Recipe: Country Fair Barbecue Sandwiches

Jeanne Cluts has worked in the Don Ayres office for more than 10 years, and she also happens to be a phenomenal cook! Every so often, Jeanne passes along one of her amazing recipes. Here, she shares a great recipe for Country Fair Barbecue Sandwiches. “This may sound like a lot of ingredients, but it’s well worth it!” Jeanne says. “The meat freezes well, and you can save the broth – it makes great beef and noodles.”

Ingredients for Shredded Meat
2 ½ lbs. boneless chuck roast, trimmed
2 ½ lbs. boneless pork shoulder, trimmed
2 quarts water
2 ribs of celery, cut in large pieces
1 large onion
2 carrots, cut in large pieces
2 small bay leaves
8 whole cloves
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

Ingredients for Barbecue Sauce
2 T. butter
1 c. chopped onion
1 ½ c. meat stock
1 c. ketchup
½ c. vinegar
1/3 c. white sugar
1 T. + 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. brown sugar
2 tsp. celery salt
2 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. salt

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place meats, vegetables, seasonings and water in a large roaster. Cover and bake for 3 hours. Remove pork and continue baking beef for another hour, or until very tender. While warm, shred meats into bite-sized pieces. (Tip: Save broth for another use – it freezes very well.)

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, sauté butter and onion until onion is transparent. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Then, add shredded meats. Simmer over low heat until mixture is quite thick, but still juicy. This will take about 15 minutes. Don’t stir too often – you want the meat to stay in good-sized pieces. Serve on buns.

Makes 10-12 large sandwiches.