Chef notes
Barbecue guru Pat Martin, of Martin's BBQ Joint in Tennessee, serves up a juicy pulled pork sandwich that's topped with crispy coleslaw, layered with homemade BBQ sauce and is best served on a squishy egg bun or potato roll.
Note: If you like coleslaw that's less creamy and prefer for it to have a bit more liquid, substitute the mayonnaise for cream, adding a little at a time until it is the desired consistency.
Ingredients
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 5-7 pound Boston pork butt (pork shoulder)
- 16 ounces apple juice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 medium head green cabbage, shredded
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 1 tablespoon onion, minced
- 1¼ cup mayo
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Salt, to taste
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 teaspoon molasses
- 4-inch egg buns or 3-4-inch potato rolls
Preparation
For the Pulled Pork:
The Day Before: In a large bowl, combine the salt and pepper to make a rub. Rub the pork with rub and refrigerate overnight wrapped in plastic wrap.
The Day of Service:
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Place the pork butt in a cast iron pot or Dutch oven. Brown the pork butt on all sides over medium heat, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.
In a medium bowl, add the apple juice, Worcestershire and soy sauce. Mix well and add to the pork. Cover the pot with foil. Poke 8 to 10 small holes in the foil. Place the covered pot on the oven's lower rack and cook for 1½ hours.
Remove the pot and flip the pork butt. Use a large spoon to scoop the braising mixture over flipped side of the pork butt. Place the pot back in oven (still at 350°) and cook for another 1 ½ hours. Remove and let pork butt rest for 30 minutes before serving.
For the BBQ Sauce:
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate. The longer sauce is refrigerated the better it will taste so it's even better to refrigerate it overnight along with the pork.
For the Coleslaw:
In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To Assemble:
After the pork butt has rested for 30 minutes, pull and shred about 4 ounces and place on the bottom half of the bun. Top with approximately 2 ounces of the coleslaw (this is very important for the best possible flavor profile). Top the coleslaw with 1 to 1½ ounces of the Bar-B-Que Sauce (let the sauce sit out for about 30 minutes and stir before placing on sandwich). Add the top bun and ENJOY!
