Pulled Pork Sandwiches

erhaps my biggest help in the kitchen is my Crock Pot. I use it for countless meals, and I want to share a particular favorite: Pulled Pork Sandwiches.

Growing up, we referred to this as Pork Barbecue, although as a fancy grown up I don't think the title is still applicable; mostly due to the method of cooking. My approach is low, wet heat for 8 hours, and more traditional methods might include roasting (high, dry heat), so roasting as opposed to barbecuing; or I suppose if you really wanted smoky flavor, one could grill the pork (!), but again, that's grilling, not barbecuing.


I started with the barbecue sauce:

2 T unsalted butter
1 24 oz bottle Ketchup (Yes, store bought and yes, I acknowledge that its quasi-cooking.)
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 C white vinegar (I suggest cutting back to 1 c)
1/2 C dark brown sugar
1/2 T cinnamon (adjust down to taste - I regretted this amount!)
1 t chili powder
1 t mustard seeds
1 t ground black pepper
1 t cumin
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 T chipotle peppers, chopped, in adobo sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce

In a medium pot over medium high, melt butter and add ketchup, tomato sauce, vinegar and brown sugar. Add dry spices and garlic, reduce to low heat and allow sauce to simmer about 25 minutes. Add chipotle/adobo and Worcestershire sauce at the end.



I chopped half of a small yellow onion, which went with about 2 cups of the sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker. I trimmed the fat from a 4 lb pork shoulder (bone-in) before lowering onto its flavorful bed. I poured on the remaining sauce, set the heat to Low, and came back 8 hours later to find a gorgeous roast ready to shred. Finally, the meat stays super moist with the reintroduction of that sweet, smoky sauce.