"Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches"

Yes. That was entirely in quotation marks for a reason. As a Texas raised girl, I was nervous and was afraid I didn't stand a chance making CAROLINA pulled pork. But it was too late. The pork was in the crock pot and the sauce had been made. My obsession with CPP is evident as soon as you look at my Pinterest "food" board. Sleepless nights have been spent creating the perfect sauce to a meal I have never made and have only had ONCE. Yes. Once. 

The meal started at 10:30 this morning. I seasoned the pork, seared it just enough to get a crisp, although, I didn't understand the searing part because, HELLO, it's going to spend EIGHT hours in a steaming crock pot! I still did it. I also made sauce, which to me seemed delicious and spot on. That was at 10:30 A.M.. I took some "culinary liberties" because I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. Plus, I'm not really one to be afraid of substitutions. Cooking is flexible like that. That's why I love it.

If you're still reading, good. You've reached the disclaimer! I just want to advise you that the sauce has vinegar in it. I used cider vinegar. And let me tell you... It. Stings. The. Nostrils. Go ahead, say it in your best Ron Burgundy voice. With that said, here is my recipe for CPP. Please see my notes for my variations.

Finally... on to the recipe...



Carolina Pulled Pork adapted from Coloradomoms.com

Ingredients

2 onions, quartered

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs paprika

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 (4-6) lb boneless pork butt or shoulder roast

3/4 c cider vinegar

4 tsp worcestershire

1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

hamburger buns

coleslaw (optional)*

Instructions

Place onions in crockpot. Combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Rub over roast. Place roast over onion.

Combine vinegar, worcestershire, red pepper, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne; stir to mix well. Drizzle about 1/3 over roast; cover and refrigerate the remainder.

Cover crockpot and cook low 8 hrs or high 4-6 hrs. Drizzle about 1/3 reserved vinegar mixture over roast during last 30 min of cooking. Remove meat and onions, drain. Chop or shred meat and chop onions. Serve on buns. If desired, top with coleslaw. Use remaining vinegar on sandwiches.

NOTES:
I only used two pounds of pork shoulder, so I halved the measurements. Also, I completely omitted the sugar and I used dijon mustard instead of dry mustard. I should also mention that I accidentally used paprika in the sauce. It didn't concern me at all because I like paprika and it enhanced the flavor and color of the sauce.

*My favorite substitution I made was the coleslaw. I din't use traditional cabbage slaw. Instead, I used a delicious (and better for you) broccoli and carrot slaw. I got it at Whole Foods. I gave it a creamy texture by using plain Greek yogurt and just a tiny amount of light mayo. You can even omit the mayo if you don't care for it. I also seasoned it with paprika, salt, and fresh ground pepper.

COLE SLAW
2 C broccoli slaw
2 T Plain Greek yogurt
1 t light mayo
1/2 t paprika
Salt & pepper to taste