Dinner tonight: barbecue pulled pork

Great barbecue takes time to make. But a ­pressure cooker can shorten the cooking time and still turn out tender and moist pulled pork.

Another success secret: bottled barbecue sauce doctored up with spices and beer to ­balance the flavours and keep the pork moist. A traditional accompaniment is freshly made coleslaw, either piled on top of the pulled pork or served on the side. If using coleslaw, you can omit the pickle chips.

Prep time 10 min 

Cook time 50 min 

Serves 8

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) ground cumin
• 10 ml (2 tsp) chili powder
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) dark brown sugar
• 10 ml (2 tsp) garlic powder
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) dry mustard
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) dried thyme
• 1.5 kg (3 lb) boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 5 cm (2 in) chunks
• 1 bottle (2 c/16 oz) your favourite barbecue sauce
• 225 ml (8 oz) beer
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
• 8 soft sandwich rolls
• Pickle chips (optional)

1. Combine the cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, mustard and thyme in a large bowl. Add the pork and toss to coat.
2. Transfer the pork to a pressure cooker and stir in the barbecue sauce and beer. Lock the lid onto the cooker and set over medium-high heat until pressurized, eight to 10 minutes. Adjust the temperature to maintain the­ pressure according to the manufacturer's directions. Cook for 40 minutes, remove from the heat and depressurize the cooker according to the manufacturer's directions.
3. Carefully remove the lid and, with two forks, pull the meat into shreds. Stir in the salt.
4. Fill each roll with a generous 125 millilitres (half cup) of the pork and 30 to 45 millilitres (two to three tablespoons) of the sauce. Top with pickle chips, if using.

For a little more oomph, stir in 250 millilitres (one cup) finely chopped onion and one millilitre (1/4 teaspoon) ground chipotle chili pepper before cooking the pork. Here's another flavour-booster: after shredding the pork, stir in 45 millilitres (three tablespoons) of chopped fresh cilantro.