Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I used a pork shoulder from a local Georgia producer.  The butcher trimmed a bit of the fat, leaving just enough to flavor the meat and keep it tender.  If you are looking for a pulled pork recipe for your first attempt at it or would like to try a new recipe, I highly recommend this one.  I served the pulled pork on slider buns along with coleslaw prepared with homemade mayonnaise, deviled eggs and my Bread and Butter Pickles.  Top the sandwich with a bit of your favorite barbecue sauce and you will be one happy camper. 🙂

I love that this recipe uses the slow cooker for the pork

On another note, The Bunkycooks will be On the Road quite a bit during the month of August, so I will be writing mostly shorter posts with recipes and will feature a few guest posts.  I will also have a giveaway or two.  One will start on Wednesday, so stay tuned.

This pulled pork was moist and tender and so good!

A very special trip during this month will be to one of our favorite cities, New Orleans.  I am excited to announce that I will be a speaker at the International Food Blogger’s Conference August 26 – 28 at Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. I am speaking with Robin Goldstein in a panel discussion about blogging with ethics, which is currently a very hot topic in the blogosphere.

New Orleans in August might be hotter than heck just a wee bit steamy, but who cares when you can eat beignets, have great Creole cooking and drink a few Sazeracs?!  After all, a girl can never have too many beignets, now, can she?  Who knows…I might even see a ghost or two at my hotel.  I hear it’s haunted!  Remember Le Pavillon?  The city is one spooky place! 😉

Beignets…here I come!

I will keep you updated during our travels.  In the meantime, enjoy the recipe!

Have a great week!

Dinner anyone?

Print Recipe

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Yield: 6-8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 7 hours

Total Time: 7 hours, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
2 Tbs. kosher salt
2 Tbs. paprika
1 Tbs. freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 Tbs. dried English mustard
2 tsp. ground fennel seed
2 tsp. garlic powder or onion powder
1 pork shoulder, 3 to 4 lb. (I used a pork shoulder from a local Georgia farmer)
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 cups apple juice (I used organic apple juice)
1/2 cup water
Soft white dinner rolls for serving (I used slider buns)
Your favorite barbecue sauce for serving

Directions:

In a bowl, stir together the brown sugar, salt, paprika, pepper, thyme, coriander, dried mustard, fennel and garlic powder. Score a diamond pattern on the fatty side of the pork. Insert the knife tip into the pork to create 6 small pockets, spacing them evenly. Insert 1 garlic clove into each pocket. Generously rub the pork on all sides with 6 to 8 Tbs. of the spice mixture; reserve the remaining mixture. Wrap the pork with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Remove the plastic wrap from the pork. Place the pork, fat side up, in the oven-safe insert of a slow cooker. Transfer to the oven and roast until the top of the pork starts to crisp, 45 to 60 minutes. Transfer the insert to the slow-cooker base and add the apple juice and water. Cover and cook on low according to the manufacturer’s instructions, turning the pork occasionally, until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork, 6 to 7 hours.

Transfer the pork to a deep bowl. Using 2 forks, pull the meat apart into large shreds or, using a cleaver, chop it into large chunks. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Using a handheld smoking gun, smoke with 2 to 3 chambers of applewood chips. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. (*I did not do this step since I do not own a smoking gun.)

Strain the cooking sauce into a bowl. Ladle 1/2 to 3/4 cup sauce over the pork. Stir in 1 to 2 tsp. of the reserved spice mixture. Serve immediately with rolls and barbecue sauce. Serves 6 to 8.

Recipe by Chef Bryan Voltaggio, inspired by Danny Edwards Blvd. BBQ, Kansas City, MO