Serious Business

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Homemade BBQ Sauce and Sweet Potato Chips

Words by Kayla & Justin Butts Photos By Rachel Benavides

For most Texans, barbecue is serious business. To get it right, you must have fire, a slab of meat, a long weekend afternoon, and a few cold ones to pass the time.

Sometimes an effortless barbecue recipe is more appealing. Cooking barbecue indoors can work, but only if the results are spectacular, and this pulled pork recipe delivers every time.

For moist and tender pulled pork, the roast must be cooked slowly over low heat. Utilize the crockpot for maximum control of temperature and effortless cooking. Simply drop this roast into the crockpot in the morning and have supper nearly ready upon arriving home from a busy day.  

The flavor of the pork is in the fat, and locally-raised pastured pork is rich in heart-healthy fats. Unlike grocery store pork, the fat from pastured pork is free of hormones, steroids, or other chemicals that are hard on the body. Moreover, pastured pork, which is raised in the fields of Texas, is higher in omega-3 fatty acids and contains less saturated fat than coconut oil.  

The rub takes only minutes to make and massaging it into the roast infuses the meat with robust flavor. Brining the roast creates tender and flavorful pork by unwinding the protein strands and trapping moisture in the meat.

The combination of sweetness, tanginess, and spiciness in this homemade barbecue sauce is the secret to pulled pork sandwiches. Kayla adapted this sauce recipe from her grandmother who learned it from her grandmother, Nan. This sauce is an authentic taste of the 1800s when the barbecue classics were still being invented.

Sample the sauce while cooking. If spicier sauce is preferred, add more red pepper flakes; for a sweeter flavor, add more brown sugar.

In the best Southern tradition, sweet potatoes chips accompany the pulled pork as the side. For a savory twist, reminiscent of barbecue chips, add paprika to this guilt-free snack. Alternately, cinnamon helps to bring out the natural sweetness of the sweet potato while providing an anti-inflammatory antioxidant boost. Use a mandolin for uniformly thin slices of sweet potato.

Texans love their barbecue, and with this pulled pork recipe, the best barbecue in Central Texas can easily be served up right at any dinner table.

Pulled Pork

Inactive Prep time: 8 hours
Prep time: 7 minutes
Cook time: 6-8 hours

Ingredients:
3 to 5 lbs. fresh ham roast, uncured
1/2 c. salt
1 T. paprika
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. brown sugar
1/4 t. cumin
1/8 t. cayenne
1 c. chicken broth

Directions: Dissolve salt in 4 cups water in a large pot. Submerge roast in salt water, cover, and refrigerate overnight. 

The following day, rinse the roast with cool running water, and blot dry with paper towels. Combine remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl. Coat entire roast with rub and massage with your fingers. 

Place prepared roast into slow cooker with chicken broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred roast with fingers or fork. Serve on a Hawaiian sweet roll with thinly sliced Texas 1015 onions, bread and butter pickles, and Nan’s homemade barbecue sauce. 

Nan’s Barbecue Sauce

Prep time: 5minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium sweet onion, finely diced
1 c. Ketchup
Pinch of salt (to sweat the aromatics)
1 T. light brown sugar
Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
1/8 t. red pepper flakes (more for spicier sauce)
1/2 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. soy sauce

Directions:  Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and a pinch of salt and sauté until translucent and they begin to caramelize. Stir in garlic and cook about 30 seconds, until the garlic becomes fragrant. Reduce heat to low and stir in all the remaining ingredients. Simmer on low heat and continue to stir and let mixture bubble until it thickens to desired consistency. If a thinner sauce is preferred, add water until desired consistency is reached.

Sweet Potato Chips

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/8” slices
3 T. olive oil
Coarse sea salt, to taste
Optional: 1/4 t. smoked paprika or 1/4 t. cinnamon

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400°F. 

Lay sweet potato slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and optional spices, as desired. Bake chips for 20 minutes, turning them after 10 minutes in the oven.