Although the clouds took over this afternoon, the morning was gorgeous and sunny, with a perfect temperature. I took advantage of it by walking up to the grocery store for the few ingredients I needed to put together my dinner plans. This holiday weekend has been pretty full: coffee and baking projects with a friend, a birthday celebration, and a get-together at a DC biergarten that lasted well into Sunday night. A start-it-and-forget-it barbecue pulled pork seemed like a great way to wrap it up. The recipe I tried was featured last week in “the Dish” newsletter from Food & Wine, and I had bookmarked it for the occasion.
Slow-cooked Barbecue Pulled Pork and Coleslaw
Pulled pork:
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup organic ketchup
¼ cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp sambal oelek
2 ½ pounds boneless pork shoulder or Boston butt, cut in quarters
Whole wheat buns
Coleslaw:
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp ground mustard
kosher salt
pepper
shredded cabbage and carrots
For the pulled pork, whisk together all ingredients from the yellow onion through the sambal oelek. Place the pork in a slow cooker and slather with barbecue sauce mixture. Cook on high for around 6 hours, until the pork is very tender.
While the pork is cooking, mix all of the ingredients for the coleslaw except for the cabbage and carrots. Once well incorporated, add in the cabbage and carrots and toss to coat. Refrigerate until serving time.
Once the pork is done, remove it from the slow cooker and shred. Pour the barbecue sauce into a saucepan and boil on high heat until it has reduced and thickened. Pour over the pulled pork and toss.
Mound a scoop of pulled pork onto the whole wheat bun, top with some coleslaw, and if desired, serve with baked beans.
[Recipe adapted from Food & Wine, September 2008, as found on foodandwine.com: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/slow-cooker-barbecued-pulled-pork]
