Pulled pork sandwiches, reminiscent of cafeteria sloppy joes, can hardly be called sandwiches. The sauce soaks into the buns and if you try to pick one up with your hands it would completely fall apart. Pulled pork is the perfect slow-cooking winter dish, warm and spicy. This is my father's pulled pork sandwich recipe, and is, in my humble opinion, the best.
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 pickled jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons of Chipotle chile powder (Shillings brand makes one)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 lbs of pork butt, trimmed of excess fat
Hamburger buns
1 Purée all of the sauce ingredients (everything except the bay leaf, the pork and the buns) in a blender until smooth.
2 Put sauce, bay leaf, and pork into a large pot and add 1 quart of water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, covered, turning frequently, for 2 hours or until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.
3 Remove from heat and cool pork in the sauce. When cool, remove the pork from the sauuce and shred into small pieces. Set aside.
4 Reduce the sauce by two thirds. Add the pork back to the sauce. Serve hot over open-face hamburger buns.
Serves 6 to 8.
If you have extra time, marinate the pork in the sauce overnight or for several hours before cooking.
Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:05 pm