Mouth-Watering Crock-Pot Pork BBQ Sandwiches with Homemade BBQ Sauce

Maybe it's a regional thing, but I adore BBQ!  Kentucky has some BBQ joints that could stand up to Memphis any day, in my opinion!  The tomato based sauce is usually most popular here, although I've had a really good mustard-based one, too. 

 

Western Kentucky brings the crowds with their BBQ festivals.  The one I'm the most familiar with is in Paducah, and it's usually during the first weekend of fall, at the end of September.  Tents and smokers galore are set up and the aroma of savory smoked BBQ wafts throughout downtown-riverfront area.  It's fun to eat from different places from year to year, although we usually don't stray too far from our favorites.  There are a couple places that have all the right things going on like... perfectly smoked, tender, lean meat that's pulled with a kickin' flavorful sauce that will make you wish you ordered a large lemon shake-up!!

 

Awe ..... the days of warmer weather...

 

What you may not know is that you can easily make juicy and flavorful pork BBQ at home in your crock pot.  This melt in your mouth BBQ is based on a recipe that Mom loves to make, and we love to eat!  Usually a pork "butt" or shoulder is the traditional cut of meat to use and that's incredibly delicious, but since I found it's leaner counter-part pork tenderloin on sale last week, that's what I used.  Also, I didn't have a bottle of BBQ sauce, but I tweaked this easy recipe I found online and came up with incredible spicy BBQ sauce that's delicious in this recipe!  Of course, you can use whatever your favorite sauce is.  This recipe, like most of mine, are easy and flexible fitting to your taste!

 

 

 

The aroma of this cooking all day in the kitchen makes you anticipate supper-time even more!  I serve this incredible homemade BBQ like Mom always does on warm, soft Hawaiian buns and with bread & butter pickles...those are a must!  Coleslaw would be amazing with this, but this time I just served my homemade oven french fries.  It was so good to have BBQ pork sandwich on a cold dreary night as a reminder there are warmer, brighter days ahead!

 

 

Crock-Pot Pork BBQ Tenderloin Sandwiches

Serves about 6

 

2 Pork Tenderloins (about 2.5 lb. total)

Salt & Pepper

Olive Oil

Homemade BBQ Sauce (see below for recipe) or large bottle of your favorite sauce

6 Hawaiian- Style Buns

 

 

Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe

I recommend doubling this recipe if you like lots of sauce.  Add half to the crock pot with the pork and cook the other half over medium-low heat in a saucepan for extra in the sandwiches.  So good!

 

1 c. Ketchup

1/4 c. Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tbsp. Mustard

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tbsp. Reduced-Sodium Soy Sauce

1/2 tsp. Chili Powder

1/2 tsp. Chipotle Chile Pepper (In the spice isle. This adds amazing smokey flavor!)

1 clove of garlic, minced (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)

1 tsp. Onion Powder

 

Mix all of this up really well in a bowl and it's ready.

 

 

Cut the pork tenderloins in half, width-wise.  Now you'll have 4 pieces.  Salt and pepper the pork well.

 

In a large cast iron skillet over med-high heat and drizzled with olive oil, pan sear the tenderloin to get some brown color on all sides. Remove from the pan directly to the crock-pot already set on low heat.

 

Pour the sauce over the top.  If you doubled the homemade sauce recipe, then pour about half over the meat.

 

Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours.

 

 

Remove the 4 tenderloins that are now tender and cooked and set on a cutting board. Cut and shred the pork.  Don't shred way too much, because the more you stir and work with the pork the more it will naturally shred. 

 

Place back into the crock pot and stir around in the sauce that it's been cooking in all day.

 

 

Serve on warm buns with extra sauce poured over the pork BBQ.  Top your sandwich with pickles or eat on the side, but whatever you do...

 

Don't look away or your sandwich will be eaten up!  ;)

 

Leftovers store well in the fridge and would be delicious in tortillas for pork carnitas!

 

 

Linking up with friends at:

 

 

 

Thursdays Treasures 



 





Delicious Steak and Caramelized Onion Sandwiches with Crispy Oven Fries

I'd like to start off thanking everyone for their lovely comments I receive everyday.  I'm sorry that I can't seem to respond to every one of them, although I try!  I love hearing from you all and hope you know that even if you don't hear back from me that I have read and enjoyed what you have said!  I wish that I could just bake and blog full time, but I have been so busy at work recently that it has put a small dent in my blogging time.  I will press forward and continue to share with you as many recipes as I can!

Mr. Cozy loves a good steak sandwich, so I know when I want to treat him with an easy splurge meal this is what I make to make his day!  The first time I made this was for a picnic meal at the park, just the two of us.  What a fun Sunday afternoon that was!

This is your classic steak sandwich (minus the cheese this time) with caramelized onions, baby spinach on a multi grain ciabatta bun that has been smothered in homemade herb sauce!  Along side is one of our favorite things!--crunchy, spicy oven fries that go perfectly with classic ketchup.  This is a meal to love!

Steak Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions

Flank Steak

Olive Oil

Minced Garlic

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt & Coursely Ground Pepper

Red Onion

Butter

Balsamic Vinegar

Herb Sauce

Miracle Whip or Mayo

Spicy Mustard

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Basil

Salt & Pepper

Crispy Oven Fries

Russet Potatoes

Cajun Seasoning

Salt &Pepper

Olive Oil

I don't have a real defined recipe I use, but everytime I make it they turn out just scrumtious!   Here is a "loose" recipe for you.  Just imagine your in my kitchen and I'm just talking you through this.

I usually always use a flank steak.  They are so big that I usually cut it in half and freeze the half I don't use when I'm making this for just the two of us.  I always like to marinade the meat in something like olive oil, lemon or lime juice or balsamic vinegar with minced garlic and lots of pepper and salt.

Once this marinades for at least 4 hours or even overnight, grill it on the grill or (and this is what I did this time) pan sear it in a skillet to get a crust on it and then pop it into a hot oven for a few more minutes, since we like our steak for sandwiches cooked medium.  (Although I have to admit that I did cook it a smidgen too long this time.) You will want to the steak to allow the steak to rest in it's own juice in some aluminum foil for a few minutes before slicing thinly.

The caramelized onions are amazing with steak, and good thing--they're easy to make! They add a sweetness that complements the peppery steak so well.  Slice a red onion or other sweet onion.  (I think the red onions make for such a pretty topping.) Heat a skillet over med-low heat and add equal parts butter and olive oil.  Not too much, but just enough to cover the bottom of the pan when heated.  Add the onions and a teensy bit of sugar, dash of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.

This will cook low and slow for at least 30 minutes , stirring occasionally.  You do not want to see browning or crispiness here.  You are looking to create soft, melt in your mouth onions.

Doing this, you are bringing out all of the natural sugars from the onion, therefore "caramelizing" them.  I love smothering these on top of a hot, grilled steak with a side of mashed potatoes!  Oooo, good!  We don't eat steak very often at all, but when we do we really enjoy every bite.

While the onions are caramelizing, you can make the herb spread for the sandwiches.  I just use equal parts of miracle whip (yes, I'm one of those people) and dijon, spicy or course ground mustard and this time I added some freshly minced rosemary and basil with salt and pepper.  This sauce has a bright flavor that's delicious with the steak! 

Spread the sauce on toasted multi grain ciabatta bread (I actually found some at Wal Mart's bakery!) that I toasted quickly in a skillet.  Now you are ready to assemble the sandwich.  Start by slicing your steak as thinly as possible across the grain.  Pile on your sandwich as much as your conscience will allow. Don't forget to pour the extra dripping left in the foil over the meat.  This is where you would add your cheese if you were going to.  We didn't this time because we are trying to keep things fairly healthy.  So, top the steak with a healthy portion of the caramelized onions that drip with sweet goodness!  Next, I added fresh baby spinach.  Top the simple, but yummy, sandwich with the toasted ciabatta that has been smothered in the herb sauce!  Cut in diagonal and serve hot!

For the fries:  Take russet potatoes and cut into thin showstring pieces.  Add this to a big bowl filled with cold water.  Allow to sit for 30 minutes.  This is crucial for perfectly crispy fries!  This draws out most of the starch. 

Drain and pat dry the potatoes.  Place in a oil sprayed sheet pan and toss with olive oil and Cajun seasoning with black pepper.  Bake on 425-450 degrees for 15- 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.  Do not toss much if you want them crispy!  Sprinkle with salt right out of the oven and enjoy hot!