HOMEMADE PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Pulled pork is a project that I have been thinking about for a while now, but this past week I set my sights to conquer it. The key to making a good pulled pork sandwich: using a slow cooker to tenderize the meat and choosing the right cut of pork to use so that it pulls apart easy. When I talked with the butcher behind the Whole Foods counter, he suggested that I use either pork shoulder or pork butt; I ended up going with the pork butt, since it was supposed to be even easier to tear apart after cooking than the shoulder. The recipe below can feed 4 – 6 people.

Ingredients
~ 2 lb. pork shoulder / pork butt
~ 2 cans root beer
~ 18 – 20 fl. oz. of barbecue sauce
~  4 – 6 kaiser rolls, lightly toasted
~ Salt, pepper, and garlic powder for rub

Process
The first thing to do with the pork is to sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder onto both sides and rub the seasonings into the meat. After that’s done, take a fork and jab holes all around the pork so that the root beer can really penetrate the meat during the cooking process and give it flavor. Put your prepared pork into the slow cooker, along with two cans of root beer; set the cooker on low and leave it for 6 – 7 hours to tenderize.

When time’s up, drain out all of the root beer, and place the meat back into the pot. Take two forks and just pull apart the meat and keep shredding it until you feel it’s a good consistency. After you’re done, add in the barbecue sauce and mix everything up; set the slow cooker on low again and resume cooking for another hour. When it’s just about done, throw those kaiser rolls into the toaster oven, spoon that pulled pork on there and you’ve got one delicious sandwich.

One great thing about this recipe is that it’s relatively inexpensive. I picked up the pork butt for around $10, the rolls were $4, a six-pack of root beer was $3, and the barbecue sauce was $4. So, you are potentially feeding about six people all with just $21, which isn’t too shabby at all. It looks great, tastes great, and everyone will certainly be asking for more!

Categories: Recipes

Tagged as: pulled pork, recipes