Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I just got back from a baby music class. It was super cute, but I think my main takeaway is that it might be time for me to go back to work. I knew 1.7 out of 20 songs that we sang (itsy bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle), I couldn't quite match the singing intensity or commitment of the other moms, and quite honestly I didn't feel totally comfortable dancing around in a circle to Ring-Around-The-Rosy (which I didn't know the words to). What does that song even mean, anyway? I actually think my face turned red while I was prancing.

The babies seemed to love it though, so they'll definitely go again. Sounds like a great job for Dad.

Moving on to food, pulled pork+sweet potato+BBQ sauce+other stuffing stuff is the most fun and delicious weeknight meal. Or weekend meal, I suppose. I shouldn't pigeon hole it. I have a couple pulled pork recipes here and here, but honestly I just made a really simple version for this recipe. Then I stuffed the sweet potatoes with corn, avocado, cheese, and drizzled with BBQ sauce. Heavenly.

Recipe

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• Toppings of choice: avocado, cheddar/jack cheese, corn...
• 2.5 lb boneless pork shoulder
• Pork/poultry BBQ seasoning (optional; store bought)
• 1/2 can beer
• 3-5 cups beef broth, depending on size of pan
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse/kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• Pepper to taste

Coat the boneless pork shoulder in BBQ seasoning (I just use a store bought version- you can skip this and just do S&P if you want).  Preheat the oven to 300.  Heat some olive oil in a large dutch oven.  Brown the pork on all sides. Deglaze the pan with the beer (anything you like the flavor of), then add in enough beef broth to almost cover the pork (about 1/2 inch out is good).  Throw in the rest of the seasonings, bring to a boil, then cover tightly and place it in the oven for 3.5-4 hours.  It will probably be done around 3, it will just keep getting a little more tender after that. I usually do close to 4...it just needs to be easily shredable. I know shredable isn't a word.  Take the pork out and remove the lid; place it over high heat and boil down the liquid until it thickens and reduces quite a bit. You can skip that step and just strain the pork to get rid of some of the liquid too. Shred the pork.

Cook the sweet potatoes however you want. I usually poke them and bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 45-60 minutes for a really big sweet potato. It will be less if they are more normal sized (honestly I would like to know where Central Market gets their mammoth sized produce).  Slice open the potatoes, top with cheese, avo, corn and anything else you're using. Top with the pork and then drizzle with BBQ sauce (I like a sweet sauce here like Rufus Teague or Sweet Baby Ray's).