Pulled Pork like the pros do it, plus great sandwiches

· One or more bone-in pork butts (8-12 lb each)

· Brine or marinade of choice

· Rub of choice

· Thick-sliced bacon, three strips

· Brown sugar

· Mop solution of choice

Trim off biggest chunks of fat and then brine pork butt overnight. Since a pork butt is so thick, it will work best if you inject the brine as well as placing it in a bag. Before smoking, apply rub thoroughly on all sides.

Place pork butt in heated smoker. Start the smoke and cook at 225-250 degrees for eight hours or more (probably 10-12 for a Big American Butt) until internal temperature reaches 185 degrees. If the butt is bone-in, the bone should let go of the meat pretty easily. If not, keep cooking until it does. 

After the first hour, add three slices of thick bacon on top of the butt, then ½ cup of packed brown sugar on top of that. After 3 hours, spray with apple juice or your favorite mop solution every 45 minutes or so.

Once the pork has reached 185 degrees and the bone is loose, remove from the smoker and trim any easily removed fat. Pull apart the larger muscles and place in a large aluminum serving tray. Using a serving fork, shred the chunks until the whole butt has been reduced to shreds. Now you have a choice to make.

Option one: Spray shredded pork with apple juice or mop solution and serve with white bread or buns. Add sauce on the side.

Option two: Add your favorite barbecue sauce to the shredded mixture. A typical pork butt will mix well with 12-16 ounces of sauce. Place the tray back in your smoker and start some more smoke for an hour or so, stirring the mixture once or twice. Then remove and serve with white bread or buns. 

Notes: Once you have made pork butt a couple of times and know how to get it done the way you want, experiment. Try injecting with a more interesting solution than your basic brine. Dr. Pepper, garlic, onion salt, brown sugar, dry mustard, whatever sounds good. Add some maple syrup after the pork has been shredded and put it back on the smoker. Almost anything is good with pork.

"Can't Beat Pete's Meat!"

· One pound leftover pulled pork, chopped

· One-half yellow or white onion, finely chopped

· 6 T butter 

· 3 T bacon jam

· 2 T chopped pecans

· 8 slices of cheese – I prefer aged white cheddar but any kind that will melt well will work

· 8 slices of wheat or sourdough bread

· Mayo or garlic spread

· Garnishes - Pickled red onions, sliced ripe tomatoes, dill pickles, etc. as you please

This recipe makes 4 sandwiches, adjust ingredients based on how many you will need.

Melt 2 T butter in sauté pan over medium heat, add onion and cook until starting to brown, 5-6 minutes. Add pulled pork and bacon jam to onions and cook until heated, 2 minutes or so. Add chopped pecans, mix and pour mixture out of pan into a bowl for sandwich assembly. Don’t worry if a few bits of the pork mixture say in the pan, sandwiches will be cooked in the same pan and a few crispy bits on the outside of the sandwich are a nice bonus. Leave the pan on medium heat to cook sandwiches.

To assemble sandwiches, place a slice of cheese on each of four slices of bread. Spoon one-fourth of the heated pork mixture onto that piece of cheese, add another piece of cheese on top, and another slice of bread to complete the sandwich. Spread butter on the outside of the top slice and place, butter side down in pan. Repeat with more sandwiches if the pan is big enough, or do them one at a time if not. While cooking, spread butter on the (now) top side. Turn sandwiches when bottom is browned and cook until second side is browned and crisp.

Remove sandwich(es) and place on a cutting board, add mayo or garlic sauce and whatever garnishes you prefer, slice in half and serve while hot.

OK, this is not health food and adding some broccoli as a side won’t really change that but if you are in the mood for something tasty, this is your recipe. 

Make some of these and see if you don’t call these the best easy sandwiches ever. Then make some Cuban sammies the next day and compare. Those are the best (not easy) sandwiches ever. Now you are two deep with great sandwich recipes. Go tackle the rest of your life.

"Can't Beat Pete's Leftovers!"