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After spending thirty minutes taking photos of this sandwich, I was hoping that it would taste as fabulous as it looked. I'm a little fussy with my food styling and like it to be "just right", I like to take the extra time, if needed but this time I could hardly stand it.
If your a regular visitor here at The Café, you know that Scott, my husband is the wonderful photographer in residence. We work as team, with me as the chief cook and bottle washer, recipe developer, food stylist and post-writer, he's the one who catches all the great images, edits the posts, encourages me daily (sometimes hourly) in this crazy blogging endeavor and is the CEO of taste-testing.
One of the things we do whenever we take pictures is tether. If you're not familiar with photography lingo, tethering simply means that we connect a cable from Scott's camera to my computer. The images are transferred instantly. I get to see the pictures as he's taking them and on a much larger screen than is available on the camera.
The second roll looked great, but I had a bit of touching up to do with the toppings. Too much purple cabbage here, not enough green on that side, a little extra sauce here and ............. on and on. We did finally get it right, or at least as right as it was going to get, because both of us were starving and "dying" to dive into these wonderful looking sandwiches. The aroma was driving us crazy.
I suspected what the verdict would be because I had snitched a bit as I was shredding the meat. But I had no idea how wonderful the whole combination would be. A delicious roll*, tender, succulent pork, a delightful sweet & spicy sauce and a simple, but perfectly complimentary fresh slaw as the crowning glory.
"Fabulous"! That's exactly what we said and I have a feeling you'll be saying it too. Not only is this Rosemary Root Beer Slow-Cooked Pork with Honey-Lime Slaw fabulously delicious, it's easy to put together with the slow cooker (love this one as you can brown, sauté AND slow cook in it) doing most of the work and it can be made ahead and warmed just before serving. See what I mean? Fabulous!
* See those yummy looking rolls? They're my Sweet Potato Brioche Sandwich/Dinner Rolls. They're buttery and soft and make the perfect bun for this pulled pork.
- 2 liter bottle root beer
- 3 pounds pork loin or pork tenderloin most visible fat removed
- 1 ½ cups barbecue sauce use your favorite, we love Sweet Baby Rays
- 2 cloves garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon Sriacha sauce
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary divided
- sandwich rolls* for serving
- Honey-Lime Slaw see recipe below
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Pour root beer into a medium large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat slightly to a maintain a constant simmer. Cook for 30-45 minutes or until root beer is reduced in half to about 1 liter.
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Remove from heat and add barbecue sauce, garlic, ginger, sriracha, salt and 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary.
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Cut pork into several smaller pieces if using a large loin. If using pork tenderloin, don't worry about cutting the meat up.
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Transfer liquid to a large slow cooker. Submerge meat in liquid. It probably won't be completely covered but that's fine. Turn cooker to high and cover. Cook for 4-5 hours or until meat is tender when pierced with a fork. Pork tenderloin will take less time than pork loin, probably around 2 hours. Start checking the meat after about 3 hours.Turn meat pieces once or twice during the cooking process. Don't overcook or pork will be dry.
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Remove meat from liquid and allow to cool slightly before shredding.
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Transfer liquid that remains to a medium-large size pot. Skim fat from surface. Simmer for 30 minutes or until it begins to thicken and is reduced to about half the volume. When reduced, taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Add last teaspoon of fresh rosemary.
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While sauce is simmering, shred the pork with two forks in nice bite size pieces. Don't shred it too fine or it will become mushy. k.
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When sauce is reduced, add about half of it to the shredded meat and gently stir to coat the pork. Again, don't stir too vigorously so that pork pieces break apart. Reserve the rest of the sauce.
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Serve pork on buns or sandwich rolls of your choice. Top pork with Honey-Lime Slaw (recipe below), as desired. Pass reserved sauce at the
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table.
* See those yummy looking rolls? They're my Sweet Potato Brioche Sandwich/Dinner Rolls. They're buttery and soft and make the perfect bun for this pulled pork. I made them into little pumpkin-shaped rolls for the fall holidays but I usually just make them in the traditional sandwich bun shape.
- 3 cups shredded white cabbage
- 3 cups shredded red cabbage
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- a pinch of salt & pepper
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
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Toss cabbages, cilantro and salt in a bowl. Season with pepper, as desired.
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Whisk together lime juice, honey and sesame oil until smooth.
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Pour honey-lime mixture over shredded vegetables and toss to combine. Serve slaw immediately on top of pork sandwiches or chill for an hour or two, toss again before serving
Donna Elick says
Loved this post Chris! Y'all are just like us. We tether, but to a tablet. Once we move our photo studio we should be able tether to his computer. What type of camera and lens does Scott use? BTW, love the rosemary in there it sounds divine.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks Donna, Scott uses a Cannon 6D Full Frame Camera and he used 3 different lenses for these photos; 100mm macro, 50mm prime and a small zoom.
lena says
oh, you guys are doing tethering! i think that's really professional and very helpful where you can just correct whatever you need on the spot. So scott is also a professional roll slicer now? your photos look really fantastic, you're making everyone hungry here!
Lisa {Authentic Suburban Gourmet } says
I absolutley LOVE this! I recently started using my slow cooker and this is the perfect recipe to use it for. Your photos are making my mouth water!
Ginny says
I have never heard of this technique! SO, these wonderful photos I am always just stunned by have been from your husband? You both are such a wonderful team!! And this post is some of the best work for both of you!!!
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says
Wow, this slow cooked pork looks amazing on your photos! Cooked in root beer - how yum! Please invite me over!
Jennifer@ Peanut Butter and Peppers says
Wow, so cool you get to see the pictures as Scott's taking them. I made two recipes and I haven't even downloaded them to my computer yet. Crossing fingers they turn out!! Your pork sandwiches look incredible and they do look amazing! Can I borrow Scott to take a few photos of my recipes?
Beth says
So pretty ... and you're lucky that your husband is so patient. I think mine would have taken three shots and then started on lunch!
Pam says
That sauce looks incredible! These are my kind of sandwiches!
Liz Berg says
How intriguing with the root beer...but I absolutely love everything you make, so I know this is a winner!
PS...I hope to be baking your Biscoff toffee cookies later this afternoon 🙂
Elisabeth Foodandthrift says
This is the best looking and most delicious succulent slow-cooked pulled pork I have seen in a long time...so different with the root beer, and the awesome sweet and tangy sauce; not to mention the topped beautiful colorful slaw and oh, my! the honey lime dressing! Absolutely divine, and heavenly treat that I would dive into right now! xo
Pondside says
We're going to try pulled pork for the very first time on Sunday, so I am collecting recipes to share with my daughter - this one definitely looks like a contender.
I appreciate (and am in awe of) the care you take with your photography.
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert says
Gosh I love a good BBQ and this does sound Fabulous! Your pictures are always perfect, the food styling, colors and quality - outstanding! I love how your husband encourages you - I think we have that in common but I often fear it's because he's afraid if I quit - I'll also quit cooking - ha ha. Lovely Chris - can't wait to try it yummmmmy!
jabreb says
Thanks for the recipes; will definitely try.
Re the barbecue sauce, I noted there is an "extra" number "1" behind the 1 1/2 cups - is this a typo or should it read 1 1/2 - 2 cups?
Chris Scheuer says
Oh, thanks so much! I always love extra sets of "eyes". I fixed it!
Kim G. says
This BBQ sauce looks so delicious Chris! I wish I can taste it today:) And the slaw in the sandwich looks crunchy and tangy enough to pair with the pork...
Angie Schneider says
I love slaw! And the slow cooked pork sounds and looks mouthwatering!
Lynn@Happier Than a Pig in Mud says
Sounds like a very flavorful sandwich and the slaw is beautiful:@)
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You says
Every single time that I visit you, I see fabulous recipes...This slow cooked pork is no exception, Chris! Because of it, I want to eat pork for breakfast. It is so your fault, Chris! Pinned!
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
I absolutely love pulled pork so this will definitely be going on my to make list Chris. I don't think I could have photographed these without taking a few bites!
Ms Lemon of Make Mine Lemon says
Chris this looks delicious. I can't tell you how many times I thought I had a decent photo, ate my project only to find out I filmed the wrong side of the pie, or there was something a little off. Lessons learned.
I hear there is a wireless card available so you don't have to be tethered. The camera department at Best Buys showed me. I plan on purchasing "when" I get a new camera.
Debra Eliotseats says
I could not have waited. I love the sriracha in this. Delicious!
La Table De Nana says
This is one to add to my wanna try pulled Porks..we have a rib recipe with a soft drink..Think it's root beer too.or cherry coke..it's been a while...
I never knew tethering..thank you.
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Goodness this looks like a perfect Sunday dinner to me! Definitely planning to have this soon, I can only imagine how amazing your house must smell after this!
Kitchen Riffs says
I really need to shoot tethered. Now I shoot, run up two flights of stairs to my office and upload to my computer so I can see what I've got, run down two flights of stairs, make adjustments, shoot. Then repeat until I get things right. What a workout! But you do need to look at photos on a big screen to see what's wrong - I definitely need to get a laptop so I can tether. Anyway, great recipe! Love the idea of the root beer. And the food styling is superb - good job!
Chris Scheuer says
You will LOVE tethering once you start doing it. It's hard enough to get things right when you tether I can't imagine doing it your way John, but you get great shots, I guess that's what counts 🙂
twodogsinthekitchen says
I don't use tethering but, I use Eye-fi, which transfers my photos to the computer instantly. I love the photos that your husband takes and wish I had the patience. I'm usually in a rush and my photos show it...lol! It's people like you two that give my some hope to slow down and "get it right". The sandwich sounds amazing too!!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I need to try tethering; I have a feeling it would speed up my photo process. And when the food looks as good as your pulled pork sandwich, speed is just what you need!