Everywhere you go, pulled pork is served in buns, wraps or burritos, in a variety of stews or with a salad, in restaurants and at dinner with friends.
And it's not only pork. You find pulled beef and pulled chicken as well; I have also seen pulled salmon! Warm smoked salmon can be hard to find in the U.S., but if you do, you will not need a recipe to prepare it at home. Just serve the shredded warm smoked salmon in a bun with pea sprouts and a Dijon dressing.
Feeling lazy with a dinner party coming up? The slow cooked meat for pulled anything is easily prepared beforehand as are most of the side dishes and condiments.
Included are recipes for pulled chicken, beef and pork the way I make them. Choose which one you want to serve in your own, homemade hamburger buns. Milk added to the dough make these buns nice and soft.

HOMEMADE BUNS
yields 12

1/3 cup butter (75 g)
1/2 cup milk (1 1/4 dl)
1/2 cup water (1 1/4 dl)
2 teaspoons yeast (25 g)
1 + 1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (6 dl) + to baking

To serve:
pulled chicken, beef or pork (see recipes below)
lettuce or salad
tomatoes
grated cheese
guacamole
BBQ sauce

Dress a baking tray with baking paper. Melt the butter and remove from the heat. Mix together butter and milk and bring the mixture to cool to 98°F (37°C).
Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Dissolve the yeast in a little of the water, then stir all the water and milk. Add 1 egg, salt and flour to a smooth dough. Let rise under a cloth about 1 hour.
Roll the dough into two rolls and cut each into 6 pieces, forming 12 round buns. Place them on the baking tray and let rise another 1 hour under a cloth.
Preheat oven to 475°F (250°C). Beat 1 egg in a cup. Brush the buns with beaten egg.
Bake in center of oven for 8-10 minutes or until buns are baked through and nicely browned. Allow to cool under a cloth.
Tip: The breads dry quickly, so put extra buns in the freezer.

PULLED CHICKEN
4 servings

4 chicken legs
salt and ground white pepper
4 teaspoons barbecue spice
2 yellow onions
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons hickory sauce with smoke flavor

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Season the chicken with salt, pepper and grill seasoning, then bake in an oven-proof dish for about 15 minutes.
Turn over and cook about as long on the other side.
Let the chicken legs cool a little, pull apart with fork and transfer to a saucepan, saving the gravy from the oven dish. Pour gravy into a small bowl and set in the fridge.
Peel and slice the onion. Sauté onion in butter in a frying pan. Add the chicken meat and pour on hickory sauce.
Serve the meat in a split bread bun.

PULLED PORK
6 servings

2 1/2 pounds pork loin
2 tablespoons oil for frying
3/4 cup of coca cola (2 dl)

Marinade:
10 cloves of garlic
2 limes, juice
2 oranges, juice
4 tablespoons fuego spice mix, see recipe below
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Fuego spice mix:
3 tablespoons ground paprika
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt

Make the spice mix according to recipe. Cut the meat into cubes, 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. Place in a mold with high edges. Peel and grate the garlic cloves finely. Squeeze out the juice from limes and oranges.
Sprinkle garlic, spice mix and cumin over the meat. Pour in the lemon juice, orange juice and soy sauce and mix thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
Lift the meat from the marinade and pour the marinade in a saucepan. Brown the meat in oil in batches and put into the pot. Pour in coca cola.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours. Remove the lid, pull apart with fork and stir the meat and marinade to a pulp.
Serve the meat in a split bread bun.

PULLED BEEF
6 servings

2 pounds of brisket (1 kg)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 onions
4 tomatoes
2 cups meat broth (5 dl)
3/4 cup red wine (2 dl)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 star anise
1 small piece of chipotle (smoked chilli)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried, ground chilli
Dice the meat and season it with salt and pepper. Fry it in butter and then place the meat in a casserole dish.
Peel and slice the onion and sauté in the same pan. Add the onion. Cut the tomatoes into small pieces and add them to the pan.
Pour in broth, wine and tomato puree. Add the bay leaves, star anise and chipotle. Add also the coriander, oregano, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 1½ hours or until the meat can be pulled apart with a fork. Strain then the excess liquid and pull apart the meat to a pulp.
Serve the meat in a split bread bun.

Text, recipes and photography: Gunilla Blixt
www.gunillablixt.se (In Swedish and English)