So.
I bought this recipe magazine as a joke for my very favorite mom-in-law, who kinda (secretly) hates pitch in dinners.
But, as it happens, there were a lot of interesting ideas packed into those pages, so I ended up picking up a copy for myself.
Since we were gonna be at mom’s for Easter, and we were doing the big family gathering at a restaurant the day before, she, Rich, and I decided to try a cool looking take on pulled pork from the magazine for our holiday feast.
INGREDIENTS
Pork:
•1 (4 lb) boneless pork loin
•1 tsp garlic powder
•1/2 tsp celery seed
•1/2 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1 can (7.5 oz) chipotles in adobo
•1 large sweet onion, chopped
•2 tbsp brown sugar
•24 oz Dr Pepper
Barbecue sauce:
•3 cups skimmed chipotle Dr Pepper sauce from the pork
•1 cup barbecue sauce
•1 cup cherry jelly
Sammiches:
•Shredded pork warmed in barbecue sauce
•Mayonnaise
•Yellow mustard
•Cole slaw
•Sliced pickles
•Pretzel Rolls
Heat the oven to 325º and arrange the pork roast in a large baking pan or Dutch oven.
Season the roast with the garlic powder, celery seed, salt, pepper, chipotles, and brown sugar; then pour the Dr. Pepper over all and cover the pot.
Bake for four hours or so, until the pork is very tender.
Note: you can cook and serve this all in one day; but I really prefer to separate the pork from the cooking liquid and veggies and stash ’em in the fridge overnight. That way, when I am ready to put dinner together, the excess fat will have solidified at the top of the cooking sauce and can easily be discarded.
Shred the pork with a couple of forks and set aside.
Skim any fat from the Dr. Pepper cooking sauce and add to a pan along with the barbecue sauce and cherry jelly.
Cook, over low heat, until heated through and slightly thickened – you will have, if you’ve planned it correctly – a sweet and spicy sauce for your shredded pork.
Add the shredded pork into the warmed barbecue sauce and toss to coat.
Cook over low heat until heated through.
Serve on a lightly toasted roll with…
well, it’s really your choice…
we like ours with a bit of mayonnaise, mustard, sliced pickle, and cole slaw on a toasted pretzel roll or sammich bun.
It really is all good.
And, you’re gonna want to try this sammich.