Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa. I cheated. I could not bring myself to buy a whole piece of Boston butt for 2 people. I bought pork stew meat and pulled it apart with two forks once it had cooked in the oven for a couple of hours at 275 which worked surprisingly well.
This was good, piled on a grilled Kaiser roll with a dollop of pickle relish. It's an easy dinner - all you really need to do is put together your favorite BBQ sauce and cook the meat until tender.
This sauce is not my usual BBQ sauce, which I adapted to be thinner in order for the pork to cook properly in it and because I wanted more delicate flavors. This makes enough to cook 2 pounds of pork stew meat, with enough left over to make the base of a hearty bean soup.
1 cup tomato purée
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, or more to taste
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Bourbon
2 Tbsps mustard
1/4 cup espresso
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground fennel seed
1 tsp ground bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp hot sauce, or more to taste
Measure all of the ingredients into an oven safe saucepan.
Heat over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until the sugar has melted.
Lower the heat and cook for 30 minutes, stirring from time time.
Check for seasoning, acidity and spiciness and adjust to your personal taste.
Add the pork stew meat, stir so that the cubes of meat are coated on all sides.
Cook covered in a 275 oven for 2-3 hours until a test piece of meat shreds easily between 2 forks.