Root Beer Pulled Pork

I've mentioned it a couple days ago - but football is back, and this weekend, no matter what level you prefer to watch (high school all the way up through the pro's), you're set until the Super Bowl in February. While we may be located in Arizona, I am still a Nebraskan at heart, so college football (specifically the Huskers) is my football of choice. 

One thing about football is that my husband has a very specific mental definition of "game food." I still haven't quite figured out the specifics (as it seems to keep changing), but it seems to revolve around food that is somewhat portable that goes well with game day beverages of choice. Unfortunately for me, cookies don't quite fit the bill (although I strongly disagree). 

While I'm not quite sure pulled pork meets the bill of portable, this recipe has passed his inspection to qualify as "game food." It is a recipe that really can't get any simpler - any cut of pork + root beer + barbeque sauce of choice in the slow cooker. It can be scaled down for 2 or all the way up to feed a party. For the meat, we typically use a pork loin roast. While I haven't tried it myself, I've heard reports of cuts from pork tenderloin to pork shoulder working well. Any cut of pork that will do well in the slow cooker should be fine.

The recipe came from one of my co-residents last year, although I've heard people have also found it on allrecipes.com. We've made it several times at this point, and it always seems to disappear before I am able to get any good pictures. Whomever your team is, I hope you are able to enjoy this as "game food" before the season is over. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Root Beer Pulled Pork
From Shannon D.

Ingredients:
approx. 1 lb. pork loin
1 liter root beer (approx 1/2 of a 2-liter bottle)
barbeque sauce

Trim the meat of any large portions of visible fat. Place in the slower cooker. Cover with root beer about 2/3 up the cut of meat. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on low.

When the meat is cooked through, remove and shred. Drain the root beer reserving 1/4-1/2 cup. Place the shredded meat back in the slow cooker and mix the the reserved root beer until the meet is just moist. Mix in barbeque sauce until desired consistency. I usually turn the slow cooker back to low to heat through (about 5-10 minutes). Serve with rolls and additional barbeque sauce.