Football Food

I really am a baseball fan. When the Giants could no longer make the post-season, I turned my attention to the Detroit Tigers, in honor of friends who are die-hard fans. I cheered them on, all the way up through their last loss in the World Series. It saddened me to see them lose, but what made me sadder was the prospect of baseball being over for almost 6 months.

So, we turn our attention (however half-hearted) to football. Depending on how rabid a fan you are, it could mean 1 game or 10 games a week. It could be the occasional Sunday game or you could start on Thursday and work your way through pro and college games all the way to Monday night. Either way, there are certain foods associated with football games: hot dogs and sausages, ribs, chili, and barbecue.

In honor of the pigskin, here is an easy to prepare barbecue pork. I start this on Sunday afternoon, so the smell permeates the house, and then pop it in the fridge for Monday night football. If you are having a crowd, you can easily double or triple the recipe.

Barbecued Pork

2 T vegetable oil
2 medium to large bell peppers, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
¼ cup chili powder
3 pounds pork cuves
1 6 oz can tomato paste
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 T yellow mustard
1 T Worcestershire
1 cup water
2 t salt

Heat a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy stew pot over medium-high heat. Add oil and cook peppers and onions until tender and lightly browned. Stir in chili powder; cook 1 minute. Add pork cubes, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire, salt, and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until meat is falling apart.

At this point, I use a potato masher to break apart the meat into shreds. Serve on buns.

PREP: 10-20 minutes depending on how you get your pork. You can use already cubed pork stew, which is the easiest; small boneless country style ribs that you cut into cubes; or a larger pork roast that you have to spend a bit more time cubing. The only other real prep is chopping the peppers and onions.

COOKING: Overall it takes about 3 hours, but the only labor intensive is the first 20 minutes, during the sauté and boil period. After that, I stir it about every 20-30 minutes. But the aroma is constant and lures you unwittingly to the pot during cooking time, so it’s really not a problem.

SERVING: This makes 8 generous sandwiches on large onion buns or sourdough rolls. Goes well with a coleslaw, potato salad, or green salad.

This refrigerates and reheats easily, so it can be made ahead when you have time and served during a busy weekday.