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Philly Italian Pork Sandwich

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Slow cooked Italian pork with broccoli rabe and pickled peppers
Servings 6

Ingredients

Pork

  • 4 lb boneless pork shoulder Boston butt
  • kosher salt & black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 head of garlic halved cross wise
  • 2-3 sprigs rosemary
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1-2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup warm water

Broccoli Rabe & Assembly

  • 1 bunch broccoli rabe woody ends trimmed
  • 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4-6 garlic cloves thinly sliced
  • ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 6 hoagie rolls
  • 8 oz sharp provolone thinly sliced
  • 1 jar pickled banana peppers (for serving)
  • 1 lemon cut into wedges

Instructions

Pork

  • Cut the Pork into four large pieces, and sprinkle generously with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Heat a dutch oven or a large skillet over medium high heat, and sear the meat in the canola oil, looking to get a little crust on each side of each piece of pork.
  • Combine the vinegar, garlic, rosemary, honey, fennel, red pepper flakes, 1 Tbsp. salt, and 1 cup water in the insert of slow cooker. Place the pork on top of the liquid, turning with tongs to coat and mix ingredients. Cook on high until pork is very tender and shreds easily, about 4 hours.
  • Transfer pork to a medium bowl and let rest until cool enough to handle. Pour cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan; discard solids. Let liquid settle so fat rises to the top, then pour off and discard all but a thin layer of fat. Bring liquid to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about a third, 12–18 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, shred pork with your fingers or 2 forks, discarding any large bits of fat. Season with salt.
  • Set aside 1 cup cooking juices for serving, then add shredded pork to saucepan with remaining juices and toss to coat and rewarm pork.

Broccoli Rabe and Assembly

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Fill a large bowl with ice water and have at the ready. Add broccoli rabe to pot and cook just until stems are tender, about 2-3 minutes. Using tongs, transfer broccoli rabe to bowl of ice water and agitate to rapidly cool down. Drain and pat dry on paper towels. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into 1" pieces on the diagonal, all the way from stem to leaves.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring often, until garlic is golden around the edges, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add broccoli rabe; season with salt. Cook, tossing constantly, until leafy bits are just starting to crisp slightly, 7–10 minutes.
  • Preheat your broiler, and line up the hoagie rolls topping with the provolone - broil for 1-2 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the rolls are slightly toasted. Divide pork among bottoms of rolls, then spoon broccoli rabe over, and finish with a generous topping of pickled banana peppers and a squeeze of lemon juice over the broccoli rabe. Close up sandwiches and cut in half. Serve with reserved juices for dipping.

Notes

This is an adapted version from Bon Appétit https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/slow-cooker-roast-pork-sandwiches. I added the step of searing the meat, and include the banana peppers for serving.  I also removed olive oil from the slow cooking process as I just didn't think it was needed - there is plenty of fat in the pork.