It's fitting for me to be making pulled pork sandwiches because when it comes to barbeque, I'm a little piggy. I discovered southern food in my early 20s when I waitressed at a BBQ restaurant for a year to save money for my move to New York City. Nightly, I devoured plates of ribs, pulled pork, succotash and corn bread with peach butter. I was fascinated by the exacting nature of the chef as the sauce was created, the meat rubbed with spices and or the peaches incorporated into the butter. The smell of the cornbread as it came out of the oven became a most comforting feeling. During downtime I would go hang out with the cooks on the line and they would sneak me ribs to snack on during my shift. I gained 10 lbs that year.
Most people will always go nuts for a rack of ribs or barbequed chicken but I can never resist a pulled pork sandwich. Some would say that a pulled pork sandwich is the forgotten step child of southern bbq but I beg to differ. Although cooking the pork is almost foolproof, one must spend time getting the seasoning just right and cooking must be done with care; a low and slow braise ensures that the meat is tender and shreds easily. Cook it too long at too high a temp and you get tough, dried out meat. The flavorful and moist seasoned meat should shine through and not be masked by the sauce.
My pork recipe is a combination of my own and this one by Tyler Florence. You most likely have everything needed for this dish in your kitchen already and the only thing you'll have to pick up is the actual pork. I used pork shoulder with the bone in which lends extra flavor during cooking and at $1.50 per pound you can afford to make a lot of it!
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Cole Slaw
Ingredients:
- 1 (5lb) pork roast
- 3 T paprika
- 2 T garlic powder
- 2 T brown sugar
- 3 T Dijon mustard
- 1 T chili powder
- 3 T kosher salt
- 1 T black pepper
- 3 T apple cider vinegar
- 1 bottle of beer.
Slaw:
- Half a head of purple cabbage
- A pinch of salt
- A shake of apple cider vinegar
- A squeeze of half a lime
Slice the cabbage...I used a mandolin but be careful of your fingers and use the guard. Place it all in a tupperware. Pour a little vinegar over the cabbage, just enough to coat the veg so as not to have a terrible amount floating around the bottom of the container. Sprinkle on the salt and squeeze on the lime. Cover, shake it up and just pop it in the fridge.
Preparation:
In a bowl combine all the ingredients together except for the beer. Place your pork into a roasting pan and smother the roast in the smoky, tart mixture. Go ahead and massage the rub into this dense piece of swine, making sure that it gets into all the nooks and crannies. Cover with foil and place in the fridge for 2 hours minimum or up to overnight. The longer it marinates, the more intense the flavor will be.
When you are ready to cook, take the roast out of the fridge and pre-heat your oven to 450F for half an hour, uncover the pork and place in the oven fat cap side up. Let it cook for half an hour then pour the beer into the roasting pan. Loosely cover with foil and lower the temp to 300F. The pork will continue to cook on the low temp for 5 hours. After the 5th hour, lower the temp to 250F, uncover and continue to cook for another 2 hours, basting the meat often. If you notice your pan juices drying up at any point, add water to the pan. When the pork is done it will be tender and juicy and falling off the bone. The pan juices will be deep and caramelized from the dark brew.
Place your roast on a dish and let it rest for 10 minutes then while the meat is still warm, pull the pork. This is simply just using 2 forks to shred the meat apart. My experience is that it's easy to fork the meat but using your hands is really the best way to get all the meat off the bone, so this is how I do it. Now, proceed to making your sauce.
Purists will roll their eyes but when making this dish I use a bottled BBQ sauce. I know, I know, true barbeque is all in the sauce but the ones I've made never really have the flavor of the ones ingested in restaurants. I use Sweet Baby Ray's and then add to it.
I add the beer pan drippings, some Dijon mustard, and a dash of apple cider vinegar. Swirl it all together and simmer on a low heat for a few minutes until it's reduced a little. Make sure to taste and adjust your seasonings accordingly.
Presentation:
Now it's serving time...pile a heaping serving of the meat onto a hamburger bun, drizzle the sauce on your pork and top it with some crunchy purple cabbage slaw. Grab yourself and brew and a stack of napkins and dig in!
