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Tender shredded barbecued pork smothered in sauce and piled high, topped with cole slaw and stuffed into soft warm potato buns.  Traditionally this is made with pork shoulder that has been slow cooked for at least 8 to 10 hours. I made mine with a boneless pork loin to cut down on some of the fat and time. I’m also serving it with french fries and mac-n-cheese… ENJOY!

BBQ Pork Sandwiches with French Fries and Mac-N-Cheese

Ingredients: BBQ Pork

2 1/2lbs. boneless, skinless pork loin roast

1 teas. salt

1/2 teas cracked pepper

1/2 teas. garlic powder

2 1/2 teas. brown sugar

1/4 teas. dry ground sage

1/2 teas. dry rosemary

1 teas. onion powder

1/4 teas. celery seed

about a cup of your favorite bbq sauce ( I like something spicy )

Method: BBQ Pork

Combine all of the seasonings ( except the bbq sauce ) to a small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle the mixture onto all sides of the pork and rub it in.

Heat one side of your bbq only and close the lid, your looking for a steady temperature of  about 400 degrees.

Place your pork on the opposite side as the flame. This is cooking on indirect heat.

Cooking on direct heat will cause the brown sugar in the rub to burn.

Cook for 1 1/2 hours with the lid closed.

Remove your pork and transfer it to a piece of foil big enough to wrap the entire loin roast in, preferably double wrapped.

Before you wrap the pork up, add enough bbq sauce to cover it completely, 3 to 4 tbsp.

After wrapping it up, return it to the barbecue as before and roast for an additional 2 to 2 1/2 hours but lower the temperature down to 275 degrees when the lid is down.

Remove it to a plate and let it rest for at least 45 minutes.

Do not open it up at this point, it will still be cooking using something called carryover cooking.

Don’t worry, it will remain hot in the foil for about an hour.

After it has rested, open it up and transfer it to a bowl.

With two forks start to pull it apart and shred it.

Add the remaining bbq sauce and stir it in.

Your pork is now ready for sandwiches.

You can also do this in the oven by placing your pork loin roast in a baking dish with a rack and follow the same directions.

While your pork is roasting, you can start on the cole slaw.

Ingredients: Cole Slaw

1 bag cole slaw mix ( 8-10 oz. )

1/2 green pepper ( thin sliced to about 1in. long )

1/4 onion ( thin sliced to about 1in. long )

about 4 heaping tbsp. mayonnaise

1/4 red wine vinegar salad dressing

salt and pepper to taste

Method: Cole Slaw

Add the red wine vinaigrette, green pepper and onion to a small bowl and mix. Let this stand for about 15 minutes to marinate. This will take the bitter taste out of the veggies. After that, simply mix everything together in a large bowl. You might want to stir in the mayonnaise a little at a time until you get the consistency you like. Refrigerate covered for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors marry together. Overnight is even better.

Ingredients: BBQ Pork Sandwiches

bbq pork

cole slaw

6 to 8 potato buns ( or whatever buns you like )

more bbq sauce ( optional )

Method: BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Wrap your buns all together in a big piece of foil and place them on the  indirect heat side of your bbq ( or in your oven, 300 degrees ). Do this when you start to unwrap and shred the pork. This way the buns and pork will be ready at the same time.

Now, just pile the pork onto the bottom of a bun, drizzle on some more bbq sauce if you’d like and top with the cole slaw, then close it up. You should get 6 to 8 nice size sandwiches.

For the Mac-N-Cheese you can use a premade store bought kind or the one that comes out of the box.

Here’s an easy homemade kind.

Ingredients: Mac-N-Cheese

For the Sauce

1 cube margarine or butter

3 tbsp. flour

1 teas. yellow mustard

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 cups sharp cheddar cheese ( shredded )

1/2 cup Monterey Jack ( shredded )

2-3 oz. velveeta cheese ( about the size of a cube of butter, small dice )

For the noodles

5 cups water

1 teas. salt

4 cups large elbow noodles

1 tbsp. olive oil

Method: Mac-N-Cheese

Start by melting your butter in a 3qt. sauce pan on low heat.  Stir in the flour to make a roux. At the same time, in a 5qt. sauce pan, add the water, salt and olive oil and bring to a boil. While you’re waiting for the water to come to a boil go back to your roux and stir the mustard in.  Turn the heat up to medium and then stir in the whole milk a little at a time to get rid of any lumps. Stir in the cream.

Note: If you’re using lowfat milk, use 1 1/2 cups lowfat milk and 1 cup heavy cream. The fat content in the milk will keep your cheese from lumping together.

About now, your water should be boiling so add your noodles and give it a stir, they’ll take about 8 minutes. Your milk mixture should now be getting hot. When it comes to a simmer, add all of the cheese a little at a time to melt in and, once melted, turn the heat back to low.

Drain your cooked noodles and add them to your cheese sauce and mix well. Your Mac-N-Cheese is now ready.

For the french fries simply wash and cut 2 to 4 russet potatoes into “french fry size”  and fry a few at a time in 300 degree oil for about 8 minutes. Most recipes call for hotter oil but I’ve found this burns the outside and doesn’t cook the inside. A lower temperature cooked for a longer time will give you a better product and should not be greasy. Peeling the potatoes will give you that fast food look but I like the nutritional value you get from the skins so I didn’t peel mine.

And here it is.

This recipe does take time to put together ( about 4 hours ) and is a wonderful idea for a weekend get together. The pork is nice and tender, the mac-n-cheese has a great cheese flavor and the french fries are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The crunch of the cole slaw inside the sandwiches give it that classic southern style  taste.

Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY COOKING!

David

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