Pulled Pork Pockets

One of my favorite proteins has to be pork.  Of course I love bacon beyond belief.  Growing up I always looked forward to Easter because I knew both of my grandmothers would have a large ham for dinner.  Of course there was always my grandma Cordie’s southern fried pork chops as well.  Served along side fried potatoes, cornbread and pinto beans.  Excuse me y’all, have to go get a towel.  My mouth is already watering.

As I grew up and started doing my own cooking I found that I could buy a large pork loin and cut it into my own chops and then have two small pork roasts as well.  I could make grandma’s pork chops and discovered the joy of PULLED PORK.  Now you can get pulled pork all over the south and in each area they have their own unique way of making it.  I love Carolina Pulled Pork.  It just happens to be my all time favorite.  Now you can of course make slow cooker pulled pork which I do at least once a month.  It’s great for sandwiches during the week to take to work.  Plus it is so much more cost effective.

So yesterday before going to work I put a pork roast in the slow cooker and dinner was ready when I arrived home from work.  I love my slow cooker.  The house smelled so heavenly when I opened the front door.  Just a bit of shredding with two forks and I was piling this wonderfully flavored pork on a onion roll topped with a bit of Carolina BBQ sauce and some cole slaw.

Of course I made way more than we could eat in one meal (at least what we should eat in one meal). So this afternoon I decided to make some pulled pork pockets out of a sheet of puff pastry I had in the freezer.  They turned out great.  I think this will be one of my go to recipes from now on when there is left over pork.  I am sure it would work great with chicken or beef too.  That will be my next weekend project when I have those as leftovers.

So here is the recipe I came up with.  Not much of one really.  Just putting together what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• about 2 cups of shredded pork
• 1/3 cup bbq sauce
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4-6 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Lay your puff pastry out on a well floured cutting board to thaw.

Once thawed, roll out to about 2 inches larger on all sides

Now using a sharp knife (I used a pizza cutter) divide into 4 equal squares

Reheat your shredded pork and mix with the bbq sauce.   Place an equal amount on all four segments in one corner.  Leave room to fold over and seal.

Sprinkle with cheese equally and then with a pastry brush, brush all four sides of each pastry with milk.

Fold the puff pastry from corner to corner on each and seal with your fingers or fork.  I like to dock (poke holes with fork) around the seam to keep the pastry from puffing up along seam.  And make a couple slices in top to allow steam to escape.

Place on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 425°F oven.