Pulled Pork with Orange-Citrus BBQ Sauce

I'm leaving for a summer institute this afternoon, but not before I make a batch of pulled pork for our "early" Fourth of July BBQ. Usually I just make my pulled pork and add BBQ sauce and vinegar (North Carolinian style). This time I tried my own version of a sauce similar to the one I had at Yellow Dog Eats in Florida, which my friend Molly Molloy took me to. They have the best pulled pork sandwiches and they make their own citrus BBQ sauce to go with it. I bought a jar of their sauce to bring home. With a bit of trial and error, I think I have a pretty good duplicate version. It has the nice tanginess of a vinegar-based BBQ sauce with a blast of orange flavor. The orange flavor goes really well with pulled pork. To make the pulled pork, saute and then slowly simmer, covered, chunks of pork loin or pork tenderloin over low heat until it pulls apart with a fork (about 90 minutes). Shred the pork and put in a pan with a chopped onion. Add the BBQ sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add more BBQ sauce as needed to keep pork moist. Serve pulled pork on a bun. Optional: top with cole slaw or pickled red onions (see previous blog entry)

Orange-Citrus BBQ Sauce (Yellow Dog Style!)

1 cup catsup
1/3 cup Worcestershire
1 t chili powder
1 t garlic salt
1 T brown sugar
pinch of cayenne pepper
2 navel oranges
1 cup apple cider vinegar
Optional: 1-2 T tomato paste

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in medium size saucepan. Stir together.
2. Zest skin of 2 oranges into mixture in pan. Be sure to zest just the top orange part of the skin- try to avoid the white pith.
3. Stir in a cup of vinegar and stir.
4. Juice the 2 oranges and add to sauce. Stir.
5. Simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes. If you like a thicker sauce, add a tomato paste.

Note: If you don't want to make your sauce entirely from scratch, take a commercial sauce and add the zested orange peel and orange juice. Add vinegar to taste and thicken with tomato paste if needed. For pulled pork, you don't want too thick a sauce. A little on the watery side is better as the pork absorbs the moisture.