Pulled Pork Sandwiches

During our summer event in the Columbia River Gorge, these pulled pork sandwiches are a favorite with our guests. Rather than make our own sauce, we let Portland's Red Duck carry the load. The shoulders can be roasted in a smoker, a barbeque on low heat or even in the oven which is how we usually do it.

Serves 24

Ingredients

• 2 cups hickory wood chips
• 5-7 lb Pork shoulder
• 1 TBS Salt
• 1 TBS Pepper, ground
• 1 TBS Paprika
• 1 TBS Brown sugar
• 1 bottle Red Duck BBQ Sauce (17 oz.)
• 12 oz Apple juice
• 24 Whole grain buns
• Bread and butter pickle chips

Directions

1. Soak 2 cups of hickory chips in water for 30 minutes.
2. Pre-heat oven, smoker or barbeque to 425⁰ F.
3. Blend together the salt, pepper, paprika and brown sugar and rub the shoulder all over.
4. Using a silicon brush, brush on a layer of BBQ sauce. Add 8 oz of apple juice to the bottom of the roasting pan.
5. Place the pork shoulder atop the roasting pan and place it into the oven with ½ cup of soaked hickory wood chips in a smoking box. After 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325⁰ F.
6. Every hour, refresh the wood chips and baste another coating of sauce on the pork.
7. When the internal temperature of the pork reaches 195⁰ F (after about 4 hours), remove from the oven, tent with foil and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
8. Remove any fat and bones from the pork. Slice the pork into 1" thick cuts, then use meat claws or forks to pull the meat apart.
9. Place the pulled pork into a slow cooker, add 1 cup of BBQ sauce and 4 ounces of apple juice, stir well and keep on low until it's time to serve.

Serve with bread and butter pickle chips and a favorite slaw.

Notes

• Instead of pulling the pork with claws, you can run portions of it in a food processor, pulsing it until the pork appears shredded. Repeat until the all the pork has been broken down.
• Pack any unused pork into a silicon cupcake tin, making individual servings, freeze and store frozen servings for later use as needed.
• Try other juices in place of apple juice. Mango, lemonade, papaya, cherry and apricot all make fine substitutes. Santa Cruz organic juices are our go-to here.

Tom Mehren