Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Pulled Pork and BBQ Pork Sandwiches


Dave and I love barbeque.  Specifically, I love the vinegary barbeque flavor of North Carolina pulled pork.  Sandwiches are always a big with us, so when I saw a recipe showing me how to use my crock pot to roast a pork shoulder for the purpose of making my own pulled pork sandwiches, I was smitten.  I'll share with you a few other recipes from this flexible pulled pork over time, but this sandwich was the first one that caught our eyes.  Juicy, flavorful pork just falls apart and begs to be paired with a tangy sauce and piled high on a toasted bun.  If you're having a low key New Year's gathering but still want to serve the traditional pork meal for luck, this is a great alternative to a big sit down roast with trimmings.


When I received the September 2012 issue of Food Network Magazine, I immediately turned to the pages with Melissa d'Arabian's recipe for a pulled pork in my crock pot and ten different meals in which to use the tasty meat.  Using a crock pot, this couldn't be easier.  Grab a nice pork shoulder, add some onion, garlic, seasoning and vinegar and a few hours later you've got a tender, moist, self-shredding meat perfect for all kinds of uses.  Make. Eat. Love. Repeat.

Pulled Pork


Ingredients

4-5 boneless pork shoulder
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cider vinegar

Rinse pork and pat dry.   Rub with salt and pepper and set in the stoneware of a 5 or 6 quart crock pot.


Scatter onion and garlic over the pork and add vinegar over top.  Note: Don't freak out if your garlic turns blue.  It's a natural reaction between the acid from the vinegar and the garlic.  It will cook out by the time your shoulder is done cooking.  


Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours.  Remove from crock pot to cutting board and shred with forks, or place in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cover and mix for 20-30 seconds until meat is shredded.


BBQ Pork Sandwiches



3/4 cup barbeque suace
1/4 cup white vinegar
About 2 cups cooked pulled pork or about a third of the cooked pork from recipe above, not yet shredded
8 sandwich buns (not pictured)

Mix barbeque sauce and vinegar together in a small bowl.


In the bowl of a stand mixer, add pork and sauce mixture.  Cover and mix for 20 seconds.



Pile onto toasted buns, top with additional barbeque sauce and enjoy (with plenty of napkins).


Makes 8 sandwiches.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

Printer Friendly Recipe

No comments:

Post a Comment