Something tells me that the title of this recipe has blown your mind. First – no potatoes? Add to that pulled pork – not stew beef?! What kind of Shepherd’s pie is this?!

Answer: it’s a brilliantly crafted experiment that you’ll wish you tried sooner than rightthisinstant.

So let’s talk for a minute about why you should make this recipe.

First of all, have you ever had a pulled pork shepherd’s pie? Exactly.

If that’s not reason enough, this recipe is (pretty) Paleo friendly. WOOOT! I finally did it right this time! I created this recipe because my husband and I decided we needed to trim up just a little. Obviously, we needed to replace the potatoes, not the beer. Duh. (Let us pause for a moment to pay homage to this article by Dick Talens on how to stave off weight gain and still indulge in beer!) Instead of mashed potatoes for the topping, I made cauliflower “mashed potatoes” that tasted so much like potatoes that neither one of us missed them.

One thing I thought of after I gave up pulling the pork with a fork and started using my bare hands: you can make this recipe even easier for a few more bucks by purchasing already pulled pork in the package. A mere $6.99 could buy you a pork-grease free kitchen and a package of Jack Daniel’s BBQ pulled pork! Depending on your desired level of effort, you may very well choose this method. No judgment whatsoever. The only problem I see with this method is that you wouldn’t be able to use Dinosaur BBQ’s slathering sauce as your barbecue sauce. Unleeeess…. That’s right, folks! If you’re lucky enough to live near a Wegmans grocery store, then you’re lucky enough to have Dinosaur BBQ’s ready-to-eat pulled pork in your grocer’s fridge section. I’m not that lucky here in RI, so I have to grin and bear the time consuming pulling of pork in order to get my fix of the slathering sauce.

And with that, I’ll suggest you don’t try this as a weeknight meal after a long, hard day at work. Speaking from experience, if you choose that route you may end up eating dinner at 10pm. Now, don’t get me wrong. Maybe that’s a standard dinner time for your family and you. If it’s not, then perhaps I can suggest this as a Sunday Game Day meal. The added bonus here, of course, is that if you cook it Sunday night then you’ll have leftovers for Monday night if you’re lucky!

No Potato Pulled Pork Shepherd’s Pie

Serves: 4-6
Level: Moderately easy

Ingredients:

3-4 pound pork shoulder or Boston Butt
1 – 12 oz. can root beer
1 – 18 oz. bottle of barbecue sauce (I prefer Dinosaur BBQ’s slathering sauce)
1 – 12 oz. package frozen peas
1 – 12 oz. package frozen corn
1 – 12 oz. package matchstick carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish

For Mashed Cauliflower “Potatoes”

1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 Tbsp. butter
2-3 Tbsp. chive & onion cream cheese
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp milk
Only 3 ingredients to moist, flavorful pulled pork that can be prepared in minutes and cooked in a slow cooker.

Directions:

Place the pork into a slow cooker and pour the can of root beer over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Once the pork has cooked entirely, remove from slow cooker to a large cutting board. Discard the juices in the pot. Using a fork, shred the pork and return back to the crock pot. Pour barbecue sauce over the pork and stir to combine. Stir in peas, carrots, and corn until fully incorporated

For Mashed Cauliflower “Potatoes”

Steam chopped cauliflower over medium-high heat on your stove top until tender, 5-6 minutes. Place steamed cauliflower in food processor. Add garlic, butter, cream cheese and milk. Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add more milk or if too thick (be careful not to make them too runny as they need to sit atop the pork).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pork mixture in the bottom of an ovenproof casserole dish. Spread cauliflower in an even layer on top of the pork. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top.

Bake in the oven until the cheese and cauliflower turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve.