Pigging Out

Today is the Teacher Appreciation Day Banquet at our elementary school. I'm the daughter of a teacher, I'm also married to a teacher turned principal, and therefore an authority on what they like, and I will tell you, all teachers like buffets.  

I will also tell you that nothing says "thank you" like pork.

Here's my simple crock pot recipe for barbecue pulled pork sliders, perfect for teachers and potlucks everywhere.

Pulled Pork Sliders

Feeds a village

6-7lbs of boneless Pork Butt (stop laughing)or shoulder

3 diced carrots

1 diced yellow onion

2 diced celery stalks

3 cloves of garlic, smashed

16 oz vegetable stock

16 oz sweet, tangy barbecque sauce

salt + pepper

Slider buns (I found mine at Trader Joes)

Peppers (I like sliced pickled jalapenos)

For this, I make coleslaw simple and without mayo (sits out well)

See recipe below.

Salt and pepper the outside of the pork, I'm pretty generous with the salt.

In a large pan or cast iron skillet brown the pork on all sides to seal in the juices.

Put the pork in the crock pot, adding the vegetables and stock, cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, if you have less time, cook on high setting for 6 hours. The less meat you have, the shorter the cook time.  The important thing is that the pork breaks down and shreds softly.

Once it finished cooking transfer the meat to a grooved cutting board and using two forks, gently pull the meat apart until it looks like this:

At this point you can do a few different things.  If you do not like barbecue sauce slathered all over your pork, I suggest draining part of the liquid (skimming the fat) from the crock pot and returning the meat to stew, using a slatted spoon to serve.

If you do like barbecue sauce on your pork, discard all but 1 cup of the juices, mix in 16 oz of bbq sauce and return the meat to the crock pot.  

You can serve directly from the crock pot or put the pulled pork in a covered serving dish for the table, or you could assemble the sandwiches and serve on a platter.

If you have leftovers, may I suggest taco night?

Coleslaw

1 head of green cabbage, finely shredded

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

Pepper to taste

Whisk dressing ingredients until emulsified, toss with cabbage.