04-13-13-pulled-pork-sandwich

 

I actually don’t remember when I first had a BBQ pork sandwich with pickles. It definitely wasn’t something I had as a kid – and probably not something I had before I turned 50. It may have been a sandwich we briefly sold at work quite a few years ago. While I may not be sure where I first had one, seeing it a few days ago reminded me of it.

I don’t need an excuse to make sandwiches – I have always been a sandwich-kinda-guy. A few years back on Food network, they had a guy win the Next Star program who specialized in sandwiches. I think I could have done better.

But while I’m always ready to take a sandwich one step over the top, tonight I decided to make it pretty basic.

I had picked up a couple of bone-in pork roasts on Monday, and one went right into the freezer and the other went into a pot. I added water, garlic, onion, and some Mojo Chipotle marinade and let it simmer for almost 4 hours. I took it out of the simmering liquid and let it cool for about an hour. I pulled the meat off the bones with a fork and it chunked and shredded perfectly. Into the ‘fridge it went.

For dinner, I merely added some bottled BBQ sauce and made it hot. Yes. Bottled. It wasn’t a national brand and it didn’t have any garbage in it.

I served them on mini-rolls with – pickles. Victor looked at me like I had three heads, but I told him to trust me on this one. He did and was amazed at just how well they went together.

On the other side of the plate were scalloped potatoes.

These aren’t something I make that often, but I do like them a lot and I thought Nonna would appreciate them with her sandwich. She definitely did. We all reached the “Oh, I’m stuffed, I can’t eat any more. Just one more bite.” A few times.

First, I made a thin white sauce with butter, flour, and milk. I added some shredded cheeses (fontina, cheddar, and monterey jack) and then a splash of worcestershire sauce, a few dashes of Tabasco, garlic powder, sat & pepper. I thinly-sliced the potatoes on my trusty mandoline and layered them in a baking dish with the cheese sauce. I covered the dish and put it into a 375° oven for about an hour, taking the foil off for the last 15 minutes.

Yum.