Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Apricot Bourbon Barbecue Sauce and Coleslaw Recipe
For me, there isn’t always a story; a drama that ties the food into some aspect of my life’s history and I know I’m not alone. The impetus for the website I started with just recipes more than 17 years ago that has morphed into this blog that I manage today is so simple. I really love to cook. It is an extension of my creative nature and I often crave the process more than the food that will be the fruits of my labor. My initial reason for putting recipes online was very simple. What a great way to catalog and share the results of the dishes I made. As my efforts to satisfy my own needs took flight and readers began to enjoy that effort, it became a more interesting space. There is no doubt that the capability for readers today to leave comments has added an element that can’t be disregarded and this effort is most definitely improved with the notion that people are reading, enjoying, communicating and yes, even making the dishes I love.
Want a bite?
Most often it’s an easy effort for me to make something that sounds good; years of cooking and reading and trial and error make experimentation a given and that part is fun. I have learned to love the photography part too but I’ll admit, the writing part is a job and if I’m honest not one I totally enjoy. It’s not that I suffer from writers block or find it hard (I might have even majored in English!!), it’s just not something I crave like ‘writers’ do especially when my primary focus is to share a recipe and I offer no apologies for my personal bent. This is such a hugely creative space and I love and appreciate those that so willingly share the bounty of their experience but in that, I would hope that those that write blogs for other reasons would not find fault with mine or with others who do what we do simply because we love the culture of food; the preparing of it, the sharing of it and of course the eating of it! I don’t spend hours trying to memorialize a recipe with the perfect experience or even the most perfect of adjectives. I’m not here to write a story filled with someone else set of rules; I’m simply sharing a recipe. For me I rather imagine you are sitting at the counter in my kitchen, sipping from a cup of coffee or even a cocktail and we’re chatting during the process. If I wanted to write a short story I could and I would but I don’t.
I still don’t know who is making up those rules but I do know this. For this blog the ultimate judge and jury are you, the readers. If you prefer that I wax poetic about the food I make or share my (mis)adventures with family then you’ll probably decide to not stick around. I will miss you but it’s OK…it really is. Different strokes for different folks right?
This sauce is actually courtesy of Fine Cooking; I saw them tweet a recipe the other day for Ribs with an Apricot Bourbon Sauce; of course my eyes popped out of my head…you just know that’s calling MY name, right? I made some slight revisions but I think good ones…just a bit more of the apricot jam and the addition of some molasses. I really love the combination of sweet, spicy and a teeny bit of heat that is the end result. I could absolutely eat this sauce with a spoon; however, adding it to slow cooked, shredded pork resulted in an ‘Oh My’ moment for sure. Enjoy this with or without the coleslaw (my very favorite with just a bit of horseradish) but I just love the combination of the two. It really does take me back a bit to somewhere southern so I can’t help myself; Hey Y’all…how y’all doin?
I was offered some tea to sample from the folks at Lipton; what better dinner to sample their teas with than barbecue pork and coleslaw? I enjoy tea but seldom make it anymore (not quite sure why now that I think of it) so I’ve enjoyed having a ready supply this past week. If I’m totally honest the presweetened ones were a bit too sweet for me but then I never liked a lot of sugar in my tea (even after those years in the south!). I found that adding a bit more lemon suited my personal tastes better and the Pure Leaf teas were my favorite. My dinner mates were all over the map with their flavor preferences but I have to say; even with the sugar, that peach tea was the bomb with the pork and apricot bourbon barbecue sauce!
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Apricot Bourbon Barbecue Saue and Coleslaw
Ingredients
For the Coleslaw:
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp horseradish
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Package of coleslaw mix (One of my few Sandra Lee moments but SO convenient!)
- For the Pork:2-3 lb pork tenderloin:
- 2 cans of Dr. Pepper (I had it so I used Diet Dr. Pepper)
- For the sauce (from Fine Cooking - http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/hickory-smoked-ribs-apricot-burbon-barbecue-sauce.aspx):
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 large jar (18 oz) apricot preserves
- 1 cup (12 oz jar) Heinz chili sauce
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. bourbon
- 1/3 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp mustard (Dijon, spicy or wholegrain preferably)
1/2 - 1 medium serrano or jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped
Preparation
To Make the Coleslaw:
Mix all ingredients except the coleslaw mix with a whisk until smooth.
Put coleslaw mix in a large mixing bowl; pour on the dressing and mix well to combine. Chill for at least an hour before serving..
To Make the Pork:
Put the tenderloin into a crockpot and cover with the Dr. Pepper. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. (I wanted to cook mine overnight so did it on the lowest setting of warm for 10 hours.
Remove from the crockpot and dispose of the Dr. Pepper. Allow to cool a bit until it can be handled.
Put the meat on a cutting board and using 2 forks, shred the meat, Start by putting your forks in the center and pull them both to the outer edge of the meat; It should come apart easily; if it does not, it needs to be cooked longer.
To Make the Sauce:
Melt the butter in a 3 qt heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and saute for at least 5 minutes until they start to brown.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, approximately 1 minute.
Add the remainder of the ingredients except for 1 Tbsp of bourbon. Cook for 20-30 minutes on low until well blended and thickened. Remove from heat and add the remaining Tbsp of bourbon. Mix well.
Cool slightly and add to the shredded pork. Depending on how much pork you have, you may have extra sauce; store any extra in fridge.
To Prepare the Sandwich:
Layer pork and sauce on a fresh bun, top with a big spoonful of coleslaw and top with top of hamburger bun. Serve with additional slaw and chips.
2.0
http://www.creative-culinary.com/2012/08/pulled-pork-sandwiches-with-apricot-bourbon-barbecue-sauce-and-coleslaw/
This recipe brought to you by © Creative Culinary | A Food and Cocktail Blog | Website: www.creative-culinary.com
While I’m on the subject?
I have a plethora of recipes from those many years of just putting recipes online in plain html format. I would love to share more of them here but getting that done with a photo and a story line isn’t going to happen any time soon ever and maybe my own reminder that for me it’s about the food means I need to give myself a break on the food story. Though I love sharing what I make on this blog; I also operate a web business and that’s my primary focus; doing 2 posts a week is already a stretch so starting next Wednesday I’m doing a quick and dirty version of something I love. My plans are to make the dish and at least get a photo included but when I do publish on Wednesday, it will be a cursory greeting; that day it will be all about re-building those 15 years of favorite dishes here. Not exactly Wordless Wednesday but as of yet I haven’t come up with the perfect tagline. Got any ideas? ‘WTF Wednesday’ probably wouldn’t fly right? :)