Pulled Pork Sandwiches
August is finally here and that usually means summer is winding down. However, this year, I have a feeling that summer may linger awhile longer. The weather here in the South has been relentless in its extreme heat and stormy afternoons. It’s even been unseasonably hot in the North Carolina mountains this year. I have to say that I am looking forward to fall and the cooler temperatures that it brings.
I will, however, miss the summer produce and the casual dining we enjoy in the warmer months. I love going to the Farmers’ Market to get fresh vegetables for the evening’s dinner. Combined with an organic chicken or a pork chop from a local farm, summertime dining is quick, simple and delicious.
Two of our favorite meals to prepare in the summer are ribs cooked on the grill and pulled pork. Served up with some homemade coleslaw and baked beans or fresh corn, nothing says summertime more than that dinner! I have recipes that I have used for years, but am always open to new ones if they look intriguing.
I started with a beautiful piece of pork shoulder from a local Georgia farmer
Williams-Sonoma’s recent catalog had several great recipes for barbecuing. One of these was the Memphis Style Ribs that I wrote about a few weeks ago. They were so perfectly done and just like the ribs I remembered from The Redezvous in Memphis, so I decided to try their recipe for pulled pork.
Score the fat, cut slits in the meat and insert the garlic cloves
This was another successful recipe. Yay! (Don’t you love when that happens?!) The seasoning was perfect and the meat was moist and juicy and just fell apart. I like that you prepare it in the slow cooker so there is little fuss while it cooks and it doesn’t heat up the kitchen for hours. After a quick roasting in the oven, the rest of the cooking is done on your countertop.
Coat the pork with the rub all over and refrigerate it overnight
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?
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
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