Benz Pulled Pork. Shredded pork, smoked over natural wood and sous-vide cooked.
Benz Pulled Pork is ready-to-eat, shredded pork from the Benz butcher shop in Köngen: 60 percent meat, smoked over natural wood, sous-vide cooked, and refined with a homemade BBQ sauce. No liquid smoke, flavor enhancers, or preservatives – 400 grams, two portions.
Buy Pulled Pork instead of standing by a smoker for twelve hours – that is the idea behind this can. Real pulled pork is a test of patience: seasoning the shoulder, smoking at a low temperature, letting it rest, shredding it. Anyone who has done this once on a Saturday knows why most people only do it once. Benz takes this day off your hands. You heat up the meat, slice open a bun, and the burger is ready before the grill would even be hot.
Smoke from wood, sweetness from the sauce, meat you can still recognize
The shredded pork from Benz tastes first of smoke – of wood and embers, rather than the sharp, artificial smoke from a bottle. Behind that comes the pork, juicy and fibrous, with the slightly sweet, natural flavor of slowly cooked pork. The BBQ sauce covers it, with tomato, a hint of mustard and celery for spice, and a splash of red wine for depth.
The fibers are robust and remain firm to the bite when heated. Unlike some ready-made products that have been cooked for too long, the meat stays in fibers. The sauce is dosed moderately; it coats the meat instead of drowning it. Those who like it saucier can add a spoonful of their own BBQ sauce at the end. Cold from the can, the meat appears compact and the sauce firm; it is only with heat that the fibers separate again and the smoke comes to the fore.
An honest assessment: This is not American pulled pork with a thick, sweet glaze and sugar crust. If that is what you are expecting, you will find the seasoning too restrained. And for a large garden party, the can is too small: it is intended for two burgers, not twelve.
Burger, bowl, pasta: three ways to finish the can
The meat is heated in a pot over low heat for about fifteen minutes or in a cast-iron pan directly on the grill. The classic way is the burger: toast the bun, add Lollo Bianco, add the meat, and a spoonful of coleslaw with bacon on top. This is the version the Benz family recommends themselves, and the coleslaw is more than just decoration – its acidity keeps the sweetness of the sauce in balance. Instead of coleslaw, pickled cucumbers or a few red onion rings in vinegar work well – the main thing is to add something sour.
The second way is a bowl: rice or sweet potato, the meat, corn, avocado, and a lime. The third way, which surprises many, is pasta. Wide ribbons of pasta, the meat folded in with some sauce, a few fried onions – a quick dinner beyond the burger. For more guests, put out two cans and add the Bolognese from the same house for the pasta fans.
The meat is suitable for children because it is soft and mild. A burger night with DIY assembly at the table – everyone builds their own – works with one can for two adults and two children, provided there are enough side dishes. For more guests, count one can per two burgers.
From experience: Heat the meat on a low setting and only for as long as necessary, otherwise it will dry out. Fifteen minutes on a low setting is enough; a splash of water or apple juice helps if it seems too dry. It is less suitable for the microwave than braised dishes – the fibers quickly become tough there.
Why a butcher shop from Köngen makes pulled pork
The pork for this can comes from a farmer in Köngen; slaughtering and butchering are done in the region. This is the reason why a Swabian butcher shop produces an American dish: the meat is in-house anyway, and Gina Benz wanted a product that would appeal to younger customers while maintaining the standards of the butcher shop. The result is a dish with an American name and Swabian origins – from the animal to the can, everything stays within a radius of a few kilometers.
The process is more elaborate than for the braised dishes. The meat is first smoked over natural wood, then cooked sous-vide – vacuum-sealed in a water bath at a low, constant temperature for many hours. This keeps the juices in the meat and makes the connective tissue soft, while the fibers remain tender. Afterward, it is shredded, mixed with the sauce, and heated again in the can. This final heat replaces any preservatives and keeps the unopened can shelf-stable for about two years.
The product is backed by a fifth-generation family business. Master butcher Daniel Benz, his wife Monika, and daughter Gina, master butcher and food manager, founded the gourmet manufactory in 2019. The recipes come from the Schwanen butcher shop in Köngen; this one is among the younger ones.
Grill night without a smoker, stock in the cupboard
The advantage over the frozen version lies in the cupboard: the can sits on the shelf instead of in the freezer and is heated directly. When friends drop by spontaneously, the meat is ready in a quarter of an hour. For those grilling in summer, place the can next to the sausages as an alternative for guests who want something different from the classic grilled meat. In winter, when the grill is under the cover, it is the simplest way to get a burger that tastes like fire. And at a cabin or in a camper, where the smoker stays home, it turns a bun and a handful of salad into a full meal.
The product is gluten- and lactose-free and contains no artificial colors or GMOs. As a gift for someone who likes to grill, it fits well in a box together with the gravy from Benz – a burger night and a Sunday roast, both from the same butcher.
Pulled pork from Köngen: smoke, water bath, and patience are all done – it takes you another fifteen minutes.
