• Salt pork: Rub the pork shoulder with salt, wrap it in plastic foil and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the fridge and rub with the marinating paste about 1-2 hours before cooking (the next step below).

  4–6 lbs pork butt+ 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon fine sea salt
• Rub meat: Mix mustard, tomato paste, both paprika sorts, garlic powder, red chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Rub the meat all over with this mixture and let it sit on the counter for 1-2 hours.

  1 tablespoon Dijon mustard + 1 tablespoon tomato paste + 1 teaspoon smoked paprika + 1 teaspoon sweet paprika + 1 teaspoon garlic powder + 1 teaspoon red chili flakes + ½ teaspoon fine sea salt + ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Preheat the oven to 320°F/ 160°C.
• Prepare ingredients: Peel and slice the onion into half rings. Chop the apple.

  2 medium onions + 1 medium apple
• Saute: Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Saute the onion with a pinch of salt on medium-low heat for about 8 minutes until soft. Stir occasionally and add a splash of water if necessary. Add the apple and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

  1 tablespoon oil
• Place the meat on top, add bay leaves, and pour the stock around the meat (not on top, so that you don't wash away the marinade). Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to the oven.

  3 bay leaves + 1 ¾ cup chicken or beef stock
• Cook for 2 ½ – 3 ½ hours, or until the meat easily pulls with a fork. The cooking time depends on the size of the meat piece and your oven, some are hotter than others.
• Shred pork: Remove the meat from the pot. Shred with two forks. Keep warm while you make the sauce.

Sauce:

• Removing the fat from the sauce is optional but recommendable. Strain the cooking sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a larger bowl. Reserve the vegetables, but discard the bay leaves. Refrigerate the sauce for about 10 minutes to allow the fat to separate from the rest. Remove the fat from the surface of the bowl with a flatter spoon.
• Make sauce: Wipe the Dutch oven with kitchen paper and pour the sauce and the cooked veggies back in. Puree the vegetables with an immersion blender until the sauce is smooth. There will probably be no need for extra seasoning but check.
• Reheat the sauce. Add sauce to the shredded meat little by little until you have enough, you might not need it all, it depends on your taste.