Pulled pork sandwiches are an easy crowd pleaser. Set out all the fixings and let everyone prepare their own.

Southern Style Sun Oven Pulled Pork

(Adapted for the Sun Oven from The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes by J. Finlayson)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns

1 cup chili sauce (such as Heinz)

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 (about 3 pounds) boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, and pepper.

Add the chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.

Place the pork in a large pot and pour the sauce over it. Cover and transfer to the Sun Oven.

Cook until the meat is very tender, about 4 hours.

Transfer the pork to a cutting board and shred using two forks. Return the meat to the sauce. Serve over warm sandwich buns.

serves 6 to 8

Easy Sun Oven BBQ Pulled Pork

Ingredients

2 pounds pork roast, trimmed of excess fat

2 cups ketchup

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 small onion, finely chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

Set the Global Sun Oven out to preheat.

Put the roast in a large pot. In a bowl, combine the ketchup, vinegar, water, onion, garlic, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour the sauce over the roast. Cover and cook in the Sun Oven until the meat is very tender. Remove the roast from the pot. Remove and discard any bones. Using two forks or your fingers, pull the meat to shreds. Return the meat to the sauce in the pot.

Makes 4 servings.

Solar Mac’n'Cheese

Solar Pulled Pork

Solar Baked Beans

All these recipes can be made in advance. I usually make the pulled pork and the baked beans the day before since they can be easily reheated and kept warm in crock pots. That frees up the Sun Oven for the mac’n'cheese on the day of the cookout.

I love pulled pork from the Global Sun Oven, but turkey thighs are almost as good and are a lot lower in calories. Keep the shredded meat in the fridge and use it for week-day sandwiches.

GSO Turkey Thighs

Ingredients

Two turkey thighs

1/4 cup dry rub, purchased or homemade (click here for my dry rub recipe)

1/4 cup liquid smoke

Preparation

Set Global Sun Oven out to preheat.

Remove skin from turkey thighs; rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place thighs in a dark, light-weight, lidded roasting pan and sprinkle with dry rub. Pour liquid smoke over thighs, cover and cook in GSO until meat is fork tender, approx. 2 hours. Place thighs on a cutting board and shred.

Serve with bbq sauce.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Sun Oven® pulled pork has to be one of the easiest things in the world to make. Just take a pork shoulder roast, if it’s really big cut it into two or three pieces, season it with a dry rub, and put it in a pot with about 1/4 a cup of liquid smoke. Cook it in the Sun Oven until the meat is tender. Remove the roast from the cooking juices then let it cool down a bit before pulling it into strands. Serve with your favorite barbecue sauce. It’s so good everyone will want seconds.

Commercial dry rubs will do, but making your own is easy and less expensive. Here’s the spice mixture I use:

1/4 cup paprika

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons black pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dry mustard

Combine all the ingredients in a jar, close the lid, shake to combine