Monthly Archives: April 2013

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Homemade Barbecue Sauce from Mom

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By Jodee Weiland

One thing I have always enjoyed was a good pulled pork sandwich with a delicious tasting barbecue sauce. A good barbecue sauce really is key to the success of the sandwich in this case.

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When I was a kid growing up in Chicago, my mom used to make the absolute best barbecue ribs in the world, or at least that’s how I remember it. As an adult, I have made mom’s ribs with her homemade barbecue sauce on several different occasions and always with rave reviews from those participating in the meal. Traditionally, the way with our family is to make slight adjustments to our recipes throughout the years according to taste, and I have carried on the tradition of always trying to make it a little better each time I cook it. Nonetheless, I am happy to say, it is still mom’s recipe for the most part, and I still believe her sauce to be the best ever!

As a fan of pulled pork sandwiches, I have tried a wide variety of them when travelling down south and here in Chicago, usually finding some great ones and some additional ideas for this sandwich along the way. Now I have decided to take my memories of great barbecue ribs as a child and apply mom’s homemade barbecue sauce, with my slight adaptations over the years, to pulled pork sandwiches! Along with that, I want to add cole slaw, banana pepper rings, and bread and butter pickles for add ons. Here’s the recipe I have come up with from all the different recipes I have tasted or seen over the years, including mom’s homemade barbecue sauce.

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Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Homemade Barbecue Sauce from Mom

1 boneless pork loin roast, about 3 lbs. (I prefer the leanest possible cut of pork)
Salt and ground black pepper (to lightly season pork roast prior to browning)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1/2 cup of fat free chicken broth (vegetable broth can also be used)

Lightly season the pork with the salt and black pepper. Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium heat and brown the pork roast on all sides, turning frequently, for about 10 minutes. Once browned, remove the roast from the pan and set aside.

Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to pan drippings and saute for 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat until softened. Then add chicken broth.

While onions and garlic soften, blend together and rub the browned pork roast with the following rub on all sides.

1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tablespoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon red cayenne (or to taste)
1 tablespoon brown sugar

When done applying the rub on all sides, put the roast in the slow cooker after spraying the inside with olive oil spray (this helps with clean up later). Then add broth mixture around sides of rubbed roast (reserve leftover broth for additional liquid, if needed). Cover and cook 6 to 8 hours on medium heat setting or 8 to 10 hours on low heat setting.

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While pork is cooking, prepare the homemade barbecue sauce below. Combine all the ingredients below for the barbecue sauce in a bowl and blend well using a whisk to dissolve the brown sugar. Then refrigerate sauce until needed later.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
Salt to taste (optional)
1/4 teaspoon red cayenne

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Once the pork roast is done cooking, transfer the roast only to a platter and pull into shreds with a fork, removing any fat. When finished, return the shredded pork to the slow cooker and add the recipe for homemade barbecue sauce prepared earlier. Be sure to leave in the mixture in which the pork was cooked. This is additional moisture and flavoring for the pulled pork.  Blend barbecue sauce into shredded pork, set the temperature to high on the cooker and cook a little longer, leaving it uncovered and stirring it frequently until the sauce thickens. This may take about 20 to 30 minutes. Done right, the results will be satisfying enough to make all the preparation for this dish well worth your effort.  Enjoy!

Looking Back on Memories…How to Make Them Last

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By Jodee Weiland

A while back, I went out to lunch with two of my sisters, Caryle and Jerilyn. Jerilyn is mentally handicapped, and Caryle and I take her to lunch on Sunday afternoons. She loves that, and we all look forward to this time spent together. Jerilyn’s perpetual innocence and ability to just blurt out whatever comes to mind at the moment, is both refreshing and sometimes humorous for all of us. Each time we get together, the things she will say to us bring back many fond memories!

While together today, we were talking about our time spent together with our parents and family growing up. We all feel very fortunate to have had the parents we did. One thing there was no shortage of in our family was love. Sometimes money was short, but never love. This was due in large part to our mother, who was a very classy lady, and our father, who was a very loving and humorous guy.

As we were reminiscing, I couldn’t help thinking about how I first learned to dance, even before my first ballet lesson. My parents were great dancers and known throughout the family for their legendary style on the floor, especially when ballroom dancing. Well, when I was very little, dad would pick me up and dance with me. I remember feeling like a princess flying on air as he danced with me in his arms. Looking back, I realized how very important memories are to all of us.

When I was a young child, families took pictures. Later, as a parent, I took pictures and videotaped special family moments, but I realize now that I did not do this nearly enough of this, even though I did take a lot of pictures. Young people today have even more ways to chronicle memories, but many make the same mistake I made. Yes, they post a lot of pictures on Facebook and other social media, but that’s not what I am talking about here.  Although I have pictures of my parents who are now gone, I wish I had more.  I wish I had chronicled their lives on videotape through conversations with them or interviews of some kind.

So while you have the time, think about putting together a video of just your parents, your children’s grandparents, talking about their childhood and their own parents. I think this is a great idea. They can talk about their lives and how they met and all their other memories. Later you can add to that any clips you may take of them, like dancing together at some family occasion or even just reading to their grandchildren. You won’t regret your decision to do this. In fact, you will probably be happy that you took the time to make these memories for yourself and your children. I really wish I had done more of this when I had the chance, but for me…for now…I still have my memories to look back on all the time.  And by the way, never forget to make a memory of all your special moments as well. As I used to tell my children repeatedly whenever we were doing something special together, “Make a memory!”  Enjoy!

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Mom’s Italian Meatballs Become My Italian Meatloaf

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By Jodee Weiland

When I was a little girl, I used to watch my beautiful Italian mother cook all the time. Whenever she made pasta, she made either braciole, Italian sausage, neck bones (they make the best sauce), or meatballs. One of my favorites was her Italian meatballs. So when I grew up, I decided to use her recipe, with a little variation, for my meatloaf.

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Every meatloaf recipe I came across just didn’t do it for me, but mom’s meatballs did, so why not use her recipe with a few variations. I did and it was great! Everyone in my family loved it!

 

Notice that there are no breadcrumbs in my recipe. Breadcrumbs are just filler to me. I prefer my meatloaf without breadcrumbs.  But even without breadcrumbs, this recipe is great. So today when I started to make my Italian meatloaf, I decided I would share it with you.

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Mom’s Italian Meatballs Become My Italian Meatloaf

 

2 lbs. ground sirloin
2 eggs ( I use egg whites)
1 teaspoon minced garlic more or less to taste
1 medium onion chopped or 1 tablespoon dried chopped onion
2 tablespoons snipped and chopped parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil (you can substitute fresh chopped basil)
1 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
1/2 teaspoon red cayenne (optional)
1/2 to 1 cup grated imported Pecorino Romano cheese ( more or less to taste/ no salt needed since the cheese adds saltiness)

 

Add egg whites to the ground sirloin first, then the imported Pecorino Romano cheese. Blend together. Then add the remaining ingredients. When well blended together, form the meat into a loaf size meatloaf. It should fit right into a loaf pan. I always spray my pan with olive oil before putting in the meatloaf. I use a loaf pan with an insert that can be lifted out after cooking, so that any juices from the meat can drain to the bottom, rather than have my meatloaf sit in them. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50-55 minutes. Check meat to make sure it is done how you prefer it.

 

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You can top it with a marinara sauce or leave it as is. Either way it is always good. I usually serve it with fresh vegetables and a nice Pinot Noir or Chianti.  A great idea for a side dish would be pasta with marinara sauce, since my recipe is based on mom’s Italian meatballs. This meatloaf recipe always brings back great memories of my mom. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!  Enjoy!