great video on preparing pork tenderloin. I removed ALL of the fat to keep it healthier.
- 1-2 tbsp canola oil (or an oil with a high flash point)
- 1 cup BBQ sauce, home made or store bought.
- 1 cup water
Directions:
- Preheat BBQ to 121°C (250°F).
- Heat the roasting pan on the stove with the canola oil until almost smoking. Sear all sides of the tenderloin. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for a minute or two. Add the BBQ sauce and make sure that the tenderloin is brushed evenly with it. Place the covered roasting pan on the BBQ and turn off the heat directly below it. You’ll have to watch your BBQ so that the temperature maintained for the 4 hours is around 121°C (250°F).
- Turn the tenderloin 3-4 times making sure it is always covered well with the BBQ sauce. I kept about 1 cup of water near the BBQ and added water as the sauce became thicker and evaporated. Eventually around 3.5 hours, the meat will literally fall apart and you will be able to mix it well with the BBQ sauce and cook it for the last half hour.
- Serve warm or cold, on a salad, on a bun, or even in a fajita shell. Garnish with chopped cilantro and finely chopped green onions.
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Looks delicious! I will have to experiment with a leaner cut of meat next time. Thanks for posting!
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[…] would totally spread this over my Heuvos Rancheros, Shakshuka or even in Pulled Pork. Or add it to a BBQ sauce for the pulled pork to make it even more awesome than you would ever […]
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This looks mouth watering! And I love the ingredients in your bbq sauce. I need to try the espresso in a sauce. That sounds great! I never would have thought to use pork tenderloin either. Great tip!
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Hi Kristy, it is so delicious, we’ve made it twice already!
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Not a bad idea for mixing it up and creating a healthier version of pulled pork….even I think I can get behind this. 😉
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Thanks Jed, it’s going to be a staple on our menu — I’ve made it twice already!
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I’ve never made pulled pork, but love the idea of these tenderloins. I’m always looking for fresh ways to use a tenderloin. 🙂
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Thanks Betsy.
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Eva, I love your healthier version! I made a healthier pulled pork in the pressure cooker and it went so quickly! 😀
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This sounds really good Eva. Great idea to make it on the grill!.
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Eva, your pulled pork looks extraordinary! I have read so many pulled pork recipes and have never tasted it… I really must try preparing it one day.
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Oh my God – pork tenderloin instead of pork shoulder for pulled pork… I couldn’t agree more. That *is* genius, and I can only begin to imagine how tender it would be! Looks fantastic… will definitely be remembering this 🙂
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Well.. now I’m so excited to try this version! My son is crazy about pulled pork. I made it once and he’s never forgotten. This recipe so easy I almost can’t believe it!! Plus, I can just leave it in the oven, go swimming and come back to check on it! bonus!! I love your barbecue sauce as well.. I will definitely be making this one!!
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Thanks Barbara I was excited to see this version too! I will eventually try the slow cooker method too.
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I’m a big fan of pulled pork, Eva, but don’t make it nearly as often as I would like, pretty much for the reasons you stated. This here is the recipe of my dreams. I’m definitely going to buy a pork tenderloin and give it a try. And the pork butts in my freezer will be made into sausage. A win-win if ever there was one!
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Thanks so much for your kind words John, I’d love to hear what you think. I’ve made this recipe twice now, it’s so good! And you can change it up with the sauce!
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Eva, your BBQ sauce sounds incredible! And I’m definitely in favor of healthier pulled pork…I’m thrilled that you shared this!!!
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I love this! Pulled pork is one of my favorite ways to use the slow cooker. Can’t wait to try this sauce.
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Thank you kindly Jen, welcome to my blog!
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I look forward to making pulled pork one day though I’d love to try the traditional cut of pork and use the results for various dishes I’ve read about. I’m definitely saving the bbq sauce though. 🙂
I’ve been totally unproductive in August and now that I have another hip replacement scheduled for the end of the month, I doubt that I’ll be much more busier in September while I heal up. I’m doing a lot of eating though.
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Thank you kindly Maria. I hope it all goes well. Too bad you didn’t live in TO, otherwise I’d set up some visiting for you!
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Thank you for you kind wishes. My surgery is in London so I only have to drive 2 1/2 hours in each direction not the 4 1/2 hrs I’d need to travel if it was in TO. 🙂
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I wish you all the best Maria.
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It looks very delicious! The bbq sauce sounds great with some chicken wings too.
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Oh yes, Angie, BBQ wings with this sauce slathered on would indeed be very tasty.
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P.S. the mango in barbecue sauce is a brilliant idea.
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Thank you!
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Yum. I’m going to try this soon — we tend to keep pork tenderloins in the freezer and I have some leftover barbecue sauce. Since I have neither a slow cooker nor a barbecue I’ll figure out some other way to slow-cook the pork.
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Hi Sharyn
You can easily do it in the oven in a Dutch oven; I just didn’t want to heat up the house!
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I love the melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness of pulled pork – my brother makes it for us when we visit him in Montreal but I’ve never made it myself. Very happy to have a recipe and the spicing sounds just right!
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Thank you Kelly. I wonder if the BBQ sauce can be made healthier…next time I think instead of the sugar I will try with fruit, perhaps a mango or papaya.
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I love pork tenderloin because it is so lean…great idea for the pulled pork.
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Thank you Karen, the idea came from Corinna, we’ve made it twice since. I think it will become a staple in our household.
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I like your version of the BBQ sauce so much better, I am not fond of liquid smoke. Love your presentation. Do I see pineapple and walnuts in the salad?
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Hi Norma, thank you kindly. The salad is a wheat berry salad, recipe to be posted soon.
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Hi Eva, I love pulled pork too but I don’t cook it very often because like you say, it’s not that good for you. So making it with the tenderloin is such a good idea. I love the look of this and that BBQ sauce sounds really interesting – I would never have thought to add coffee! Great recipe Eva xx
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Hi Charlie, the coffee was inspired by our dinner at Victor’s for my birthday. It definitely added some depth of flavour. I had forgotten that the chef had prepared a couple of jars of the coffee infused BBQ sauce and gave it to us as a gift…I made the dish again using his BBQ sauce and it was tasty as well, although I have to say I liked the tangy-ness of the one I made a bit better.
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Looks delicious! Beautiful photo!
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Thank you kindly cht7.
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I’m really pleased you like this recipe. It was a complete experiment, and I’m glad it works as well on the barbecue as it did in the slow cooker. Being able to make the dishes you love healthier is definitely the way forward.
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I’ve made it again since this post! It’s tender, juicy and its got the stringy texture that pulled pork is supposed to have.
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