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.
These sandwiches were started by Paul one evening he was cooking supper (he was using BBQ'd Pork). They are so good that we have shared them with many. (Mary Ann, Kelsey, Kim S. and I am sure we will share many more)!
First you need to cook your turkey. In preparation for my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary I needed to cook turkeys. Since the summer was so warm and we don't have air conditioning I decided to try cooking the turkey in the crockpot! It worked great. I was able to cook 2 turkey breasts at a time, then let them cool and shred. (I am extra careful when I shred any type of meat because I don't want one speck of fat in the shredded meat - yes I am picky!) A few of the turkey breasts came with a packet of gravy in them and if it didn't I made up a batch of Poutry Gravy using the mix from Sam's Club. Personally I like the kind that came in the bird. Add the gravy to the turkey, mix and heat. (then freeze if it will be for a later time).
I know - get to the instructions for the sandwiches already!
Take English Muffin Bread slices and butter them. Then toast in the oven (we have a toast mode) but if you don't toast in the toaster and then butter. Put bread on a sheet of foil (less to clean up later). Spread shredded turkey on the bread and cover with your favorite cheese (Mine is sharp cheddar, Paul's is swiss and Sannie and Kiefer's is American). Place pan in the oven and broil until the cheese starts to brown and bubble slightly. Enjoy.
Variations are BBQ'd Pork, BBQ'd Beef or Pork or Beef without the BBQ sauce.
