Pulled Pork Barbecue Sandwiches

Being married to a Southern man, there are certain things that are so essential to the success of our married life that they were practically part of our wedding vows.  These include things like the proper respect for grits, cooking deep-fried okra at least 3 times per year, and always having a great recipe for pulled pork barbecue on hand.  Because inevitably there will come a point sometime early in the summer where it will be completely and totally necessary to have a pulled pork bbq sandwich for supper.

With a little homemade coleslaw on top of the pork to send it completely over the edge into barbeque heaven.   (And luckily, I just posted a coleslaw recipe the other day!  Click here for that one.)   I make my pulled pork by cooking a Boston butt pork roast in a slow cooker for 10 hours...at that point it is so tender that it will practically hop out of the cooker and shred itself.

After that, the only decision you have left is which bbq sauce to use.  Now we are long-time loyal users of Stubb's sauce, and I still love it.  But I recently heard about this other variety called Blues Hog, and the description of it was too much for me to take.  I ordered a few jars, wrapped them up and gave them to the Southern husband for his birthday a couple of weeks ago.  (He also got to go to a baseball game for his birthday, before you start feeling all sorry for him.)

Note that it says it is excellent on pork.

I can now definitely vouch for that.  I won't be abandoning my spicy, delicious Stubbs sauce, but if you want a fantabulous bbq sauce that is a little on the sweeter side...Blues Hog.

That's all the pulled pork I have for you today.  (Although there is now about 5 extra pounds of it in my freezer.  I'm thinking there is some pulled pork over grits in my future sometime very, very soon.)

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches, inspired by a recipe from Taste of the South

• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 large onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 five pound Boston Butt pork roast
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• Water
• Hamburger rolls
• Your favorite coleslaw
• Your favorite barbecue sauce, warmed

1. Combine salt, paprika and pepper in a small bowl.   Rub pork with oil, and then rub spice mixture on pork, coating it all over. 

2. Place roast in a slow cooker with garlic and onions.  Add enough water to come three-quarters up the side of the pork.

3. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.  Save about a cup of the liquid and take out the pork.  Remove any fat and bones, and then use two forks to shred it.

4. Mix sandwich-size portions with warmed bbq sauce and place on hamburger buns.  Top with coleslaw and serve.  Any extra shredded pork will freeze just fine, and there is nothing like knowing you have a bag of shredded pork bbq in your freezer.  Trust me on this.

Print this!

Sweet and Tangy Coleslaw

Let me start out by saying, I know coleslaw is a personal decision.  Some folks like the creamy kind made with mayo or sour cream or whatever it is that makes it creamy.  I can actually go for a nice bowl of creamy coleslaw every once in while, especially if it has those little caraway seeds in it.  Yum.

However, most of the time I am in the non-creamy coleslaw camp.  I like the kind that is a little bit vinegary-sharp, a little bit sweet, and with just the right balance of cabbage and carrots.   And the Southern husband...well, don't even TRY to sneak any creamy coleslaw by him.  He's definitely a tangy coleslaw guy.  It might be the boots...who knows.

Side note: this picture is not mine...it was shot by the teenager.  She had a photography assignment where she had to shoot people's feet in some way that represented who they are.  She wanted to shoot her dad in his boots, which I thought was very appropriate.  Then she got to me.

She also photographed my in my sneakers next to a laundry basket.  Hmm.

Anyway, back to the coleslaw.  I never seem to make coleslaw in the winter...I must have some subconscious rule in my head that coleslaw can only be made when it is above 70 degrees outside.  And every year when coleslaw season rolls around,  I have managed to lose whatever recipe I found the year before for non-creamy coleslaw.  This year I found it again, and figured if I just put it up on the blog, at least next year the search would be a little faster.  

This recipe is from the always fabulous folks at Cooks Illustrated, and as always the recipe itself makes you scratch your head a little when you first read it (put the cabbage in the microwave?  Really??) but as always, it comes out perfectly.  Trust me.  So here it is...the only coleslaw recipe you will need all summer.  And if you come back in a couple of days for my next post, I'll be showing you something pretty dang good that you can do with it.

Sweet and Tangy Coleslaw, from Cooks Illustrated

• 1/4 cup cider vinegar , plus extra for seasoning
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 large green cabbage (about 1 pound), cored and shredded fine (about 6 cups)
• 1/4 cup sugar , plus extra for seasoning
• Table salt
• 1 large carrot , peeled and grated
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Combine 1/4 cup vinegar, oil, celery seed, and pepper in medium glass or metal bowl. Place bowl in freezer until vinegar mixture is well chilled, at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
2. While mixture chills, toss cabbage with ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with large plate and microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir briefly, re-cover, and continue to microwave on high power until cabbage is partially wilted and has reduced in volume by one-third, 30 to 60 seconds longer.
3. Transfer cabbage to salad spinner and spin cabbage until excess water is removed, 10 to 20 seconds. Remove bowl from freezer, add cabbage, carrot, and parsley to cold vinegar mixture, and toss to combine. If desired, adjust flavor with sugar or vinegar. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes. Toss again before serving.

Print this!

Pulled Pork Sliders with Blue Cheese Slaw

Okay, so it is a long, long, long time until summer.    My yard is covered in about two feet of snow as we speak, and my Southern-born hound dog is not happy about it.  She seems to forget from year to year that snow actually exists in the universe, and so the first time it reappears each winter she seems, well, confused.  And extremely devoted to the fireplace.

But just because the weather outside is frightful, does that mean we can't have a little hint of summertime in the form of some good old BBQ?  Of course we can, and this recipe comes from an annual cookbook tradition in my house, and that is the CHRISTMAS WITH SOUTHERN LIVING cookbook - this time the 2010 version.  This book comes out every year, full of scrumptious recipes and decorating ideas, and while I found a number of things that were perfect for the holidays, there were also a handful of ideas for meals that are pretty tempting all year long.  Because who wouldn't want a pulled pork slider pretty much any day of the year?

Now, this recipe assumes that you already have some of the fixings pre-made, such as the actual pulled pork.  And because you know I am mainly a "make it in 30 minutes or less" girl, I was perfectly happy to pick up a vat of already-prepared pulled pork, cooked and ready to be turned into sliders, at my local Costco.  (Of course, while I was there I also had to buy their awesome chocolate chip cookies.  And a 12-pack of Scotch tape.  And a few hundred other things that I absolutely needed.

The other thing you will need is some fabulous BBQ sauce.   In our house, that means one thing and one thing only and that is Stubbs.

But you feel free to be you, BBQ-sauce-wise.  That's what makes the world go round.  So once you have the bbq all warm and mixed with sauce, this recipe is all about making the slaw.  I go right for the already shredded coleslaw mix at the supermarket, although you can certainly chop up your own cabbage, and then it is just a matter of mixing that up with some ranch dressing, some crumbled blue cheese and some cooked and chopped bacon.  Grab some slider buns (I like to warm mine up first), spoon on some bbq, a little coleslaw, toss a dill pickle slice or two on top, and you are ready to rock.  Take that, never-ending winter!

Pulled Pork Sliders with Blue Cheese Slaw, from Christmas with Southern Living 2010

• 3 cups shredded coleslaw mix
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 cups warm pulled pork BBQ (usually available in the supermarket near the bacon.  And at Costco!)
• 1 package mini slider buns (you can also use side-split hot dog rolls cut in thirds)
• 1/2 cup warmed BBQ sauce
• Dill pickle slices

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in medium bowl and mix well.

2. Mix meat with BBQ sauce.  Place 1/4 cup BBQ on bottom half of bun, top with 1/4 cup slaw.  garnish with pickle slices, top with bun and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Roast Beef and Horseradish Coleslaw Sandwiches

Last week the Southern husband asked me if I realized we were having sandwiches for dinner at least once a week lately...and he asked in the hope that this was something that we would be continuing for a good long while.  I think probably because Sandwich Night (name that movie!) is a little more casual, a little lighter.  And nowhere near as many dishes to wash, and as the guy who does the dishes after dinner this is no small thing.

And so here is my latest entry in a long row of sandwiches that I have apparently been making a lot of.  The only "cooking" involved in this one is the assembly of the horseradish coleslaw, which is ridiculously easy to make, and by the way makes a pretty fabulous coleslaw for regular coleslaw use, not  just in great roast beef sandwiches.  A little mayo, a little horseradish and a little pepper mixed up with some chopped cabbage and carrots and you are in business.  I picked up some light rye bread and some nice thin-sliced roast beef at the deli counter, and then all that you have to do is layer on some of your scrumptious horseradish coleslaw.  Instant happy suppertime.

Let's hear it for Sandwich Night!

Roast Beef and Horseradish Coleslaw Sandwiches, adapted from Real Simple

• 2 slices rye bread
• 1/4 pound rare thin sliced roast beef
• 1/4 cup coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrot)
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• Fresh ground pepper

1. Mix coleslaw mix, mayo, pepper and horseradish until well combined.

2. Lay roast beef on rye bread, cover with horseradish coleslaw and top with second bread slice.  Cut in half and give three cheers for 5 minute dinners!

Click here for printable recipe