When I visit New Orleans, I always try to squeeze in a couple of sandwich stops somewhere along the way. Two of my absolute favorite places are the Central Grocery Company and Mother’s. Central Grocery on Decatur Street is where you’ll find the best muffuletta on the planet. And Mother’s on Poydras Street is home to the Ferdi Special. This last juicy masterpiece is a po’ boy made from, among other things, debris (the local name for pieces of roast beef that have fallen into the juices while cooking). I have whipped up a version of the Ferdi that I consider a tribute to that fine sandwich. However, when I make mine, rather than beef, I use pork. And rather than just using meat that has fallen off the roast, I create a lot more “debris” by shredding all of it. It’s the crusty slivers of pork that make these sandwiches taste so good. Feeds 10 of your hungry friends.
Pensacola Pork Po’ Boy
Ingredients:
Pork Po’ Boy
4-pound Boston butt (bone in)
3 pounds spareribs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 large onions, sliced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon thyme
1 cup shallots, minced
1 cup garlic, minced
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup red wine
11/2 quarts beef stock
5 18-inch (approximately) baguettes from
Pitzmann’s European Bakery
5 bottles Titus Zinfandel
Well-Dressed Slaw
1 small head of cabbage, shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup brown mustard
1 cup prepared horseradish
Browned onions (from top of roast)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut Boston butt into 1-inch pieces. Place into deep pan with bones and spareribs. Salt and pepper to taste. Break up onion slices and spread over the top. Roast in oven until meat is browned; remove onions, and reserve. Flip meat over and shove back into the oven.
Chop reserved onions and set aside for the slaw. Mix red pepper, thyme, shallots and garlic into the Worcestershire sauce, red wine and beef stock. When meat has browned, pour mixture over meat, cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Now is the time to break out the glasses and pour the Titus Zinfandel for your friends, for you’ll need to bake the meat for 2 hours.
Remove meat from pan and shred. Discard bones and unwanted fat (in my house, “unwanted fat” is an oxymoron). Strain juice. Toss meat back into the juice and let sit over low heat until ready to serve.
Make the slaw by mixing together the mayo, mustard, horseradish and onions and tossing it with the shredded cabbage.
To serve, halve and split baguettes like a hot dog bun, lay a scoop of slaw mix into the crevice, then mound with meat. Ladle hot juice over all and serve while it’s good and hot.