I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: a simple sandwich is a superior sandwich. All due respect to the Bobbies and the Cubanos of the world — which, to be fair, rank very highly on my list of favorite sandwiches eaten throughout this sandwich-centric culinary journey we’re on — but simplicity really helps make a sandwich sing.
When I say simplicity, I’m talking bread, a main ingredient, one, maybe (maybe) two toppings and/or condiments, DONE. That’s it. There’s beauty in simplicity. There’s confidence in simplicity. There’s simplicity in simplicity.
But also, that’s not saying simple is easy. There’s complexity in simplicity.
Allow me to elaborate, Britney.
This week, our sandwich tour guide took us all the way to the great state of North Carolina where the featured sandwich was a pulled pork sandwich. A couple of quick notes (lest any North Carolinians take a peek at the list and get pre-offended). The list describes the sandwich as “dry-rubbed and smoked pork shoulder tossed in sweet barbecue sauce.” I may be from Texas, but everyone knows that Carolina BBQ is a vinegar-based BBQ, so we adjusted accordingly. Also, as mentioned in previous posts, we do not have — nor do we have access to — a grill or a smoker. As we did with Hawaii’s Kalua Pulled Pork, we utilized our crockpot and liquid smoke. It’s not the same, but it’s the best we could do.
Flawed as it may be in details, you can see from the sandwich description that there aren’t many elements to the sandwich. Bread, pulled-pork, Carolina BBQ sauce and that’s it. But, putting all of those pieces together takes time and a little effort. Mainly in the pulled pork.
First, credit where credit is due, we utilized this recipe as a jumping-off point for the pork. We combined it with elements we found in other recipes as well as made small adjustments for our personal taste preferences, but by and large it was our guidepost this week.
So on Saturday afternoon, we put a nice thick coating of dry rub on the pork shoulder, wrapped it in saran wrap, and let that piggy hang out in the fridge overnight. On Sunday morning, we seared that piggy, dropped it in the crockpot with some beer, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke, and let it do its low-and-slow thing for the better part of eight hours.
Our house smelled fantastic.
While it was cooking, we had plenty of time to do other things. We went for a walk, cleaned the house, showered, watched most of Emily in Paris (which everyone should watch, not because it’s great, but because it’s like a Pumpkin Spice Latte for your eyeballs and we all could use a sugary visual treat right about now), talked about nonsense, cared for a toddler, and — most importantly to the sandwich at hand — made the BBQ sauce.
Unlike Texas- or Kansas City-style BBQ, I don’t think Carolina BBQ sauce can be purchased. At least, not all the way out here in L.A. where BBQ is an adventure more than a way of life. So we made our own using Apple Cider Vinegar, some ketchup, brown sugar, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. It wasn’t hard, it just took a little bit of time. Especially since we were out of ketchup and I had to run to the store.
Who runs out of ketchup?????
Once the pork was done, it was immediately apparent that this sandwich was going to be delicious. I’d put a picture here of the final, shredded product, but we were too busy snacking on it to snap a photo.
Come dinner time, we tossed that shredded piggy with our Carolina BBQ, piled it on a bun, and dug in.
Damn.
That’s all I can say.
Damnnnnn.
It was so good. This may cause me to lose my Texas-card, but tangy BBQ may be the better BBQ. It’s lighter — less sugary and syrupy — than Texas or Kansas City style BBQ. It let the pork be the delicious, moist meat that it is. It wasn’t trying to treat it like a gastronomical crime scene that needed to be covered up. To harken back to the beginning of this write-up — it let it sing.
Even though this sandwich took most of one day (and the tiniest of efforts the night before), it was mostly hands-off. And we were treated with the lovely smells of delicious food permeating our apartment the entire day. Easy to make, a pleasure to enjoy. Simple wins again.
Simply need more? (Don’t we all?) New posts come out every Monday.
Simply gotta say something? Better here than nowhere.