Pulled Pork Sandwich

The last time I had homemade slow-cooker pulled pork was at the Summer Supper Club’s Southern Night 2 years go (holy crap, has it really been that long??). I made shrimp & grits, Karen brought over about a ton of tangy pork, and I think there were green beans, potatoes, and biscuits involved too. Yeah. It was an awesome dinner.

While I’ve been mainly pulled pork-free since that summer (except for a recent food truck experience…which was awesome), Dan’s been ordering it almost every time we go out to eat — for some reason PP sandwiches are served at all the restaurants we go to around here. A couple nights ago we had dinner with some friends and Dan ordered himself a PP Reuben. He ate half and was planning to have the other half for lunch the next day but…I sort of gave it to a homeless guy on the way home. He didn’t complain or anything, but I felt bad just giving away his food (without asking…oops), so I decided to make amends by whipping up a big batch of homemade PP. There is now a daunting 3.5lbs of the stuff in the fridge, but we are happy to take on the challenge.

I don’t like cole slaw, so we’ve been eating our sandwiches plain, with nothing but the tangy juices of the cooked pork drizzled on top, some raw onion slices for crunch, on fresh bulkie rolls. So good. So good. It’s going to be so sad when we run out of pork but…there’s another 3.5lb shoulder in the freezer just waiting to be slow cooked. Heh heh heh heh heh…

Pulled Pork (Adapted from Verses from My Kitchen’s recipe)

Ingredients:
– 1 pork shoulder or butt, trimmed (3.5 pounds)
– 1 cup ketchup
– 1 cup sweet apple cider
– 1/2 cup water
– 3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
– 1/3 cup brown sugar
– 1 tbsp paprika
– 2 tbsp chili powder
– 2 tbsp minced garlic
– 1 tsp ground black pepper
– 1 tsp. hot pepper flakes
– 1 tbsp Adobo spices
– 1 tbsp salt

Steps:
(1) Put pork in a slow cooker.
(2) In a large bowl, combine all marinade ingredients. Pour over the pork, rubbing it in to make sure every part of the meat is covered by marinade.
(3) Cover and cook on low for 9.5 hours. (Or medium for 8 hours)
(4) When done, shred the meat with a fork.
(5) Stir to coat shredded pork in sauce.
(6) Serve warm on fresh buns, with your favorite toppings. (Or eat plain with a fork – it’s delicious either way)