BBQ Pulled Sweet Potato Sandwiches

I need to be honest here. I cannot believe that I'm still a vegetarian. I've always wanted to try it since I was a little girl but could never manage to actually do it. I just loved my meat too much... I just didn't like thinking about the animals themselves. So, I'm shocked that after 2 years, I've stuck with it. It hasn't been easy though. There have been a few times where I've gone to parties, events, even restaurants, and my choice of a meal is pretty much carrots and ranch dressing. It made me very aware of the fact that we focus a lot on meat. That also includes myself as well. I have thrown parties and events where the only non-meat item was the dip, potato salad, and the dessert. Now, it seems like I can't even eat a deviled egg without there being bacon in it. And boy, let me tell you, when the warmer weather starts kicking in I miss a good BBQ. I'm sorry but tofu dogs and bean burgers just don't compare to good ol BBQ. Which is why I just about peed my pants in excitement when I made this recipe and realized that it was almost as good as a pulled pork sandwich. I mean, it's missing that greasy pork quality but then again... it's missing that greasy pork quality. Which, I'm sorry to say, is not exactly a bad thing.

 

This is a super easy recipe to make. The most difficult part was grating the sweet potato. For some reason, the grater and I just don't get along and I always end up fighting with it... and losing. Which is why I usually enlist the help of the Mr. when it comes time to grate anything. Aside from my struggles with the grater, this was almost as easy as making pulled... which is usually just a -plop-everything-into-the-crockpot sort of thing. I'm really happy with this recipe. It will definitely be my go-to for this summer.

 recipe adapted from Yup... It's Vegan

• 1 medium-large sweet potato (about 2.5 cups grated)
• 1 tsp. oil
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. BBQ sauce of choice
• buns
• coleslaw

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep skillet. When hot, add the grated sweet potato and quickly stir to distribute the oil. Sprinkle with salt.
2. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring and flipping the sweet potato several times.
3. Once the sweet potato is starting to dry out and is browned in several places, add the BBQ sauce and stir. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sweet potato is cooked to your preference.
4. Serve a big scoop of the BBQ pulled sweet potato on a toasted bun with coleslaw.