TOT your average NACHOS

Whether it's snow days, the Super Bowl, or a 4th of July gathering, "Tator Totting" you're BBQ is always a good idea. My wonderful daughter-in-law passed on this great recipe, and I tweaked it just a bit to include my own homemade BBQ sauce and double cooking the meat. I made this over two days because I was a little late getting it started for an 8-10 hour slow cook. But it actually worked out to be easier. I love that I made my own BBQ sauce and didn't have to worry about hidden chemicals.

DAY ONE

First: Set the pork butt ( I used a 5 lb one) out for about 30 minutes while gathering the BBQ sauce items.

Second: Chop 6 baby carrots (or two large carrots) and a small onion into small 1/2 inch cubes. Saute with a tbsp of butter for about four min, add 4 cloves of minced garlic the last few minutes, stirring constantly. Remove vegetables from saucepan and place in the bottom of the crockpot.

Third: Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of Fennel and Fire Delta Dust, 1 Tbsp of Kosher salt, 1 tsp of coarse black pepper on the pork butt. Sear pork butt in cast iron skillet. Once seared on all sides, set aside.

Fourth: In Blender add; 1 -14.5 ounce can of fire-roasted tomatoes, 1/4 cup grapeseed oil, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3 Tbsp Cherry Preserves, 3 Tbsp of Fennel and Fire Delta Dust, 4 Tbsp of red wine or apple cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp orange juice and 2 Tbsp maple syrup. Blend until smooth.

Fifth: Pour 1/4 of sauce in the bottom of the crockpot with the vegetables. Place the seared pork butt on top of the vegetables . Pour the rest of the sauce over the pork butt. Cover and turn the crock pot to low for 8-10 hours. Periodically throughout the day, remove the lid and baste the pork with the sauce.

Sixth: Once cooking has completed, remove the pork butt from the sauce and set it aside to cool. Strain remaining liquid and let cool. Once the liquid and meat has cooled, cover and place in the refrigerator.

DAY TWO:

One: Remove sauce from refrigerator. Skim the fat off and discard or use it in recipes calling for pork fat. Place all the liquid in a pan along with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of brown sugar ( adjust to your liking)and bring to a low boil. Take about 1/4 cup of sauce, add 1 Tbsp flour, and stir until flour is dissolved. Add flour liquid back into the sauce. At this point you may adjust the sauce to your liking.Stir periodically. Reduce liquid by 1/2. Once reduced, remove from heat.

Two: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Shred pork onto a baking sheet into a thin layer. Spoon about two to three Tbsp of the sauce over pork. Sprinkle Fennel and Fire Delta Dust over pork. On another baking sheet, spread tater tots in a thin layer. Once the oven preheats to 400 degrees, place both baking sheets in the oven. Bake pork 20 min. Bake Tator Tots per directions and are crispy golden brown.

Three: Build the Nachos. Place Tator Tots on the bottom. Put shredded pork on top of Tator Tots. Pour some of your homemade Delta Dust BBQ Sauce on top. Top with cheddar cheese and chives.

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This will feed 10-15 people as BBQ Nacho's. Perfect for a large gathering. May also be used for: sandwich, BBQ pork on baked potato, BBQ pork nacho on tortilla chips, BBQ pork taco, BBQ pork quesadilla, and as a pork BBQ pizza with grilled onion and roasted red pepper.