The Best Pulled Pork Sandwiches- Just in time for Super Bowl!

With the Super Bowl being held in our back yard this year, I’ve been scouring my favorite recipes for game day. These sandwiches are a family favorite! Use your slow cooker; it’s easy, child-friendly, and great for a crowd. The meat tastes even better the next day, so you can make them the day before and not have to rush before guests arrive. I like to serve this with coleslaw, but you can always pair them with your favorite potato salad or whatever looks good from the prepared food isle at Whole Foods 🙂

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
*3 tablespoons canola or corn oil

*4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (cut into 3 equal pieces)**

*1 yellow onion, finely chopped

*¾ cup cider vinegar

*¾ cup tomato ketchup

*1/3 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

*¼ cup light molasses

*2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

*1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

*1 tablespoon liquid smoke (optional)

*1 teaspoon dry mustard

*salt and freshly ground pepper

*sandwich rolls, split and toasted

Step 1. Brown the pork. Heat the oil in a large frying pan using medium-high heat. Add the pork (do this in two steps, if necessary, to avoid overcrowding) and brown well on all sides, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer the browned pork into the slow cooker.

Step 2. Make the sauce and cook the pork. Leave about 1 tablespoon of fat in the frying pan and pour off the rest. Saute the onion over medium-high heat until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes. Add the vinegar to deglaze the pan, making sure you scrape all of the browned bits. In a mixing bowl, mix the ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, mustard and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Then add mixture to the pan of cooked onions. Simmer over medium heat until the mixture starts bubbling.  Place pork in slow cooker and pour the sauce over the pork.  Cook on the high-heat setting for 4-5 hours or the low-heat setting for 8-10 hours.

Step 3. Shred the pork and serve. Transfer the pork pieces to a cutting board. Shred the pork using a pair of forks. Skim the sauce of any excess fat and add the pork back to the sauce. Stir to combine. Serve the pork on top of the sandwich rolls.

** We often like to substitute chicken for pork. The recipe is just as tasty. Use 4 pounds boneless chicken breast and omit step 1. Simply put the chicken in the slow cooker and go to step 2. You won’t have fat from the pork, so just add 1 tablespoon of canola or corn oil and cook the onion as directed.
** Recipe slightly adapted from Williams Sonoma Slow Cooker

Now that you know what my family is having for the Super Bowl, what will your family be having?