The slow cooker is an appliance that typically gets a lot of use in the fall and winter months for delicious soups, stews, roasts, and hearty slow cooked dinners. In our family, we do a lot of slow cooking in the winter, but I have to say that when the grill isn’t humming at our house in the summer, the slow cooker is humming in the kitchen.
Slow cookers can keep your house nice and cool and are a perfect alternative for a fast weeknight meal when you would rather spend the day at the beach or park with your kids and don’t want to fuss with meat preparation. There is nothing like a lazy day poolside and getting to come home to a meal that is fully cooked and ready when you walk through the door.
We decided to try a new Pulled Pork Sandwich recipe that will now be going into our regular meal rotation. The original recipe called for using a pork tenderloin, but after a long talk with the great guy at the meat counter, I was informed that a Boston Butt would work just perfectly…To which my daughter burst into a fit of giggles and swung her head out of her little grocery cart/car and said, “Ewww, mommy. He said to eat butt.” Ah, the mouths of babes!
What makes this pulled pork recipe special is the slow cooking of the pork in a little hot tub bath of root beer. After a quick drain and the easiest meat shredding of your life, the meat is tossed with your favorite barbecue sauce and served on a crusty roll.
I decided to buy a 2-liter of soda and let the kid’s have a special dinner treat- super yummy root beer floats. Sometimes it is the simplest pleasures in life that bring us the most joy. Sipping on these was definitely a joyful moment and the sandwiches were absolute perfection. I highly recommend adding this recipe to your summertime meal rotation.
Remember that we offer free printable menu planners and 30 Days With Your Slow Cooker filled with ideas for making meal planning easier in these warmer weather days!
Perfectly Pulled Pork Sandwiches (Adapted from All Recipes)
1 (4 pound) Boston butt (or pork shoulder)
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted
Place the pork meat in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily (I cooked for eight hours). Shred the meat and drain the root beer from the slow cooker. Stir in barbecue sauce and toss gently. Serve over hamburger buns with root beer floats.
Do you use your slow cooker in the summer? What is your favorite summertime slow cooker recipe?
My hubby would love this sandwich. I would love the root beer float. A little something for everyone.
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mmmm…sounds yummy. your other pulled pork recipe is delicious, so i’m sure this is fantasic too! will be trying soon!
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I think I need to add this to my menu rotation. Both the pork and the floats!
.-= Nancy´s last blog ..little man, big imagination =-.
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I have made this recipe using Dr.Pepper and also Coke. Yummy both times! Great article Amy!
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I love using my crockpot in the summer for just the reason you stated-it keeps the house cool! Sometimes I’ll even plug it in down in the basement, or out on the porch. . . no reason to add any heat to the house at all.
Those pulled pork sandwiches look fantastic. . . I’ll have to try that recipe.
.-= Jenn Fowler´s last blog ..I’m Back! =-.
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Hmmm, only 3 out of the 5 of us like root beer. Wonder if they would know that I cooked it in it?!! Might be fun to try!
I made your marinated grilled shrimp this weekend. YUMO!! Loved them!! That will be a keeper recipe. Thanks again for sharing these great recipes!
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We used our crockpot yesterday for mexican chicken – chicken with beans, salsa, corn, spices – whatever I feel like throwing in there, then put it on tortillas for very easy shredded chicken burritos. Perfect! I LOVE pulled pork sandwiches, too – can’t wait to try this one!
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I do pulled chicken because my husband hates pork, so I’ve just accepted that and taken it out of any menu plans. I wonder if it would work with chicken.
I do love the link to the 30 days of slow cooker meals – I am definitely going to add some of those to my meal plans as I LOVE using my slow cooker during the summer to give us some variety from the grill.
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Angie Reply:
August 12th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
In the summer I buy roasted chicken at our local store deli and add BBQ to it to make Pizza, Sandwiches, and Enchiladas. In the winter I cook it myself, but I am not about to have my oven on for that long in the summer heat!
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Thanks for the recipe. I can’t tell you how many of your recipes are in my permanent folder! I LOVE the link to your 30 days of slow cooking. It is so timely because I’m getting a collection together for my brother. He will be in grad school next year and will have a stove, microwave, and crockpot, but not an oven. I’m sure he’ll love your recipes and I can’t wait to try out a bunch also!
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Amy Reply:
May 4th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Oh, I get so excited when I hear that my recipes make it into permanent folders. Thank you so much, Megan, that means more than I can say!
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This is the best pulled pork ever!!! I got to have some because Amy was so sweet to bring me some after a bad week of sick kids. I can’t wait to make it myself. YUMMY!!!!!
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Amy Reply:
May 4th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
You are loved!!
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What a great idea to pair the two together. We frequently have pulled pork sandwiches. I use whatever kind of pork we have and cook the meat unitl its fallings apart.
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Okay, going to try this for Sunday lunch tomorrow.
.-= Melinda´s last blog ..Picture problem =-.
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I made pulled prok sandwiches for my sons 1st bday party. I used coke and the recipe I followed had me cooking my meat for something like 12 hours+ and then I spent a day shredding (it was a lot of meat! plus kids at my feet “needing” my attention). It was a long process. I will be using this recipe in the future. And in a more crockpot friendly amout
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Our slow cooker heats our little house worse than the stove. Stove is on 30 mins tops and off, cooker is on all day long. It can heat our tiny trailer 5 degrees hotter than without it. This can mean the difference between going to bed at 80 degrees, and 85 degrees.
But with our busy schedule, the slow cooker is often the only way to have a healthy dinner.
We ran a heavy duty extension cord out to our picnic table. We set the slow cooker outside and check it every few hours.
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This is a timely recipe for me. My roommate works for a grocery store and bought 19 pounds of pork for $21. I already made ribs and some butterfly chops but the rest of it may be headed for the crockpot!
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I’m trying this receipe with pork leg,
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can you make this recipe with diet sprite or mountain dew? my husband cant have dark sodas (cola, root beer etc) due to kidney disease.
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Amy Reply:
August 14th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
I am sure you could try it with Sprite, but I wouldn’t think Mountain Dew would be a good idea. Let me know if it works out for you!
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That is a perfect idea for the working couple we have dinner at differnt times and only realyy come home to sleep ect. so this is just another recipe to our book.
Thanks alot
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I can’t wait to try this. My family loves pulled pork but I don’t make it during the summer. Last thing we want when its 90 out is to have the oven on for hours. I’m always on the lookout for new slow cooker recipes.
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Amy Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 7:13 pm
I think you will love this recipe, Daria! I will never make pulled pork another way again! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
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I made this the other night with a can of Pibb xtra (similar to Dr Pepper) and a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey flavor BBQ sauce and it was amazing. My almost 5 year old declared it to be so good that he wanted it for dinner the next night also. This has NEVER happened with a new dish. It usually takes him several tries to even say he likes a new dish. So thanks! This will be in our rotation from now on.
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Amy Reply:
September 5th, 2011 at 1:29 am
Wow, thank you so much, Holly! I am so glad that the Pulled Pork sandwiches were a hit in your house. My kids love these too- thanks so much for your feedback!
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