Home » Main Dishes » Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches
posted by Christy Denneyon Apr 25, 2020110 comments »
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These Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches are made from only 3 ingredients and are great for feeding a crowd. This pork dinner can be made in the crockpot, slow cooker, or Instant Pot.
Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches
I don’t know what world I’ve been living in but apparently everyone in the world has a recipe for a go-to pulled pork sandwich besides me. Kind of like when I was dating my husband and he mentioned the movie Goonies and found out that I had never seen it. “What?”…”What world did you grow up in?” Am I the only person that didn’t see that movie in my childhood?
There are only 3 ingredients to these super simple pork sandwiches. And if you don’t have a recipe for pulled pork sandwiches, this is the one for you. The pork is cooked in root beer all day long. You could use any flavor of soda really like Dr.Pepper or co*ke but I prefer root beer.
The root beer acts as a tenderizer and after soaking in it all day, the pork practically melts in your mouth. After cooking, drain the root beer and add your favorite BBQ sauce to the shredded meat.
WHAT KIND OF PORK CUT DO I USE?
I use a pork shoulder or butt which has a ton of flavor. You can also use a pork tenderloin but it is a lot leaner and should be cooked for less time.
OTHER PORK RECIPES:
- Mojo Pork Tenderloin
- Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin
- Cafe Rio’s Sweet Barbacoa Pork
- Grilled Pork Medallions
- Horseradish Crusted Pork Loins
- Crispy Pork Carnitas
Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches
4.14 from 44 votes
These Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches are made from only 3 ingredients and are great for feeding a crowd.
PrintPinRate
Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Cook Time: 4 hours hrs
Total Time: 4 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (2 pound) pork shoulder or butt, tenderloin can be used for a leaner option
- 1 (12 ounce) can of root beer
- 1 (18 ounce) bottle of barbecue sauce
- 8 hamburger buns
Instructions
Place the pork in a slow cooker and pour the can of root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until pork shreds easily with a fork.
After pork has cooked, drain and discard the root beer. Shred the pork and place it back in the slow cooker. Pour the barbecue sauce over the pork and stir to combine. Serve immediately or keep warm in slow cooker until ready to serve. Serve on hamburger buns.
For the Instant Pot: Cook on high pressure for about 35 minutes. Let pressure release and continue to step two.
Cuisine: American
Course: Main Course
Author: Christy Denney
All Recipes Feeding a Crowd Instant Pot Main Dishes Pork Sandwiches Super Easy Recipes Tablespoon
published on Apr 25, 2020
110 comments Leave a comment »
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110 comments on “Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches”
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Susie Slaughter — Reply
Can this be made with chicken breast?
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Vanessa Knopp — Reply
This was by far thr easiest and tastiest pulled pork I’ve tried. Thanks for sharing!
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Christy Denney — Reply
Thank you!
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Trish — Reply
What is the best kind of barbecue sauce to use for this recipe?
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Christy Denney — Reply
Just your favorite. Sweet Baby Rays is good.
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Angela Saunders — Reply
Can I use any kind of pork like for instance I have a pork roast would that be just as good ?
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Christy Denney — Reply
Yes, you can use any kind of pork.
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Karee — Reply
Is it the same time in the pressure cooker for using two pounds of tenderloin? Or should I adjust time
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Christy Denney — Reply
Tenderloin is a little more lean. You would probably only need about 25 minutes.
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Dawn — Reply
Can the soda be flat?
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Shelbi — Reply
I am making this for 20 adult men and got (2) 6 lb pork butts. How long should I do (1) of them in the crock pot at 6lbs?
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Christy Denney — Reply
It would still take about the same time. You might need to add 2 hours.
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Connie — Reply
Love the pull pork
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Christy Denney — Reply
Thank yoU!
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Kimvon — Reply
How can you slow cook pork for 6 hrs, & have a total time of 4 hrs, 5 min. ?
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Christy Denney — Reply
Great question. It can be done as early as 4 hours but as late as 6.
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Shari Libby — Reply
could you use a beef instead
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Christy Denney — Reply
Sure!
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H — Reply
I am planning to make this tonight. I cut most of the meat from the pork butt but now it’s half the size. Should my cook time be different? Thank! You are my “go to” for dinner every night!!
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Christy Denney — Reply
You might only need four hours! I would check at four.
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Linda — Reply
Can diet root beer be used?
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Christy Denney — Reply
Diet root beer tastes strange to me with this.
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LJP — Reply
My nephew had this when a lady brought it into work and he loved it! We are going to be making it for Christmas Eve. My mom got a 9 lb, pork, bone in shoulder and was wondering if anyone had any advise on the timing for cooking? Neither she or I have much experience using a crock pot/slow cooker. Yes, I know Christmas Eve is tomorrow, we too misread the recipe as 12 lbs and had a good laugh over it. We will let you know how it goes…
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Christy Denney — Reply
Okay if it’s bone in you will need to cook it a bit longer. About 8 hours should do or until it falls apart – whatever comes first.
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Autumn — Reply
Love this recipe, have made it several times but I forgot to take the pork out of the freezer last night! 🤦♀️ Do you think I could put it in the slowcooker frozen and just cook it longer?
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Amy — Reply
I was hoping someone had asked this question! I have made this in the past, but apparently on my grocery order I forgot to order boneless!
This is our Christmas Eve Dinner today! YUM!
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Courtnie — Reply
I made this today. I followed the recipe to a T (besides sprinkling the pork with salt/pepper before putting it in the crock pot) and it came out perfect!!!
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Christy Denney — Reply
Awesome to hear that!
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Anamika @ Supplement Crunch — Reply
Oh my goodness! What a beautiful sandwich…………
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Christy Denney — Reply
Thank you!
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JessM — Reply
Okay. Here’s the thing. I’ve read across multiple pages that there is “no” flavor with this recipe. If you’re someone who found or finds this recipe to be bland, please – PLEASE, season your meat!
I use season salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and for those who like heat – “Slap ya mama” hot seasoning.
Please season the meat to your liking while it is cooking to help those flavors marinade. I prefer using A&W Rootbeer with this recipe and top it off with Sweet Baby Rays “Honey BBQ” sauce which oddly enough, has some underlying spice depending on how sensitive your palate is.
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Christy Denney — Reply
Yes, seasoning is very important!
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Chrissy — Reply
The Goonies is a classic. My husband and I both watched it as children and now watch it with our children. My 15 yr old daughter’s best friend has never seen it so we told her she has to watch it or she’s no longer welcome in our home! Lol.
I just purchased an instant pot tonight – how do I adapt the recipe for it?
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Christy Denney — Reply
You’ll want to cook it for about 40 minutes in the instapot. Hope that helps.
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Joan — Reply
You mention 12 pounds of pork butt. How many pounds of tenderloin? Since it is almost pure meat, I was wondering if you use less.
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Melissa — Reply
I think it should read as follows:
2 pound pork shoulder or butt tenderloin can be used for a leaner option
12 ounce can of root beer
18 ounce bottle of barbecue sauce
8 hamburger bunsI read it as 12 pounds also. The 1 in front of the 2 is very misleading. I was literally thinking holy crap where is a person supposed to find a 12 pounder?!?
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Christy Denney — Reply
Yes I transferred recipes to a different plugin and it formatted it differently.
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Christy Denney — Reply
It’s 1 (2 lb) pork butt. Sorry. Th recipe plugin was messed up.
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Sandy — Reply
I have made this with chicken and pork. Both were a big hit! I don’t put the BBQ sauce on it. I just let guest dress it with as much as they want. It is a wonderful recipe. I am never disappointed!
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Christy Denney — Reply
So glad you enjoyed this!
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Pollyann — Reply
I just love a good easy slow cooker recipe (it’s hot, I’m not turning on my oven unless my life depends on it). Thanks for sharing this! P.S. I love your blog name!!
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Christy Denney — Reply
Thank you! I love your name.
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Ronnie-Southern Food Junkie — Reply
This looks really good. Might have to give this a go.
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Christy Denney — Reply
Good luck!
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Renita — Reply
I’m wondering if it would change things if I used a diet root beer? We only have diet drinks in our home. I had planned to make pulled pork sandwiches for my husbands birthday in a couple of days. Thanks in advance, Renita
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Renita — Reply
Ok so I just read the comments & someone had already asked that same question. I think I will try it with the diet anyway since I hadn’t planned to go shopping again until after I fixed them. Thanks anyway.
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Christy Denney — Reply
It definitely does not have the same taste with diet. You’re welcome to try it though.
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Carly — Reply
I have a 4 lb pork shoulder, should I adjust the cooking time?
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Christy Denney — Reply
To be honest the cooking time shouldn’t be too much different.
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Sarah — Reply
Made this last night and it was terrible. It was only edible because of the amount of BBQ sauce. I cooked mine 4 hours on low and it was super tough and dried out. The rootbeer was kind of pointless as it didn’t flavor the meat or anything so it was basically just pork with tons of BBQ Sauce. Definitely nothing special.
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Christy Denney — Reply
Unfortunately it sounds like you cooked it too long. It will depend on your slow cooker and your meat on how long to cook it.
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Lisa Futvoye-Shepherd — Reply
After years of shredding my pulled pork with a fork…I discovered the EASY way to do it. Separate the fatty part from the pork. Then use your mixer! Use the paddle beaters, “mix” it a fist sized chunk at a time…
Voila, pulled pork without the stress and strain!
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Christy Denney — Reply
Yes! I do that too but sometimes it shred it too thin for my liking. I like it a little chunkier.
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Amanda — Reply
Do you think this would work with chicken breasts or thighs?
Sounds SOOOOOoooo delicious but I’m allergic to pork….
Thanks for sharing!
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Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} — Reply
Absolutely. Thighs tend to hold their moisture more in the slow cooker so I prefer those but I’ve done it with breasts too.
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Anonymous — Reply
The Goonies must be a guy thing because I never watched it during my childhoood either! My husband was also in utter disbelief when he heard I had never watched it. Anyway, this recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! 🙂
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Best Recipes — Reply
When someone writes an paragraph he/she keeps the idea of a user in his/her mind that
how a user can know it. Therefore that’s why this piece of writing is amazing. Thanks! -
Marcy — Reply
Can I use co*ke or ginger ale instead of root beer? It’s all I have.
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Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} — Reply
I would go with co*ke if that’s all you have.
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Linda — Reply
I only have Diet Root Beer . . . do you think that will work ok?
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Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} — Reply
Linda,
Diet soda definitely gives it a different less rich taste and I recommend not using it. But if you have to, you have to.-
Becky — Reply
Would this work on a 8lb in bone butt roast ? Do I need to add 2 cans of root beer?
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Christy Denney — Reply
Yes, you might need to add two cans.
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nanny432 — Reply
I made these over the weekend. AMAZING! My husband even ate leftover’s the next day……this NEVER happens 🙂 I was cooking 4 lbs so I used 20 oz’s of root beer. Still cooked on low for 6 hrs. I had a hard time getting it out of the crock pot because it just fell apart (not complaining) 🙂 I drained the root beer and added “KC Masterpiece Original) sauce. Not as much as the recipe calls for but enough to hold the pork together. This way if someone wanted it more saucy they could add more to their sandwich.
I must say I was a little apprehensive about not adding other spices, not even salt or pepper. But I stuck with just the root beer and pork loin and I wasn’t disappointed. Thanks again for the recipe!-
Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} — Reply
Glad you liked it. You can definitely add salt and pepper to season it but other than that it needs nothing.
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Lacey — Reply
I always use pork butt which is really pork shoulder, for pulled pork. In this one you are draining off the liquid so the fat goes with it. I sounds delish!
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KELLYTHEWILDONE — Reply
WTF… Discard the root beer??? i would drink it what a waste!!! but awesome feed none the less 😉
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Beth — Reply
I did not have Root Beer so I used Cream Soda. This is an amazing recipe will use it again.
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Kathy — Reply
This absolutely makes the best bbq ever. Really. The hardest part was keeping the root beer from my family until I made the recipe.
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Manda Roo — Reply
Aaaamazing!
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Detektei — Reply
O.M.G!!! This looks amazing and I need one right now! Please!!!
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Deidra — Reply
My freshmen roommates took it upon themselves to make sure I watched Goonies. They couldn’t believe I’d never seen it!
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Mara @ Super Savings — Reply
These look amazing! I’ve pinned them and hope to make them soon!
I’ll join the ranks of those who never saw Goonies as a kid – and my husband and friends thought it was crazy (I would’ve gotten the same reaction if I’d said I don’t breath air, lol)
Then it was on tv and my hubzy “made” me watch it……hmm, really?? I just don’t see what the big deal is, but maybe it’s a nostalgia thing. =)Mara @ Super Savings
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Denyse — Reply
Made these last night and it was seriously the best bbq pork sand I’ve ever had!! I love the flavor the root beer gives it!! Thank you!
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Monica H — Reply
That looks so stinkin’ good and I don’t even like root beer!
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Heather N — Reply
I didn’t see The Goonies until I was an adult either :p
I can’t wait to try this with the root beer. I love Dr. Pepper, but I’ll drink that on the side 😉
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Anonymous — Reply
I loved the Goonies too… So much adventure in that movie! But it didn’t go over so well with my kids – guess it’s an 80s thing. Pulled pork sandwiches are 1 of my 3 favorite sandwiches… This recipe looks great!
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according to sabrina — Reply
I added your button to my blog 🙂
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Anonymous — Reply
I made this recipe for the first time a week or so ago after seeing it on allrecipes.com. I added liquid smoke in addition to the bbq sauce, it was easy and tasted great!
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Penny Wolf — Reply
I made this using a ham and it was really yummy also. Thank You!
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shopannies — Reply
this sounds so very good yummy come see what I shared on my blog at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
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Suzanne — Reply
I have seen the Goonies, but I was not until I was in my early 20s.
But I have never made pulled pork. Here in Texas I grew up on mainly beef BBQ, so brisket sandwiches are the norm. This looks wonderful and I am going to have to try it. -
Medifast Coupons — Reply
Was thinking that pulled pork would be a lot harder to make, this doesn’t sound hard at all. Great recipe, thanks so much for sharing, I think I know what I can make and take for Memorial Day bbq.
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Heather — Reply
It is super easy! I haven’t tried this recipe, but I’m going to. Normally I do a dry rub and let it sit for a night before slow cooking it with chicken broth. I let people add their own bbq sauce on the buns and use the leftovers for burritos, scrambled eggs, etc. I can’t wait to try this recipe. 🙂
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Holly — Reply
Yum! This sounds divine especially with root beer!!:)
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Carolyn Jung — Reply
I, too, have used beer with pork recipes, but never root beer. How intriguing! 😉
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Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} — Reply
@Jennifer,
Not a dumb question. I realized I didn’t make the recipe link very big at the bottom. If you click on the link at the bottom or any of the pictures it will take you to the recipe. But yes, basically you cover the pork butt, shoulder, or loin in root beer and let it cook for 6 hours, then drain the root beer, shred it and add BBQ sauce. -
Carla — Reply
What timing! I have a pork shoulder in the crockpot as we speak! But I used a bottle of amber beer…first time to try this but I’ve read great reviews.
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Kristy {Sweet Treats and More} — Reply
I’m losing motivation to cook dinner, I need recipes like this! Looks great!
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Jennifer — Reply
I have a dumb question. Do you just put it in a slow cooker and cover it with root beer and let it go? Thanks!
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Melissa — Reply
Mmmm! I make these all the time and put them on home made buns and honestly, they are the best. They are super easy but soooo delicious.
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Strawberry CAKE — Reply
Wha? you never saw Goonies??!! Whats up wid dat? : )
JK These look so yummy. Great pictures. -
Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} — Reply
Glad I’m not the only one who was deprived.
@Anonymous,
I think chicken would work too but I haven’t tried it. You would definitely have to cook it for less time. -
Marie — Reply
I never saw Goonies growing up either and I still haven’t! Somehow though, I have managed to survive 😉
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Laurie — Reply
Looks super yum! Can’t wait to try it out. I live in the BBQ Belt but have never made it myself. Thanks for the info, just pinned it!
Love
Laurie from
http://sceneofthegrime.blogspot.com -
Steve and Alli — Reply
I’ve been looking for another pulled pork idea, this one is perfect for our Friday night dinner, thanks! Also, I was forced to watch Goonies before my husband and I got married because he couldn’t stand the idea of marrying me before I had watched his very favorite movie. I really still don’t understand his love affair with it, but I guess he doesn’t understand my love affair with cheesie girl movies, so we’re even.
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Apron Appeal — Reply
If anyone gives you a hard time for never having seen the Goonies, just tell them that you must be younger than they think.
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Lisa — Reply
Mmm, I could dream about those sandwiches all day long.
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~Monica~ — Reply
I too never saw Goonies as a child and was forced to watch it when my husband found out. He had a similar reaction to your husband’s. He actually called my mom and told her she failed me in my raising. 🙂 I’ve tried a recipe similar to this with chicken but it burned horribly and I’ve never tried it again. I’ll give it a shot with the pork next time I buy some.
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Heather McMullin — Reply
Looks so yummy. You always do such a great job.
Love ya!
Heather
http://www.madefamousby.blogspot.com -
Nicole@HeatOvenTo350 — Reply
My husband couldn’t believe I had never watched The Sandlot before. I think he bought the movie that night and made me watch it.
I’ve seen some of these cola-pulled pork recipes around the internet and I think I’m finally going to try one out. Yours looks delicious.
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amanda — Reply
Love this recipe! My mom made it for our groomal shower (I think we made that word up but he got tools and manly things). Everyone loved it and it fit perfect for the party!
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Natalie {http://kickinitinthekitchen.blogspot.com/} — Reply
I use this same recipe, I got it from AllRecipes.com, via a friend of mine. LOVE IT!! She gave me this little tip … make a mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic, and rub it on the pork before putting it in the crock pot. Adds a little extra kick!
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Anonymous — Reply
Regarding Goonies: you aren’t the only one. I never saw it as a kid, then my husband forced me to watch a bit of it when he came across it on tv one day.
And I said it was ridiculous, got up and left.
You would have thought I killed the president or something. -
Renna — Reply
Easy is my favorite kind of recipe. Can’t wait to try this!
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Anonymous — Reply
Sounds yummy! Do you think it’d work with chicken?
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JessM — Reply
Yes, of course.
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DCrowe — Reply
I must have been deprived in my childhood too. I didn’t see the goonies until I was married. It happens to be one of my husbands favorite movies. I am going to try these this week! Can’t wait!
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Mindy — Reply
I made this version years ago and remember it being tasty. Thanks for the reminder!
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Erin — Reply
Such a good movie! You must’ve had a deprived childhood ;-). But these sounds wonderful, root beer in my #1 favorite non-alcoholic drink!
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