The key to BBQ pork is slow cooking. That is not easy if you want to have something during the week and you work so … when I saw that boneless pork butt roasts were on sale, I thought – BBQ pork sandwiches… but How? Of course… in the crockpot!
So first came the marinade: one small bottle of apple cider vinegar, 1/2 sweet onion coarsely sliced, and a splash of Sriracha sauce for heat.
I use FREEZER ziplock bags because they are thicker and more reliable with the liquids. I marinated the meat overnight – turning several times during the evening.
In the morning I poured everything into the crockpot and added just enough water so that meat was almost covered with liquid.
When I got home, the apartment smelled delicious. I carefully removed the meat from the crockpot, removing any fat that had not melted during the cooking process. I tried to keep fairly large hunks so that it would not dry out. I put the meat in a warm (300-degree) oven for a little while (30 minutes) to “dry out” while I made the BBQ sauce – the meat from the crockpot is moist but it can also be a little “soupy” in texture – I wanted a bit more of the roasted feel that you would get from traditional BBQ.
In my Dad’s BBQ sauce tradition – I used a small bottle of ketchup (the whole bottle and I bought the store brand since I knew I would be doctoring it), a generous splash of lemon juice and a fairly good amount of dark brown sugar.
Next some seasonings including a sprinkling of garlic powder, some grainy mustard and a dash of Sriracha sauce and then the final touch
a splash of alcohol – ok… I would normally use whisky (especially Jack Daniels) but I couldn’t find any in the apartment and this worked Just Fine *smile*
I took the meat out of the oven and fork shredded it – leaving it still relatively chunky
Added Some of the BBQ sauce – I didn’t want it soupy or swimming in sauce. My Dad always said that he wanted to taste the Pork and not Just the sauce!
Back into the oven to caramelize a bit while I waited for my Heart to get home from work.
Served up on some warmed Kaiser rolls with a bit more BBQ sauce added, to each person’s taste
Then topped with some store bought cole slaw in the Carolina tradition
This meal was relatively simple, fairly inexpensive (we have enough leftover BBQ pork for BBQ nachos later this week – WOOT!), and was pretty damned yummy – if I do say so myself!