Pulled Pork: The Sandwich

There are several ways to serve pork barbecue. In many places you will find it served up without sauce on a plate, but more commonly you will find it served as a sandwich. The sandwich tradition goes back to old tent revivals and political rallies where pulled pork sandwiches were served up by the hundreds or even thousands to guarantee a good turn out. You can still get these sandwiches served at restaurants from the big to the small across the south. In fact they are starting to turn up in national chain restaurants around the world.

Shredded Pork: To make a pulled pork sandwich you need to start off with the pork. It should be shredded fine, with no large pieces. You want it to be loose in the bun and easy to eat. Now if the pork is smoked right it won't be chewy in the least. From here you need a bun. Cheap white bread buns are the bread of choice. Fancy and expensive buns simply won't do. You don't need high quality of flavorful bread for this sandwich. All the bread does is give you something to hold onto.

Cole Slaw: Next comes the issue of slaw. For most people, cole slaw is a portable salad stuff that gets served in little polystyrene containers with chicken. In some regions of the pulled pork globe, the slaw can be on the side or it can be in the sandwich. Either way is fine as long as the cole slaw isn't too strong in flavor. The type of cole slaw used is generally nothing fancy. In fact I've seen pulled pork sandwiches topped with just chopped cabbage. However the standard cole slaw is cabbage, mayonnaise, vinegar, and pepper.

As for serving these sandwiches, I find it best to let the diners assemble their own. This way they get exactly what they want. Try serving up yours with two sauces, one hot and one sweet, a simple cole slaw and plenty of buns. Everything can be optional. The last time I served them up I don't think two people put them together the same.