Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Pulled pork is delicious, and there’s nothing wrong with just eating it straight off the plate (or straight out of the oven!). But there’s a reason why pulled pork sandwiches are so popular: sometimes, it’s also nice to have your pork with a starchy, slightly sweet delivery vehicle to contrast with the meat. And who doesn’t love barbecue sauce?

Enter the sweet potato. Oven-baked sweet potatoes deliver everything you wanted from a bun, but without all the junk you didn’t need. They’re the perfect base to top with a pile of meat and an extra drizzle of sauce, whether it’s game day or just time for a tasty lunch.

Fried onions would be a tasty side for these (especially if you have some tasty bacon fat to fry them in). And of course, you don’t actually have to make the pulled pork from scratch: if you have some left over from another recipe, you can just bake the potatoes and bring on the BBQ sauce. That makes it a fast and easy weeknight dinner and a great way to give leftovers a new life.

Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

SERVES: 4 PREP: 15 min. COOK: 8 h.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. boneless pork loin;
• 4 large sweet potatoes, washed;
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced;
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced;
• 2 garlic cloves, minced;
• ½ cup beef stock;
• 1 tsp. chili powder;
• 1 tsp. paprika;
• ½ tsp. ground cumin;
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar;
• 1 cup homemade BBQ sauce, plus extra for drizzling;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper;

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste.
2. Rub the mixture evenly over the pork.
3. Place the onion, garlic, pork, and beef broth in a slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
5. Preheat your oven to 400 F.
6. Put the sweet potatoes in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
7. Remove the meat from the slow cooker and place in a large bowl. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onion chunks and place in the same bowl as the pork. Using two forks, pull the meat apart.
8. Add the BBQ sauce and the apple cider vinegar to the slow-cooker, and cook the sauce for another 30 minutes on low. Once the sauce is done, mix it with the pork.
9. Slit each sweet potato down the middle.
10. Fill each sweet potato with the pulled pork. Sprinkle with green onions, and drizzle with extra BBQ sauce to serve.