Honey-Jack Pulled Pork Tortas

October 18, 2011

AKA The Dangers of the Slow-Cooker

When I awoke this morning, it was with a sense of urgency. I knew I could not sleep in because my beautiful pork shoulder had to be in the crock pot by 8 am at the absolute latest if I wanted to eat dinner by 6 pm. So, out of bed I rolled on the first alarm, no snooze needed. I prepped my pork shoulder, seared it off in the pan, then put that beauty into a nice bath of booze!
Things were going so well…little did I know, my planned productive day would end up looking like this table!
I had so much to do: cleaning, finally putting away the laundry I did last week, writing about and posting my endeavors from the weekend, and waiting for the guys with our new dryer to show up.
After I finished cleaning and making my second cup of coffee, I made a rookie mistake….. I sat on the couch and picked up the remote (I can’t help it…I’m a sucker for Matt Lauer). At this point I remembered I so conveniently recorded a marathon of the Real Housewives of New Jersey yesterday. Needless to say, I did not leave the couch until the guys with the dryer showed up at 4 pm. Unfortunately, and also shamefully, I admit I went back and sat on the couch to finish the season finale.  The show is addictive, just like this awful song!
Listen, I know. It’s trashy and mindless, but I’m only human. So when my husband walked in the door and asked if I had written about the weekend or if I was done with work for the day, I sadly had to tell him no, and then explain why.
In my defense, if I had a laptop, this would not have been an issue, because I could watch my guilty pleasures and still stay on top of my work!

Ingredients
3lbs of Pork Shoulder
1 Corona or any Pale Beer
½ Cup of Honey Jack Daniels
The Juice of 1 ½ limes
1 TBSP of Honey
2 TSP Ground Chipotles in Adobo (take two chipotle peppers and pulse them in a food processor until they make a paste)
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Piece of Bacon, cut into thirds
1 TBSP Salt
1 TBSP Pepper
1 TBSP Paprika
1 TBSP Crushed Red Pepper
½ TSP Cayenne
Using a large knife, make 6 cuts 1-inch deep into the flesh of the meat. Push the cloves of garlic and pieces of bacon into the cuts. Season the meat with all the dry seasonings. Rub the seasonings into the pork, and then sear it in a large pan over high heat for about 5 minutes on each side.

Add the beer, honey, chipotle, limes and lime juice, and Jack to the crock pot. Place the pork in the crock pot. Cook on low for nine and a half hours.

Do not peek, otherwise all the heat will escape and you will end up eating atmidnight! (This is another reason me and the crock pot are a bad mix, my lack of patience.)

 

Remove pork form pot and let rest for ten minutes. Once the meat has rested, take two forks and get to shreddin’! Then add the meat back to the pot. Set the crock pot to simmer and let it do its thing for another 20 minutes.

 

This isn’t a thick BBQ sauce at all. The sauce is a nice sweet and smoky glaze to compliment the juicy pork. To put this torta over the edge, I go a little fusion on it. I take 2 TBSP of goat cheese and mix it with a dash of the chipotle paste from earlier and spread that on the bread before I put on the pork.

 

At the end of the day, I guess all I have to show for myself is a semi-clean house, a new dryer, and a really terrific torta to kick off my week-long fiesta!!!
See you guys tomorrow for some chicken tortilla soup (unless I get caught up in the reunion show)!!

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  • Susie
    October 20, 2011 at 5:24 pm

    This torta looks amazing….. and we all have guilty tv pleasures lol. Just recently I went out and bought the Pittbull cd yup totally not what I normally listen to but after seeing the Dr. Pepper commercial a million times I liked that it was peppy and bought it. I purchased it from my local music store where I shop a lot and they know me and I said don’t judge me when I handed the guy the cd and he laughed….. Your day sounds fantastic, I need a day like that. 🙂

  • Dawn
    October 19, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    Amazing recipe. I need to go out for lunch today now and find some nourishment that comes close to eating this one.

  • Lori
    October 19, 2011 at 3:38 am

    Wow! I have been looking to change up my pulled pork and this looks like it is the one!!

  • Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love.
    October 18, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    Those darn housewives just suck you in, don’t they?! Especially this season, what happened to Teresa?!! This pulled pork sounds amazing! I love all the booze and that goat cheese paste really tops it off!

    • Sarcastic
      October 19, 2011 at 12:37 am

      Teresa went crazy!!! I’m glad I’m not the only one addicted!

  • Lacy
    October 18, 2011 at 6:59 pm

    OMG!! Look at that sandwich! Looks soooo absolutely amazing!

  • Sprigs of Rosemary
    October 18, 2011 at 5:11 pm

    Stay away from the reunion show . . . I want to see the soup. If it’s as good as this pork looks, I’m sold!

    • Sarcastic
      October 19, 2011 at 12:35 am

      I’m not going to lie…. I did watch the reunion. I was just more effective in my time management today. Plus, I didn’t have any new episodes to watch!

  • RavieNomNoms
    October 18, 2011 at 4:17 pm

    OHH my does that look amazing! I wouldn’t be able to resist!

  • Dansin02
    October 18, 2011 at 3:40 pm

    Love love love all the RHONJ references! Keep up the good work 🙂

  • Alyssa
    October 18, 2011 at 3:13 pm

    First, let me say that I love all the Real Housewives, so I don’t blame you for getting sucked in! I think your day sounds rather productive if that wonderful sandwich is what you have to show for it! I’ve also been awakened from good sleep thinking, “I have to get that roast in the crock pot!” Great post!

  • Tina@flourtrader
    October 18, 2011 at 2:48 pm

    This is a great crock pot recipe. I love pulled pork and the ingredients-lime, beer, chipotle are telling me that I have to make this. Nice condiment of the goat cheese and chipotle paste on the bread.
    This meat would go great in taquitos, burritos and you could even fill won ton wrappers and fry. I have saved this recipe-yum! Great post.

    • Sarcastic
      October 19, 2011 at 12:38 am

      Thanks so much! I always make way too much for two people just so I can use the pork again later!

  • Katie Brzezinski
    October 18, 2011 at 5:36 am

    Wow that looks awesome! Totally can relate to getting caught up in the RHONJ Drama 🙂