Pulled Pork Sandwiches

My carnivorous boyfriend, Jon, has been in town for a few days, so it was only right that I strayed from my typical veggie recipes and whipped up something a little more meaty than I would typically go for. A good compromise? Pulled pork sandwiches - so delicious, I think they could possibly convert a real vegetarian.

What you need:

• Pork shoulder cut, thawed - we made do with a 2.3 pound pork sirloin cut (the best time to grocery shop is certainly not late Sunday afternoon... not too much left to choose from!)
• Salt and pepper to season
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 to 1 cup water (depending on how large your slow cooker is)
• 1 white onion, cut into half moons
• 1 12-oz bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (we used about 2/3 of the bottle, use as much or as little as you would prefer)

How to cook this bad boy:

1. Season the pork with salt, pepper, and 2 cloves garlic.
2. Heat a large saucepan on high, add olive oil, then brown pork on all sides.
3. Get the slow cooker ready. Add water and half of the onions. Then, add the pork, topping off with remainder of onions and last clove of garlic. Heat on low for 6 hours, or until pork separates at the light touch of a fork.
4. Put a colander inside a large pot or bowl, strain pork, and keep juice that sieves into pot. Put pork back into slow cooker and 1/4 cup of juices. Add BBQ sauce to desired taste. Allow pork mixture to cook on low heat in the slow cooker for about 15 minutes.

Pork, water, garlic, and onions in slow cooker.

When the pork is done, it should fall apart at the light touch of a fork.

Served on toasted Hawaiian sweet rolls with melted cheddar cheese and topped with onion strings. Our sides included homemade cornbread, Bush's Best Grillin' Beans, and Red Stripe lager. The best part of this meal? Coming home after an afternoon out and smelling the delicious slow cooked pork from the lobby of our apartment building! YUM.

Our homemade cornbread ended up with a smiley face!

The delicious dinner spread.