Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I will most likely order a pulled pork sandwich if it's on the menu in a restaurant.  I really like them.  The best one I've had lately (Brett's Dad is still talking about how good it was 3 months later) was from Karl Strauss here in San Diego.

I remembered seeing a recipe for pulled pork sandwiches on another one of my favorite blogs, Culinary Adventures of a New Wife, and found it in her archives under May.  That means I've had these sandwiches in the back of my brain for a very long time!  They were quite memorable because the pork tenderloin is cooked in root beer to tenderize the meat.

In order to make this I had to buy two things that rarely enter our household: a large hunk of raw meat and soda.  I was utterly disgusted by the raw pork tenderloin, but I managed to trim some of the fat off, get it seasoned, and into the crock-pot on top of some sliced onions before gagging.  I  poured a bottle of IBC root beer over the top and let it cook on low for 5 hours.

Usually I love using the crock-pot because it fills the apartment with such wonderful smells all day long, but this time it was just a weird, somewhat unappetizing smell all day long.  I pulled all the meat apart meticulously, doused it with BBQ sauce, and put it back in the crock-pot for another hour.

When it was time to eat, I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture until I was a few bites in, so here's my half eaten sandwich.

It was delicious, except every once in a while the root beer flavor would come through and taste a little strange.  Overall, it was a big success though.  Thanks Sharon!