Indra Kunindra Pork Butt

Last week we were in the wine and craft beer store were we get some great wines, Grape & Gourmet in Virginia Beach, and the owner asked me if I liked curry.  I said of course we do.  Then he said I should taste a beer that was being offered at their growler station since it was curry flavored.  He pulled a sample and the first sniff was definitely curry.  A taste proved that the curry flavors came through as well.  I asked the name of it and it was Indra Kunindra export stout from Ballast Point.

Pull handle from the growler station.

After getting the good wife to try it my immediate thought was that it would be great to add to a slow cooker pork butt to really boost the flavor.  To that end we got a growler of the  Indra Kunindra.


A few nights later, I set things up to have the pulled pork butt for supper the next day.  The butt I had was a bit over 6 lbs.  I cut it into 4 chunks and rolled them in seasoned flour.  I then seared every side of each chunk and put them in the pressure cooker.  Once all 4 chunks of pork butt were in the pot I poured in the Indra Kunindra.  It was a tight fit but all of it made it into the cook pot.  The lid got locked on and the valve to vent pressure got removed so it wouldn't inadvertently get bumped to pressure cook.


Once the preparations were complete all that remained was to set the timer.  Since it was such a large bit of meat I decided to slow cook it for 10 hours.  I figured up the needed start time and using the delay function got that all programmed in and went to bed.


When I got home the next afternoon there was a pleasant aroma of cooked pork throughout the house.  I resisted the urge to take the lid off to check out the pork and let if finish cooking.  Once the lid was removed at the end I was pleased with how it looked.

A pot full of porky goodness

 All that was needed now was to shred the pork butt and complete the other dishes for supper.  The pork but was removed to a 9 x 13 pan and shredded and had the few large pieces of fat removed.  The remaining Indra Kunindra and pork juices in the cook pot were transferred to smaller pot and boiled until it was reduced by half and thickened.  Then that was poured over the pork.


The pulled pork was served with rice and hot Naan.  It was a tasty and filling supper.

This was my first attempt at Naan and it turned out fairly well.  If I had started sooner I could have made a batch using yeast  that would likely have a more complex flavor profile.  Since I'd waited too long, I used a recipe I found using baking soda as the leavening agent.  The recipe also called for yogurt to be the acid to work with the baking soda and naturally, we didn't have any yogurt.  Rather than go to the store, I added lemon juice to milk and made imitation buttermilk and used that.  Here is the link to the recipe I used, Naan.  The only other thing I did different was at the end.  I didn't have ghee and didn't feel like going through the process of clarifying butter so I used olive oil instead.  One of these days I'll get some yogurt and clarify some butter and try the recipe exactly as written to compare.  The end product with my substitutions was pretty good though.

Fresh Naan

There were only two negatives with this meal.  First, the good wife liked it but said she'd rather I'd put less on her plate and had some green beans to accompany the meal.  The second negative was that the curry flavor didn't really come through with the pork like we'd hoped.  The flavor of the stout did come through so I guess in the end the stout flavor overcame the curry flavors.  Other than that though the pork butt was quite tasty.


Given that it is just the two of us at home, we had plenty of pork left over.  Some went to a couple of folks I know and some went to work for my lunch.  Yesterday evening we were running errands and when supper was mentioned the pork came up.  The choice was more rice and Naan or to make pulled pork sandwiches.  In the end, we bought some good Kaiser rolls and had pulled pork sandwiches with french fries.  I put two piles, each enough for a sandwich, in a skillet and heated them.  After they were hot and browned on the first side, they were flipped and cheese was added.  They made excellent sandwiches.


A terrific pulled pork sandwich

The next time you're in the mood for some pulled pork and the weather or your job won't let you put in the time to smoke it properly, throw it in the slow cooker with a good stout.  Give the Naan a try as well.


Uncle T