Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Fresh Coleslaw

Pulled pork sandwiches are awesome for a backyard barbecue or a simple Sunday dinner. Seasoned, slow roasted pulled pork is piled high on a bun and topped with fresh coleslaw. Perfection.

Today was an awesome day in that I got back to Trader Joe’s. I hadn’t been in so long I had forgot the glory of a Trader Joe’s and all the wonderful things you can find there.

I got a lot of new things I hope to try and post reviews of. My BF’s mom also introduced me to an Italian market stocked with fresh breads, meats and other authentic Italian ingredients (not to mention, the place smelled amazing). We had an awesome lunch at a great Thai place that I hadn’t been to before (as we ate I contemplated where I could get good food shots to write a review) and finished the day off with a few farm stands on the way home that I never even knew were close by.

Could the day get any better? How bout having the kitchen to yourself all night to make the best pulled pork sandwich ever and get some other baking done for the weekend. Windows open with the radio cranked up. Yeah, it was a perfect kind of day.

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Pulled Pork Sandwiches

• 5 pounds pork butt, bone in
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup pepper
• 3 tbs garlic powder
• olive oil
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbs hot sauce (I like one with Chipotle peppers in it)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine salt, pepper and garlic powder in a bowl

Trim the fat side of the pork back to almost nothing. Rub the pork in olive oil and then rub salt/pepper/garlic mix all over it.

Place pork in a roasting pan with bay leaves, apple, onion and water.

Cook for 2 1/2 hours, or until the pork temps at 160 degrees.

Let rest for 10 minutes and pull.

Combine brown sugar through hot sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly.

Mix the sauce with the pulled pork. Place on a bun and top with fresh coleslaw to serve.

Coleslaw

from a foodie friend (or at least, my best attempt to remember it)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small head of cabbage
• 1 carrot
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 onion
• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1/2 teas salt
• 1/2 teas black pepper
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

Preparation:

Finely dice all of your vegetables.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl making sure everything is coated well. Serve over pulled pork or as a side.

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All in all the day was a reminder that shopping healthy, fresh and local isn’t as hard as I think it is. It would be a lot better then just defaulting to the convenience of the local chain market. Real ingredients, real people and overall better food; I should really set a goal to become more of a local shopper. It’s amazing what you can miss in your own backyard and how much you can learn just by asking a few simple questions to the right people.