Gluten Free Pulled Pork on Polenta Cakes Recipe
It seems there is some small print in my marriage contract I failed to read because apparently, in my house, cooking food over fire outdoors (such as on the barbeque) is the sole domain of the man of the house, the alpha male, the HUSBAND!
Now I would get all over that sexist point of view if it weren’t for two things.
Firstly, my husband, who can barely seem to heat a can of gluten-free soup inside the Gluten Free & More household, makes unbelievably fabulous, absolutely to die for, better than I have ever had ANYWHERE else, ribs and grilled corn.
Secondly, we live in Florida and it is hot here most of time. So the thought of standing over an open flame in 92 degree, 89 percent humidity weather does not exactly seem like a right I should be fighting too hard for, equality and sisterhood aside.
When I want to make a typical “barbeque” type meal I do so from the comfort of my air conditioned kitchen. Case in point – this slow cooker pulled pork over grilled polenta cakes.
Maybe someday I will pull out that mystical marriage contract and actually read the fine print but in the meantime I will smile, let my husband keep his self assumed God given right to swelter over the bbq and accept compliments for this gluten free version of a barbeque stand staple.
The preferred cut for pulled pork is from the shoulder and is also called Boston butt or just pork butt. You can use either boneless or bone in. I always prefer to use bone in for long, slow cooking as the bone seems to add flavor and softness to the meat. Also my dog then gets a tasty treat which keeps him happy for hours.
Make sure to use a gluten-free dry rub or make your own.
Gluten Free Pulled Pork on Polenta Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
Pulled Pork
- 3 pounds pork butt
- 3 tablespoons dry rub seasoning
- Water
- 2 cups gluten-free barbeque sauce - either bottled or homemade – use divided
Grilled Polenta Cakes
- 2 cups corn meal
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Salt & Pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Coleslaw
- 1 head of cabbage or 1 – 16 ounce bag coleslaw mix
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar or sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
Pulled Pork
- Place pork butt in a large freezer bag, add the dry rub and rub it all over the meat. Close up the bag and let sit in fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.
- Place pork butt in slow cooker and pour in enough water to come two thirds of the way up the meat. Cook on low for 8 – 10 hours or on high for 4 -5 hours.
- Remove pork from slow cooker, and pour out the liquid. Keep the slow cooker on.
- Shred the meat using two forks. Discard any skin, bones and chunks of fat. Return the meat to the slow cooker, add 1½ cups of barbeque sauce and heat until the sauce is hot. You can turn the slow cooker up to high to make this go faster.
- Heat the remaining ½ cup barbeque sauce in a small pan if desired to serve along side.
- While meat is heating make the polenta cakes and coleslaw.
Grilled Polenta Cakes
- Mix the cornmeal and cheese. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan just until the butter melts. Pour the milk mixture into the cornmeal mixture and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Form the cornmeal mixture into 8 equal patties about 3 inches across. Fry the polenta cakes in batches until golden brown, 3 – 4 minutes on each side. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Coleslaw
- If using whole cabbage, finely shred with a sharp knife and place in a large mixing bowl. Otherwise pour the bagged coleslaw mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking. Can be made several hours or even a day ahead. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
- To assemble the whole dish, top polenta cakes with pulled pork and coleslaw. Pass extra sauce to be added as desired.
Nutrition
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Three recipes in one post–barbecue bonanza! Yum, Carol. I make a super simple pulled pork in the slow cooker, too. But, love your polenta cakes and slaw recipes! Will definitely test these out on Mr. GFE when we're back home. Don't know what has happened to my subscription to your blog. Only finding out about your posts via Twitter. :-( Will try rescubscribing …
Shirley
I am drooling at the thought of this dish. Crispy polenta cake, melt-in-your-mouth tangy pork, and that cool slaw…yum.
I am going to try this recipe next time I make BBQ. Love the polenta recipe.
oh my. This looks simply amazing! And something that Mr BBB would love for sure! thankyou for sharing!!!
I love to make BBQ pulled pork or chicken in my slow cooker… super yum… I don't even want to know how to work our grill outside, that's totally Jason's job :)
this all looks and sounds amazing, I'm going to have to try it with polenta !!
These look tasty! I also love the color variety they have. What fun :)
~Aubree Cherie
This makes a wonderful appetizer or a great main Carol…I love the whole combination of ingredients and textures here.
Wonderful combination of flavors here. This would make great casual dinner party fare. I have a feeling that your bbq sauce will become one of my kitchen staples. Thanks!
How funny! I just finished applying the dry rub to 8 lbs. of bone in boston butt roast for pulled pork!
I just became a big fan of pulled pork about a year ago. Now I love collecting pulled pork recipes. Thanks for posting this! I made Crockpot Old South Pulled Pork on a Bun recently and it was delicious! Keep up the great work here!
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