...you saw me standing alone!

In 2007 i had a job traveling all over the country - from San Diego to Miami to Minnesota and back. 
My team of 3 and i cruised the highways and got into a fair amount of mischief. 


and we ate. 
a lot.  


While the 4 of us had vastly differing palates, one area we could all agree on was barbecue. Fortunately our tour kept us in the South quite a bit, and we were able to get more than our fair share of it. 


*High-five to church pot-lucks in Alabama!* 


We spent the last two weeks of our 5 month tour (yes, i lived in a van for 5 months. and it was glorious. most of the time.) in Atlanta - and it was here we found THE bbq joint. Daddy Dz.


                                           


Just loooook at her! If being on the road taught me one thing about food - its that places that look as though they would fail the heath code rating - almost always have some seriously good eats. 


Daddy Dz is very small. It has a dirt floor in places, picnic tables inside, bags of water hanging from the windows (to keep the flies away), a lawn mower in the bathroom, live music every weekend, and if you foolishly try to go there between lunch and dinner time - youll be told there will be no meat ready for at least another 3 hours. 


It is the best bbq i have ever had. 


Now, living in Florida for most of my life, i am well aware there is a debate among Southerners that says Florida is not "the south". 


While I'm sure those in favor of this argument have some valid points - all i know is i once worked here: 
                                                   
and it doesn't get much more Southern that that. Even smack dab in the middle of FL. 
Jimbos is the next best bbq i've ever had. They too have only picnic tables inside, a bowl full of pickles on every table, beans from a pot that never gets washed, a sketchy ice machine that meant sometimes warm sweet tea was served, hushpuppies that melt in your mouth, and a kitchen full of women who spend their days dishing out ribs and singing gospel. I loved LOVED that job. 


Jimbos introduced me to that Southern classic - pulled pork sandwich. 
Since moving to Colorado, i haven't been able to find decent ribs or pulled pork anywhere - much to my dismay - so i cracked open a bottle of beer. 




For Blue Moon pulled pork of course! Cue the oldie: "Blue mooooooon! You saw me standing aloooone!" 


First, assemble ingredients. 

Not pictured: pork butt or shoulder, carrots, potatoes. 

• Blue Moon
• Beef broth
• Brown Sugar
• Cayenne pepper
• Lawrys seasoned salt or regular table salt
• Pepper
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic

The measurements for this recipe are flexable, because it all depends on the size of the pork butt or shoulder you are preparing. As long as the liquid covers the top of the pork and is split 50/50 broth and beer - its correct. 


Turn crock pot on low setting. Roughly chop garlic - pierce pork with knife in several spots and insert pieces. Rub a good amount of salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne into pork. 
Place the pork fat side up, cover with equal parts beer and broth. Mix in brown sugar (i used 1/2 a cup for my 3 pound shoulder).


Chop up a few carrots and potatoes and place in crock pot

 

Cook low and slow until the meat easily pulls off when tugged at with a fork. Taste and season as needed. 

I was preparing mine for a lunch, so i started it the night before and left it to cook overnight. 

Remove cooked pork from crock pot and separate into sections. Place one of the sections on a plate or in a large baking dish, take two forks, and begin shredding the meat. 
                                     

                                      

Move shredded meat into an oven safe casserole. If the shredding/pulling process takes a while, after you're done, cover the dish with foil and stick it in the oven to re-heat before serving. 

                                    

Heap a generous amount on a hamburger bun, slather on some bbq sauce and enjoy with a side of potatoes and carrots. 

                                    

                                    

If you have a lot of prep time, remove potatoes and carrots from cooking liquid, wait till they have cooled, chop up and mix with some mayonnaise, peas, chopped onion, salt and pepper and make a blue moon potato salad!

For dinner - serve the pork just as it is on a plate with the potatoes and carrots. 

You can also take some of the leftover cooking liquid, stick it on the stove, mix in a little flour, and stir until it thickens to make a gravy for the meat that is insanely delicious. 

Enjoy!