As of this post, the Football Foodie stats look like this for 2011 season:

  • 5 recipes posted
  • 12 recipes through beta testing and photographed
  • 4 recipes still in beta (one of which needs to be attempted for a third time)
  • 80 recipes and counting on the idea list

Not all of these recipes need a full post. Some of them are nothing more than simple assembly, recreations of other recipes that need no tweaks on my end, or just are plain old not that involved. So in order to get more recipes out to the football snacking audience, I bring you the Football Foodie Quick Hit.

Pulled Pork and Pierogies on a Pretzel Bun

When I was back in Pittsburgh last month, I couldn’t wait to try the pulled pork and pierogies on a pretzel bun offered at PNC Park this season.

The meat was sweet, salty and juicy, the pierogies a starchy foil to the meat while the soft pretzel roll soaked up the drippings from both. After finishing my last bite, I couldn’t wait to come home and recreate the sandwich for Bry who was unable to join me on the trip.

The NFL’s opening night of the Green Bay Packers versus the New Orleans Saints seemed like the perfect time to attempt this monstrous sandwich at home. All I needed to do was put the pork in a slow cooker in the morning before work, boil some pierogies come serving time and put it all on store bought pretzel buns.

Method:

Slow cooker pulled pork: I used My Baking Addictions pulled pork recipe, with just a couple of modifications. That particular recipe calls for a full 4-6 pound pork shoulder. Since I didn’t need that meat for our sandwiches, I used a pound and a half pork loin and left the fat on it while using the same amount of marinade, which yielded enough meat for six sandwiches. Instead of saving some of the vinegar mixture for a sauce, I used half of the marinade at the start of cooking and the rest at the end.

Pierogies: I used store bought onion pierogies instead of making my own. Store bought is fine here since they’re just playing off the meat. I recommend boiling the pierogies instead of sauteing them, as you want them to be as soft as possible on the sandwich. Once they have reached the cooked stage and are floating, turn off the heat and leave in the hot water a few minutes longer to get even softer without risking them bursting open from excess boiling.

Pretzel buns: Purchased at Trader Joe’s. They were a little firmer than I would have liked, but a few seconds in the microwave softened them up. Or if you want, you can make your own pretzel bread.

The pork in this method is a tiny bit spicier than the version sold at Manny’s BBQ, but the difference is negligible. I also used the onions from the pulled pork on the sandwiches, which were missing from the PNC Park version, but a nice addition to this sandwich. Of course the original sandwich is smoked, but since I don’t have a smoker, the slow cooker worked out just fine (although in retrospect, I should have maybe added a dash of liquid smoke to the marinade).

Serve with a hearty porter or IPA beer that will stand up up to the meat, the pierogies and the hearty bread.

As always, if you have leftover pulled pork, be sure to save all cooked marinade for reheating the next day; the meat will drink it right up.

Football Foodie Pick’em Pools Update

After two weeks in the Football Foodie CFB Pick’em League, Studley and Andrew Bucholtz are neck-and-neck at 34-6 with Tom Fornelli right at their heels.

Last year’s CFB Pick’em winner, PrettyGirls & Waffles, is hanging around in the top ten, so a repeat is not out of the question yet.

Twizzalicious and Carolina Blue — sorry, don’t know your Twitter ID! — are off to a sharp 12-4 start, while the rest of us should just be embarrassed to be losing to my mom.

Smack talk welcome down the the comments.

 

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