Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Yes this happened tonight. It was so yummy. Seriously one of the best things I have made in a long while, which is saying something as I’m a pretty damn good cook. This adventure started last weekend when I was grocery shopping. Pulled pork sounded really good to me and in Sacramento there isn’t a whole lot of choices when it comes to BBQ. The one really good place is a good 30 mins away and pricey. Not that I mind paying for good food…but let’s see what I can come up with. So I find a really nice pork butt roast or a Boston Butt roast as it is sometimes known and start to plot.

A little bit about pork butt…it’s not the behind! Seriously. That is where most cured and/or smoked hams come from. The pork butt or Boston butt cut comes from the top part of the shoulder. The rest is considered the picnic or shoulder roast. The Boston butt cut is preferred for pulled pork because it has heavy marbling (which means juicy yumminess) and overall a more tender and not a stringy. It works really really smoked, grilled low and slow or as I did used my crock pot. And this recipe is good for just regular pulled pork. You don’t have to make them into sandwiches. It can stand up on it’s own. Trust me. It’s that damn good.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches
3-4# pork butt roast
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1⁄2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 onion chopped
8-10 hearty buns

Note: You will hear various opinions about removing the fat cap or not on the roast. I don’t. Why? Because if done right, the fat will melt into the meat making it juicy and yummy. Now if it’s too thick, feel free to trim it back some but I highly recommend on leaving some of it on. Trust me on this.

Combine all the seasonings in a small bowl. Massage the seasoning mix all over the pork roast until it coated fully. Heat a pan on high, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sear all sides of the pork roast in the pan. Put the chopped onion in the bottom of the crock pot and place the pork roast on top (fat cap up). Deglaze the pan with a cup of water and the liquid smoke. Pour the juice over the pork roast. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until fork tender.

Remove the pork, drain juice (reserve some) discard onions (or you can shred them into the pork like I did). Shred and return to crock pot. Add a little bit of juice just to keep it moist.

Stack the pulled pork on buns, add bbq sauce, coleslaw and pickles. Enjoy!