Roast Pork and Two Pulled Pork Options: Three Delicious Meals

This is the time of year when I don’t want to make roast turkey, chicken, or ham for a special meal, because, well, the holidays are coming when I will be making at least turkey and ham.

That’s when I think about pork: as the pork producers say, the other white meat we sometimes forget about.

Roast or pulled pork is another dish or meat that is incredibly easy to pop in the crock pot before you go to work or church and chop up into “pulled pork” for sandwiches or serve as roast pork wedges.

A must with pulled pork or plain old BBQ pork sandwiches? The cole slaw. I didn’t grow up that way (in fact I doubt I ever ate a BBQ pork sandwich until I moved to Virginia), but once here, the slaw—even on top of Sloppy Jo’s (made with ground beef of course) is a favorite! That nudges in vitamins through the cabbage, carrots and green or red peppers if you add those.

Roast Rubbed Pork (adapted from the National Pork Board)

1 3-5 pound boneless pork butt (shoulder)
1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne or chili
1 teaspoon dried thyme (leaves)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup water

Raw pork, rubbed with seasonings. (Be sure to keep hands washed handing raw pork.) 

Combine seasonings in a small bowl, rub evenly over all sides of roast. Place meat in a 4-6 quart slow cooker (depending on the size of your roast). Add water. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours or until pork is very tender.

Remove pork to a large cutting board or platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Make slaw or other finishing touches for dinner. Then pull off, slice, or chop to serve. Can be served in buns with barbecue sauce.

Serves 12-15 if you use a 5 pound butt.

Since I usually only have two of us to feed anymore, I use the pork for multiple meals as follows:

Roast pork, sliced, with all the trimmings.

Pulled pork sandwiches with cole slaw, oven baked potato wedges. Optional to add a BBQ sauce on top of the pulled pork.

Pork sandwiches mixed and heated with Pineapple habanera sauce for an extra kick; served with pork and beans, rice, or mac and cheese.

I hope to make a lentil soup using the pork broth and maybe some still left over pork pieces.

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Did you grow up eating cole slaw on Sloppy Jo’s or pork BBQ? Is that a southern thing?

Do you have a good and easy recipe for cole slaw, or do you buy yours?

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If you’re a newcomer here, check out my book with over 100 recipes (not all mine) Whatever Happened to Dinner, with plenty of inspiration for keeping or starting a regular family meal tradition in your home.