True Made Rootbeer Pulled Pork for #CookoutWeek

My regular readers know that I am a big proponant of sneaking veggies into my family's food.  I have shared my grilled vegetable pasta sauce , numerous cakes and muffins containing zucchini, carrots, spinach and I often add greens to my stews and sauces with no one being the wiser.  In fact, the Jamaican Me Happy muffins that I shared with you on the first day of #CookoutWeek contained zucchini and flax seed for some little added nutrition.

Today is day 3 of #CookoutWeek hosted by the gals at PinterTest Kitchen.  If you haven't entered to win the great prize package listed above you need to go do that right this minute.  I will wait for you to come back before I go on with my post.  

Welcome back....now let me tell you about this new brand of foods that was sent to me by one of our sponsors.  True Made Foods has done, commercially, what I have been doing in my kitchen for years. They have developed products that are flavored and sweetened with vegetables instead of sugar.  Not only have they taken out a lot of sugar but they have added in a ton of veggies that will provide you with extra nutrition, vitamins and fiber.  Yes, but how does it taste?  Let me tell  you...I have always made my own bbq sauce because I have never found a store bought sauce that I liked.  That has all changed.  Frank, who is even pickier than I, when it comes to bbq sauce, loved it.  Of course, I did not tell him that it is chock full of veggies.  I did, however, mention that it was made by veterans. As you may know, Frank is a vet as were both of our fathers and two of my brothers.  Frank's brother and our son, Chuck, are still active military so we hold our vets in very high esteem.  That being said, as much as I appreciate their service to our country, I would never recommend a product that I didn't love and, folks.....I LOVE this product.

I was a little concerned because I wanted to cook my pork shoulder in rootbeer and liquid smoke. Then, when I got this gift package from True Foods, I almost changed my mind because who wants to add a lot of processed, high fructose corn syrup, to a dish that would be dressed with this healthier sauce?  I went on a mission and found a rootbeer that was made with cane sugar and contained no high fructose corn syrup.  My plan was back on!!

I was making a 9 lb roast which was too big to fit into my crockpot.  Luckily, I have my handy dandy electric roaster that works very well as a big crockpot.  I put in the roast with 2 bottles of the rootbeer, some onion and 3 tablespoons of the liquid smoke.  I let it cook on low heat (about 275*) for 14 hrs.It cooked overnight while we slept.  The next morning, I removed the roast to a cutting board and shredded the meat, discarding all bones, fat, gristle and the cooking liquid.  I placed the meat into my regular sized crockpot and placed it in the refrigerator until the following day.

The next morning, I added the entire bottle of True Made BBQ sauce, filled the bottle halfway with water, shook it up to get every last bit of goodness off of the sides and poured that into the crockpot as well.  Stirred it together so all the meat was coated and cooked it on low for 3 hrs. 

This was served up with a couple of salads, a muffin and a cupcake for dessert making a complete meal that I am sharing with you, one recipe each day, to celebrate #CookoutWeek.

I want to thank True Made Foods for their generosity in sending me a 3 pack of their products containing ketchup, hot sauce and this lovely bbq sauce I am sharing with you today.  I received no other compensation and, as stated earlier, would not promote any product on my blog unless I was completely happy with said product.  I will be purchasing this bbq sauce in the future and I feel very comfortable sharing this company with my readers.  

This recipe will easily feed a large gathering of 20-25 people.  You can adjust the measurements to suit your needs but keep in mind that it freezes extremely well and is perfect to have on hand in smaller portions for those busy days. Grab a package from the freezer and make pulled pork quesadillas, pulled pork sandwiches or a pulled pork pizza.  That is what I am using our leftovers for this time and I will be sharing the results with you soon.  Pulled pork in this house is like lasagna.  I never make it for one meal without making extras for the freezer.  

True Made Rootbeer Pulled Pork

1 (8-10 lb) Pork Shoulder or Butt Roast

1 onion, quartered

2 bottles root beer

3 T. liquid smoke

1 bottle True Made BBQ Sauce (or your favorite sauce)

Place the roast in a large crockpot or electric roaster along with the onion, rootbeer and liquid smoke. Turn to low heat (275*) and let cook for 12-14 hrs or until roast is fall of the bone tender and easily shredded with a fork.  Remove from roaster to a cutting board and let cool.  Discard cooking liquid.

When roast is cool enough to handle shred the meat discarding any fat, gristle and bones. (You can now store the meat in the refrigerator or continue with the recipe.)  Place shredded pork into a slow cooker.  Add the entire bottle of bbq sauce.  Fill the bottle halfway with water, shake to get all the remaining sauce from the bottom and sides and add to the slowcooker.  Toss with tongs to coat the meat thoroughly and cook on low for 2-3 hrs or until heated through.  Print Recipe

I'm excited to see what the others are sharing today...let's go take a look!!

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