Shredded Beef and Pork Sandwiches
So these sandwiches are good. Like really good. The meat is tender, it’s sweet, it’s spicy, it’s juice dripping down your face and you don’t care kind of good.
Beef and pork are slow cooked on the stove for three hours until the meat just falls apart into the sauce. The sauce is slightly sweetened with brown sugar and tomato sauce while the adobo seasoning adds a kick of cumin, oregano, and pepper. I haven’t found anything that this meat doesn’t make taste better. Make it for sandwiches, nachos, tacos…or basically anything. I’m about to put it in my morning oatmeal I love it that much.
This recipe has has become a staple at my family get togethers. It’s great for a large group of people and the leftovers taste even better the next day (if any of it lasts that long!). The recipes makes 2 pounds of meat, but I’ve also made it with 4 pounds for a large group.
Make it on a day where you give the meat ample time to cook. It doesn’t require a slow cooker and instead cooks on the stove until the meat is fall apart tender. If you want to keep it warm for an extended period of time you could move it to a slow cooker on low.
Shredded Beef and Pork Sandwiches Recipe
Makes approximately 8-10 sandwiches.
Ingredients
Sandwiches
- 1 lb pork, cut in 2 inch chunks (I use pork shoulder)
- 1 lb beef, cut in 2 inch chunks (I use chuck roast)
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
- 1 Tbsp adobo seasoning (I used Penzey’s Adobo Seasoning)
(Substitute the Penzey’s adobo seasoning with – 1/2 Tbsp of Goya Adobo seasoning, 1/4 Tbsp cumin, 1/8 tsp oregano, and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper.)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup canned tomato sauce (about half of a 15 ounce can)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- Sandwich buns
Optional Toppings
- Pickles
- Cheese (I used cheese spread)
- Frozen onion rings, heated per bag instructions
- Coleslaw (recipe below)
Coleslaw
(The amount this recipe makes is great if being used as a sandwich topping. If eating as a side dish it only makes about 2-3 servings. Double amounts to increase.)
- 1 – 1 and 1/2 cup cabbage (green, purple, or both), sliced thin (or use the pre-shredded)
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1/4 tsp dry mustard
- 1/8 tsp celery seed
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 shallot, minced
- 2 green onions, chopped (only use the green part)
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 tsp pickle juice (optional) (I like bread and butter pickle juice)
Directions
Sandwiches
- Peel and dice the onion.
- Cut the meat into large chunks. I try to cut off excess fat as I do this. You want to keep a little bit of fat on the meat, but I prefer to remove as much as I can. Also try to remove any connective tissue which can be difficult to shred later.
- In a large dutch oven or pot, heat 1 Tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add a droplet of water into the pot and it should sizzle, but not smoke.
- Add a quarter of the meat to the pot in a single layer. You don’t want to crowd the meat and steam it.
- As the meat begins to brown use tongs to turn the pieces until browned on all sides. Then remove and set aside.
- Repeat this process until all of the meat is cooked.
- Return the empty pot to the stove and add the diced onion. Stir the onion and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the adobo seasoning (or substituted spices), 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Stir and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the meat back to the pot along with 1 cup tomato sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 cup of water. Stir until combined.
- Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, use a large spoon to remove the meat to a separate bowl. Leave the liquid in the pot on low heat.
- Use two forks to shred the meat (the pork will shred easier than the beef). I like to keep some chunks of meat, but shred to your liking.
- Return the meat to the pot. Cover and continue to simmer for another 1 hour on low.
- If the meat is very liquid-y, continue to cook for another 15 minutes, with the top off, over medium heat to reduce some of the liquid.
- Serve the meat on toasted buns with pickles, coleslaw, cheese, and/or onion rings.
Coleslaw
- Remove the outer layer from the cabbage. Cut off the stem end and cut the head in half. Then cut a triangle in the middle of the cut cabbage to remove the inner core. Then cut the head again so the cabbage is now in fourths with the inner core removed.
- Using your knife, very thinly shave the edge of the cabbage into thin strips. Then cut the strips in half so they are bite-size. Do this until you have about 1 and 1/2 cups of cabbage. (Or use the pre-shredded cabbage mix). Set aside.
- In a medium or large sized bowl, add 1 Tbsp mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp sour cream, and 1 tsp white vinegar and use a fork or whisk to combine.
- Add 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp dry mustard, 1/8 tsp celery seed, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 1/8 tsp kosher salt. Whisk to combine.
- Remove the peel from the shallot and finely chop half of it (or if it’s a small shallot, chop the whole thing).
- Chop the green part of 2 green onions.
- Remove parsley leaves from the stem and finely chop into 1 Tbsp.
- Add the shallot, green onions, and parsley to the dressing. Add 1 tsp pickle juice if using. Stir to combine.
- Add the cabbage to the dressing and stir. If you have too much dressing, add more cabbage.
- Let the slaw set in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I’m impatient and have used it right away, but it really does taste better when the flavors have a chance to combine.
The sauce in this recipe is thin, which is one of the things I like about it, but it can make for a soggy sandwich. I’ve found it helps to put the meat in a strainer to let some of the excess liquid drain off before adding to a sandwich. Using a toasted bun also helps the sandwich stay together. Or, grab a fork and face the fact it will taste better than it looks.
The meat has a lot of depth so it does taste great without any toppings. But if you do want something extra, I added pickles, onion rings, cheese, and slaw to the batch I made. Play around with different combinations to find what you like.
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