BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Monday, February 18, 2013

Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork [BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches]

Posted by Cassie / 69 comments » / Burgers/Sandwiches, Main Dishes, Pork

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

BBQ is always something that I have preferred to eat at a restaurant. In Kansas City, we were surrounded by excellent BBQ. Not to mention, anytime we wanted to drive about an hour, we could have an excellent meal of pulled pork, burnt ends or ribs and sides at my Dad’s BBQ restaurant.

So, what to do when you move away from the BBQ capital and you are craving some savory pulled pork? You turn to your trusty friend the slow cooker and it’s side-kick beer.

Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork [BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches]

It was our second Saturday in our new home. It was cold, we had house projects to tackle and just needed a little taste of home. Luckily, we had some Gates BBQ sauce in the fridge and some slow-cooked pork butt sounded just right.

The flavors in the pulled pork are simple – liquid smoke is my “secret” when it comes to cooking meat in the slow cooker – it gives it that “straight from the smoker” taste, without actually having to use a smoker. Add in lots of salt, garlic and onions and your favorite beer and in a few hours, your kitchen will smell amazing and the pork will literally just fall apart. It took me right back to Kansas City without so much as leaving my own kitchen.

If you aren’t a fan of BBQ sauce, feel free to leave it out and make pulled pork tacos, pizza, nachos, or even fajitas! I made the beer pulled pork on a Saturday. That night, we ate pork fajitas; served the pork with tortillas, sautéed bell peppers, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, salsa and chips.

The following day, I reheated the pork in a large pot, added the BBQ sauce and we ate the sandwiches…and then still had leftovers for a couple of days. We ate the leftover BBQ pulled pork in quesadillas and on nachos. Next time I’ll try pizza!

Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork

Print Recipe

Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork & BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Yield: 8 servings + leftovers

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 8 hours

Pork butt which has been slow cooked with beer and lots of flavor and then shredded, smothered in BBQ sauce, and sandwiched between two buns with onions and pickles

Ingredients:

for the beer pulled pork:
1-2 Tbs. oil
5 pound bone-in pork butt roast
12 ounces beer
1 Tbs. soy sauce
2 tsp. liquid smoke
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin

for the BBQ sandwiches:
2 cups BBQ sauce + more for serving
sandwich buns of your choice
thinly sliced red onions
dill pickles

Directions:

Trim the excess fat from the pork roast. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the roast on one side for 2-3 minutes, and then on the other side for an additional 2 minutes.

Place the roast in the crock of a slow cooker. Pour in the beer, soy sauce, liquid smoke, shallots, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and cumin and stir.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 6 hours.

Remove the roast from the slow cooker and place on a rimmed baking sheet – mine started for fall apart on its own so if that happens, just fish out as much meat as you can. Discard the fatty pieces and the bone and then, using two forks, shred the meat. Ladle two to three ladles of the juice on the meat to keep it moist.

Combine the pulled pork with 1 cup of the BBQ sauce and stir to distribute. Add more (about 1 cup) until all of the meat is covered in sauce. Serve with sandwich buns, onions and pickles and extra BBQ sauce.

Cassie's Notes:
I made the beer pulled pork on a Saturday. That night, we ate pork fajitas; served the pork with tortillas, sautéed bell peppers, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, salsa and chips.

The following day, I reheated the pork in a large pot, added the BBQ sauce and we ate the sandwiches...and then still had leftovers for a couple of days. We ate the leftover BBQ pulled pork in quesadillas and on nachos. Next time I'll try pizza!