Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Delicious dinner tonight...pulled pork sandwiches served on homemade buns with homemade pickles and salad! We figured out this meal cost us less than $1 per person! That's a great deal! Dinner for less than $5 because we had most things in our house or were given the item for free. The pork shoulder/butt I bought for $13 made three meals!  We love good food and great deals!!


I originally made the pulled pork for the baby shower we threw a friend on Saturday.  The pork shoulder/butt was almost 10 lbs so it was going to feed a lot of people.  We had a good turnout but I still came home with plenty to feed my family with.  We still have some leftover that will make a good snack for the boys after school tomorrow.


I used a recipe from Chef Emeril Lagasse.  I mean who doesn't love Emeril?  Well okay, if you are a vegetarian or you have some aversion to pork you might not but I personally love him!  I even have a cook book signed by him that my husband stood in life for hours to get signed for me.  Anyway, I'm sure you are wondering about the recipe, not my infatuation with Emeril...so here it is!  You can also find it on the Food Network website with a recipe for coleslaw and fried pickles.

Don't freak out about all the parts to this recipe, they are all relatively simple to do!  The process is long because of cooking time but I promise it's worth it!  My pork shoulder/butt was double the size of this recipe so I doubled the ingredients and the time cooking.  I did use the mop sauce but since I cooked my roast over night while I was sleeping I only basted it twice and it was still moist and delicious!

Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Homemade BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork butt, about 4 pounds
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne
• Wet Mop Basting Sauce, recipe follows
• Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows
• 8 Hamburger buns

Directions

Place the pork in a baking dish. In a bowl, combine the sugar, Essence, salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, and cayenne. Rub the seasoning evenly over the pork to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat an oven or smoker to 225 degrees F.

Bring the pork to room temperature and place in a roasting pan, fat side up. Slow cook in the oven, basting with the wet mop basting sauce every 45 minutes, until tender and the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. (The cooking should take about 6 to 7 hours.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

With a knife and fork or two forks, pull the meat apart into small slices or chunks. Toss with the barbecue sauce, to taste, and divide among the hamburger buns.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Wet Mop Basting Sauce:

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt

The night before you cook the pork, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well. Refrigerate and let the flavors blend overnight.

Yield: 2 1/4 cups

Barbecue Sauce:

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup ketchup
• 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk well to dissolve the sugar. Place in a squeeze bottle and dress the pulled pork sandwiches to taste.

Yield: about 2 cups