Gluten-Free Southern Barbeque

Growing up in California, I knew “barbeque” as something you grilled outside. It wasn’t until I went away to college in Virginia that I learned in the South, “Barbeque” was something completely different. Pulled pork sandwiches from Big Jim’s in Charlottesville soon became one of my favorite foods.This week my Stepdad decided to put a new slow cooker cookbook to the test and make some gluten free pulled pork sandwiches. We were not disappointed.

Gluten Free Pulled Pork Sandwiches (adapted from the Williams Sonoma slow cooker cookbook)

3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
4 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3 equal pieces
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
¾ cup gluten free apple cider vinegar
¾ cup gluten free tomato ketchup
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup gluten free molasses
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon gluten free Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Gluten free soft sandwich rolls split and toasted for serving

Warm the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the pork pieces and brown well on all sides about 12 minutes total. Transfer the pork to the slow cooker.

Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon fat from the frying pan and return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden, about five minutes. Add the vinegar and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits on the pan bottom. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally just until the mixture begins to bubble. Pour over the pork in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on the high-heat setting for 4-5 hours or the low-heat setting for 8-10 hours.

Transfer the pork pieces to a platter. Using a pair of forks, shred each piece of pork, removing and discarding any large pieces of fat. Skim off the excess fat from the surface of the sauce and return the pulled pork to the sauce. Stir together to combine.

Serve the pork and sauce atop the gluten free sandwich rolls.

I made Mona’s Sunny Bun Mix for our sandwich rolls. They were a perfect complement to the pork. They have a great light texture and were well-received even by my Mom, who is picky about her gluten bread, much less my gluten free concoctions.

You can enjoy some southern style barbeque, even when you are living gluten free.