Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Apricot Bourbon Barbeque Sauce

Wow - it has been a while since I have cooked anything new and since I have blogged!  The holiday's, puppy and Kiefer's graduation from Navy Bootcamp have just pre-occupied me!  Well this past saturday was the chance to try out a ton of new recipes!  Kim and Dave came for a wonderful visit and they got to sample the recipes. 

The first recipe came from a co-worker of Paul's.  Of course I had to alter it a bit.  No onions, no garlic and no chile pepper!  Next time I will also cook the pork the way I normally do.  In the crockpot with no Dr. Pepper.  It seem to make the pork tougher.  hmmmm.  The recipe was great!  :) 

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Apricot Bourbon Barbeque Sauce

For the pork:
2-3 lb pork tenderloin (I used about 4 pounds)
2 cans of Dr. Pepper

For the Sauce
2 T butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large jar (18 oz) apricot preserves
1 cup (12 oz) Heinz chili sauce
2 T molasses
1/2 cup plus 1 T bourbon
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4  cup packed light brown sugar
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T mustard (Dijon, spicy or whole grain preferably)
½ - 1 medium serrano or jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped

Preparation
To make pork:
1.  Put the tenderloin into a crockpot and cover with the Dr. Pepper.  Cook on low 7-8 hours.  (If you want to cook over night - put on lowest setting and cook for 10 hours).  
2.  Remove the pork from crockpot.  Dispose of Dr. Pepper.  Allow to cool a bit until it can be handled.
3.  Using 2 forks, shred the meat.  If it does not come apart easily, cook longer.

To make sauce:
1.  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.
2.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.  Approximately 1 minute.  
3.  Add the remainder of the ingredients except for 1 T of bourbon.  Cook for 20-30 minutes on low until well blended and thickened.  Remove from heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon of bourbon.  Mix well.  4.  Cool slightly and add to the shredded pork.  Depending on how much pork you have, you may have extra sauce.