Pulled Pork

August- really? yowza! Well you already know I haven't been here, blogging my heart away. So where have we been? At the beach of course! and if the memory card on my camera has anything to say about it, Mr. Smith has taken to a life on the other side of the lens (Note to self: if Mr. Smith has the camera on vacation, download all the pictures before playing photographer in the kitchen, or be prepared to wait 45 minutes to go through them all).

Anywho... It was Mr. St.P's birthday last weekend, so I needed to whip something up that wasn't going to heat my kitchen up to atomic levels. So here comes some super trashy pulled pork sandwiches to fill the need! When making this treat, don't bother with super gourmet root beer. Use the A&W or Mug that you find in the supermarket and save the Boylan's for yourself. Also, although this recipe calls for tenderloin, I often supplement it with a pork shoulder or another cut with a bit more fat in order to keep it from drying out. The real trick is to just cover the pork with the root beer in your slow cooker and let the magic happen. I serve this along side some homemade cole slaw and soft rolls for making sandwiches.

Recipe adapted from: Allrecipes.com
1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (5 pound) pork shoulder
Salt and pepper
1 (liter) bottle root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns, or dinner rolls for sliders
Directions:
Place the pork in a slow cooker and lightly season with salt and pepper. Pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Alternately, you can cook on high for 4 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over rolls with your favorite cole slaw.