Easy Recipe For A Day Of Unpacking - Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Cole Slaw

Dear God in Heaven....the movers finally made their back end appearance! Monday was a busy day of unpacking. Busy days like these require not only something easy to prepare, with make ahead elements, but also some good old fashioned comfort. Pulled pork sandwiches, made easy by a slow cooker preparation, and homemade barbecue sauce and cole slaw made ahead fit the bill.

I prepared the sauce on Sunday, and made the cole slaw prep even easier by cheating and going with a bagged cole slaw mix. Broccoli in this case. Time for some veggies to offset all the cream sauces of the past few days.

Mangia!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Cole Slaw
Adapted from Food Network Kitchen

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 teaspoons hot paprika

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 3 -to-4-pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste

3 tablespoons tomato paste

6 onion buns, or potato buns

Barbecue sauce and prepared coleslaw, for serving, recipes below

Combine 1 tablespoon brown sugar, the paprika, mustard powder, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet; add the pork and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, 5 minutes. Remove the pork and transfer to a plate; whisk 3/4 cup water into the  drippings in the skillet. Transfer the liquid to a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker.

Add the vinegar, tomato paste, the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 cups water to the slow cooker and whisk to combine. Add the pork, cover and cook on low, 8 hours.

Remove the pork and transfer to a cutting board. Strain the liquid into a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Roughly chop the pork and mix in a bowl with 1 cup of the reduced cooking liquid, and salt and vinegar to taste. Serve on buns with barbecue sauce and coleslaw

Kansas City-style BBQ Sauce

Courtesy: Food Network Kitchen

2 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil, such as grapeseed or vegetable

6 cloves garlic, smashed

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 slightly heaping tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Pinch ground cloves

2 cups ketchup

2 cups water

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup dark molasses

1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons English-style dried mustard

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, chile powder, paprika, red pepper, allspice, and cloves and cook, stirring, until paste is dark brick red, about 3 minutes. Add the ketchup, water, vinegar, molasses, brown sugar, salt, soy sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, black pepper, and bay leaf. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the flavors come together, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf before using.

Classic Cole Slaw
 Adapted from Simply Recipes

4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (green or purple, or a mix) (I cheated and bought a bag of pre-sliced cabbage and carrots....convenience is the key word today)

1 carrot, grated (large holes of a box grater) (part of cheating scheme described above)

2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

4 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

2 teaspoons cider vinegar or wine vinegar

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (more to taste)

   

Place the cabbage, carrot, and onions in a large bowl. Add the dressing ingredients and gently mix so that all of the shredded cabbage is coated with the dressing.

Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.