Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Well, back to normal programming. I feel like it's been a while since I've had just a plain old recipe post, with all that's been going on. And after much debate with myself and talking it over with good ol' Andrew... after I'm done with my Biology degree... I'm going to culinary school. I keep trying to convince myself of reasons not to, and honestly... none of them stick. I think I would be quite successful, and I would enjoy myself more. Right? I'm hoping so anyway.

There's nothing better than a great pulled pork sandwich. It's great because it's easy (you just leave the pork shoulder in a crockpot for the day and come back after work or school and BAM! nice, tender pork). And this is a different riff on your normal pork barbecue because it's not really barbecue at all, but something different... something good.

Ingredients:

4 lb. pork shoulder
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
1-2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon cumin
1 cup brown sugar
1 bottle of hot taco sauce
1 can of Coke or plain cola
salt and pepper to taste
Buns
Sliced tomatoes, optional

Place crockpot under high setting and add pork shoulder, garlic, onion, jalapeno, and enough chicken stock to come up half way on the pork. Let sit in crockpot at high for about 1 hour.

Place crockpot at low setting and let cook for about 6-8 hours. (Perfect for a workday).

Drain the chicken stock and add pork back into crockpot. Shred pork and add cumin, brown sugar, taco sauce, and cola. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Serve on toasted buns with a slice of tomato.

The one thing I wish I would have added to this sandwich was sour cream. It would have been a perfect trifecta of flavors! This was more on the sweet side, but not too sweet. The cola adds a depth of flavor to the pork like no other and it was just a darn good sandwich! Enjoy!