COWBOY BBQ RECIPES

Steps:

• For the bacon and tortilla strips: Fry the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Add some vegetable oil to the bacon skillet and fry the tortilla strips until crisp, approximately 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.
• For the BBQ ranch dressing: In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, barbecue sauce, parsley, chives and garlic. Adjust the consistency with buttermilk to make it a little thinner. Taste and add hot sauce and salt as needed.
• For the salad: Put the lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, bacon and most of the cheese into a bowl. Drizzle over the dressing and stir. Scatter over some pico de gallo, the tortilla strips and the reserved cheese, then serve.
• Dice up equal quantities of the tomatoes and onions. Roughly chop the cilantro. Now slice 1 or 2 jalapenos in half. With a spoon, scrape out the seeds. (If you like things spicy, leave in some of the white membranes.) Dice the jalapenos very finely; you want a hint of heat and jalapeno flavor, but you don't want to cause any fires. Now dump these 4 ingredients into a bowl.
• Slice the lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half into the bowl. Sprinkle with salt and stir together until combined. Be sure to taste the pico de gallo and adjust the seasonings, adding salt, lime juice or more diced jalapeno as needed. Yield: 8 servings

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the garlic and onion powders, smoked paprika, salt and black pepper. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork. If you have time, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight. If you don’t, no worries; proceed to Step 2.
• Lightly grease the crock of a slow cooker. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Sear the pork until golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes each side. Add onion, if using, to the slow cooker. Add the pork on top of the onion. Pour soda over the pork and set the slow cooker to low for 6 to 8 hours, until the meat has collapsed and shreds easily.
• Drain most of the liquid from the slow cooker and shred the meat directly in the pot. Add about 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce and stir to combine. (At this point, if you like crisp bits in your pulled pork, you can spread the shredded pork on a sheet pan and place under a broiler for a couple minutes then return to the slow cooker.) Taste and add more barbecue sauce, hot sauce, salt or pepper, if desired. Serve with soft rolls and extra sauce on the side.