Hawaiian Pulled Pork Salad

Chef Andrew Sasloe
San Diego State University Catering

Chef Sasloe of San Diego State makes savory pulled pork by tossing it in a mixture of teriyaki sauce and coffee-flavored liqueur. A shredded cabbage trio, fresh mango, grilled pineapple and coconut not only add tropical flavors to the salad, but also extend the meat with an abundance of produce. A passion fruit vinaigrette ties the salad together.

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. For pork butt: Season pork with salt and pepper and saute in braising pan until caramelized on all sides. Add garlic cloves and apple cider; bring to a simmer. Cover and bake in preheated oven 2 to 3 hours or until tender.
2. Remove meat from cooking liquid and cool until easy to handle. Pull meat and place in large bowl. Stir together teriyaki sauce and coffee-flavored liqueur and toss with pulled pork.
3. For passion fruit vinaigrette: In blender, combine all ingredients, except oil. Blend on high until well combined. Slowly add oil to emulsify. Set aside vinaigrette.
4. To prepare fresh mango: Cut slice off stem end of mango to steady and position “beak” toward you. Peel mango and cut cheeks away from seed. Cut each cheek in half to get four quarters from each mango. Slice one quarter for each salad.
5. To prepare fresh pineapple: Cut each pineapple slice in half and grill on char broiler for about 30 seconds on each side. Cut each half into 2 or 3 wedges for each salad.
6. To serve: Place 3 ounces cabbage mix on bottom of serving plate. Arrange 3 ounces pork, sliced mango, and 2 or 3 charred pineapple wedges on top.  Scatter 1 ounce shredded coconut over salad and drizzle with 2 ounces passion fruit vinaigrette.

Photo courtesy of National Mango Board