Cook, cook, cook! Part II

I decided to go even more simple for the second Easter party with my cousins, and made it a DIY dinner. I enlisted the help of my trusted slow cooker to make Pulled Pork Sandwiches. I have served pulled pork sandwiches in many of my parties and everyone seems to like it. I especially like it since it's not a lot of work, can be made ahead and you don't need any utensils to eat them! Win-win-win! I have always used this William Sonoma recipe, I'm sure there are many great recipes out there, but I really like this one since it's super simple and I usually already have all the ingredients on hand. The only thing I have omitted from the recipe is the molasses, not sure if it would have made a big difference. I made the pulled pork the night before (yes, after I washed all the dishes from the kiddie party, HA!), shredded the pork and put the sauce in the fridge, I love doing this (you would probably know this from reading my previous slow cooker posts), this allows all the fat from the sauce solidify, so I can easily scoop it out from the top.

I reheated the pork in the oven, and accidentally burned the top! Luckily, it still tasted okay after it was mixed with the sauce, if you find the meat too dry, you can always add some broth or water to loosen the sauce. Everyone assembled their own sandwiches with the pulled pork, coleslaw and even the toppings from the baked potato bar.

Pulled pork
3 Tbs. canola or corn oil
4 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3 equal pieces
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup tomato ketchup
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup light molasses
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Soft sandwich rolls, split and toasted, for serving   

• Brown the pork
  In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the pork pieces and brown well on all sides, about 12 minutes total. Transfer the pork to a slow cooker. 

Make the sauce and cook the pork
Pour off all but about 1 Tbs. of the fat from the fry pan and return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until the mixture begins to bubble. Pour over the pork. Cover and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions until the pork is very tender, 4 to 5 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.

Shred the pork and serve
Transfer the pork pieces to a platter. Using a pair of forks, shred each piece of pork, removing and discarding any large pieces of fat. Skim the excess fat off the sauce, return the pulled pork to the sauce and stir to combine. Serve the pork and sauce atop the sandwich rolls. Serves 6 to 8.

 

 

 

I whipped up this coleslaw with 1/2 head of cabbage, 1 carrot, 2 cups of mayo, 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp of garlic powder and salt and pepper (The vinegar is heated with the sugar)

I also made my guests work hard on making their own side dish by having a Baked Potato bar, this is such a great and simple idea, I baked all the potatoes ahead of time and just set them out with a bunch of toppings.

Toppings:

Cheddar cheese

Parmesan cheese

Chives

Sour cream

Steamed Broccoli

Bacon

Sauteed mushrooms and onions

    Roasted garlic butter

The baked potato bar was also a big hit, and clean up was a breeze!

I swear there is a potato under all the toppings!

After a full week of eating leftovers (As suggested by my cousin, I used the leftover pulled pork and baked potato to make a shepherd's pie and it was soooo good), I'm ready to cook again, let's see what  I can come up with next week!