Slow Cooker Loaded BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos

This post is sponsored by the Ohio Pork Council. All opinions are my own.

Let’s get loaded – with pork! These nachos are piled high with BBQ pulled pork instead of taco meat followed by all of your favorite toppings.

It’s no secret that root beer is my favorite beverage of all time (other than that I primarily drink water or milk – yes I’m a 5 year old).

It also happens to be my favorite liquid to cook with as well, especially when it comes to BBQ as made evident by several recipes already on my blog featuring such things. I’ve made many a creation with my root beer pulled pork.

I’m continuing that trend today with my latest creation – slow cooker loaded BBQ pulled pork nachos!

While I have already shared BBQ nachos and root beer pulled pork sandwiches in the past, I’ve kicked things up a notch with these nachos while remaining easy to make.

I stuck to my tried and true, crazy easy and favorite method of cooking pulled pork which is to slow cook it along with a sliced onion in root beer. Once cooked, you simply shred with 2 forks into bite sized pieces!

I could have stopped there but I didn’t want all of that glorious root beer to go to waste so instead of dumping it I poured it into a sauce pan and reduced it down to a syrup.

This root beer syrup was then tossed over the shredded pork that was already cooked in the root beer and then placed until the broiler to promote some nice caramelization of those juicy shreds. Waste not!

Once the dual root beer cooking was complete, part of me considered making a root beer based BBQ sauce to really emphasize my root beer obsession but I wanted to keep things simple so instead I tossed the pork in one of my favorite BBQ sauces from where I grew up – Dinosaur BBQ!

Since I first had BBQ nachos in Memphis, I normally would have gone for one of the bottles of BBQ sauce that I stock piled from whenever I return to Memphis but I stumbled upon a bottle of this nostalgia at my grocery store here in Columbus and could not resist.

The end result was a pile of nachos featuring so many aspects of my life on one plate: Rochester, NY BBQ sauce from where I grew up, Memphis-inspired BBQ nachos from where I spent 6.5 earning my PhD, and Ohio pork representing the 4 years I spent at Ohio State as an undergrad from 2003-2007 and then returning in 2015 to make Columbus my current home.

What is your favorite way to cook pork / What is your favorite pork recipe?

Another of my other favorites is to marinade a pork loin and then grill it with corn on the cob. Again, super easy and crazy delicious. In fact I’ve already done that exact thing 3 times this year and I foresee may more occurrences in the future.

One year ago: Weekly Meal Plan: June 20-26

Two years ago: June 2015 Stitch Fix #9

Three years ago: Easy Honey Mustard Chicken

Four years ago: Cookie Dough White Chocolate Fondue

Five years ago: Prague

SLOW COOKER LOADED BBQ PULLED PORK NACHOS

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

PORK

1 onion, peeled and sliced

2 lb. pork pork shoulder or butt, trimmed of excess fat

24 oz. of root beer

18 oz. bottle of barbecue sauce

NACHOS

14 oz. bag tortilla chips

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups lightly packed chopped salad greens

1 cup black beans

1 cup salsa or chopped tomatoes

2-3 green onions, slices

Directions:

1. Spray the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick spray. Spread the onion slices evenly on the bottom, lay the pork on top, and pour the root beer over the top (add water if needed to just cover). Set on low and and cook for 6-8 hours, or until cooked.
2. After pork has cooked, remove the meat from the crock pot and reserve the liquid – strain out the onion from the liquid. Place liquid into a large pot over high heat and simmer while stirring occasionally until it leaves a trail when a spatula is run through it and it is thick and syrup-like, about 8-12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, turn the oven to broil and shred the pork using two forks. Once the syrup is done, fold the syrup into the pork and spread out mixture in a single layer onto an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Broil on lower middle rack for 5 minutes, until meat is crispy but not charred. Carefully remove from oven, flip the meat and broil again for 5 minutes longer.
4. Remove from oven, pour the barbecue sauce over the pork and stir to combine. Serve immediately on top of a bed of tortilla chips with desired toppings. Or keep warm in slow cooker until ready to serve.

Source: Adapted from my Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Carnitas.