Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Tangy Coleslaw
I love this coleslaw recipe. I have doubled the recipe and brought it to parties and it disappears. I have also made the dressing and then tossed it over a pre-shredded coleslaw mix from the produce department for weeknights. I’ve left out the carrots and green onions. I’ve used only green cabbage. In other words, this recipe is flexible. Store your sesame oil in the refrigerator to extend its life. As for the barbecue sauce, I like to use the different small-batch barbecue sauces I find in my grocery store or at the farmers market.
For the Pulled Pork:
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, twine removed, fat trimmed off
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
Red chili powder
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 c water
Bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
For the Coleslaw:
1/3 c plain yogurt
1/3 c mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp light sesame oil
1/8 c apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp kosher salt (or whatever salt you have on hand)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
3 large carrots, peeled, grated
1 bundle green onions, chopped or 1/4 cup chives, chopped
Cover the bottom of a large slow cooker with onion and garlic slices.
Rub your pork generously on all sides with salt, pepper, and red chili powder.
Place meat in slow cooker, and pour water around the meat. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 3-5 hours until pork is tender and falling apart.
While pork is cooking, whip up your coleslaw dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together your yogurt, mayonnaise, sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Set aside for at least 30 minutes and up to a day so the flavors can meld and soften.
In a large bowl, toss in your green and red cabbage, your carrots and your green onions.
Drizzle with enough dressing to your liking.
Once your meat is done cooking, transfer to a cutting board. Let cool slightly and then shred using two forks.
Drain the liquid from your slow cooker. Add the meat back in and stir in 1/2 cup or so of barbecue sauce.
Serve the pork with bakery fresh buns, additional warmed barbecue sauce, and your creamy coleslaw to go on top or next to your sandwiches.
Enjoy!
YIELD: 6-8 servings
I LOVE your gettin’~real post. I think everyone is in the same boat on this topic. I really like your themed nights idea. My goal is to use a menu plan…. When I do that, life is SOOOO much easier. But when I fail, I love to make Breakfast for dinner. 🙂
Ah, yes, breakfast for dinner. I have to remember that. Thanks for the tip Kim!
We are having fried rice for dinner. That is a great dumping ground for all the leftovers. Just fry it up with some veggies and soy sauce and dinner is served. Of course it helps that my kids like chinese food.
Fried rice…great idea! I haven’t made that in a long time. That will have to go on the meal plan (Tuesday of course 🙂 ) for next week. Thanks for sharing Joanne!
Great post Carrie, as usual! So, I’ve been trying to get myself to meal plan forever but, as silly as it may sound, I just don’t know how to start. Suggestions?
Also, not to stress you out more, but are you going to do a calendar again this year? I missed out on last year’s and have regretted it ever since.
Well, let’s see Jennifer, if I was going to help someone start meal planning I would suggest that you work it into your week where it best fits the rhythm. What I mean is, “When do you normally do your grocery shopping? When is your garbage pick-up? When would you consistently have 15 minutes to look at your calendar and scrawl down 4 or 5 dinner ideas and add the missing ingredients to your grocery list?”
My garbage pick-up is on Monday.
I usually do my grocery shopping on Mondays.
So, on Sunday evening, the night before, I go through my fridge to see what I need to use up in the next couple of days and what needs to get tossed.
Then, I look at my calendar of activities for the week to see which evenings I will even have time to cook and how much time. Then based on what I found in the fridge, what meals I can think of based on my “Themes of the Week” and how much time I have each evening, I write down about 4-5 dinner ideas.
Except for maybe one night a week (usually Sunday when I have more time to cook) I try to keep my meals easy and simple.
I just wrote up my meal plan for this week and here’s how it goes (and no, it does not follow my themes exactly because I have stuff in my fridge that needs to get used up.)
Mon – Ravioli Primavera w/frozen peas and store-bought ravioli, romaine salad
Tues – Chicken Marinara served over pasta and steamed broccoli (had marinara sauce and broccoli in fridge that needed to get used up.)
Wed – Thai Chicken Rice Soup, bread, apples
Thurs – daughter’s volleyball game so take-out
Fri – pizza
Saturday – Creamy tomato soup with grilled ham & cheese sandwiches. My son has a late football game so dinner needs to be quick.
Sunday – leftovers – late afternoon activities, no time to cook
I hope that helps!! Let me know if you have any other questions. You just need to get into a rhythm of doing it and then, the momentum will take over.
As for the calendar, I’m not doing another one for this holiday season; however….I am currently working on a few projects based on La Pomme that will be out next year that I hope you and all of my thoughtful readers will love. So stay tuned!!
Oh, Katie, any friend of Karna’s is a friend of mine. Your thoughts came at just the right time. I have a plan for dinner tonight but I feel like it’s going to require more energy than I have to make it. I may have to rethink it. Love your quick and dirty enchiladas. May have to add that to the meal plan next week. And isn’t it always the challenge? To make something quick that the kids will eat and the adults will enjoy. The battle continues…. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi Carrie,
I am a transplanted Portlander living in Boston.
Thank you for your wonderful blog and lovely recipes – reading them takes me right back to the Northwest! I often turn to you for inspiration and always love the results. I particularly enjoyed this post, because when there are so many meals in a week to prepare, it is important to see there can be balance between the gourmet and the easy! Very reassuring to know you are human like the rest of us!
I am a big fan of meal planning, I have a whiteboard on my fridge and jot down meal ideas as I put the groceries away or as I look through the freezer – sometimes I get inspired by what is in the store, but if I haven’t written down I don’t remember as the week gets under way!
I also talk to friends for ideas – yesterday morning I was thinking it was going to be take-out for dinner, but a chat with a friend reminded me of this easy favorite: Saute some garlic in olive oil, add some chopped ham, and then some cream (or almond milk in our case because of a lactose intolerant daughter) and salt and pepper. simmer to thicken a few minutes. Throw in some frozen peas, and a package of cooked Trader Joe’s gnocchi. Simmer a couple minutes and add shredded parmesan (if dairy’s ok). We had prewashed arugula salad with lemon juice and olive oil with it… Easy and warm on a cold New England night!
Thanks for taking the time to share your world and ideas with us. Mothering and feeding a family can often feel like an invisible job, and you bring it to life!
All the best, Ellen
Thank you so much for your kind words, Ellen. They truly mean a lot especially on the days that I think “Why am I doing this? I must be nuts. No one wants to hear these ramblings.”
I love the idea of the white board on the fridge. I told my family the other week that I was going to hang a small one next to the fridge so they could write down “dinner suggestions” that they might have for me to consider. I am definitely going to try your quick meal. I love peas and the Rooster loves gnocchi and he’s sometimes hard to cook for so I think it would be a winner all around.
Thank you so much for sharing!!