The Rock Hill Coca-Cola Bottling Company may be based in South Carolina, but that doesn’t mean we can’t draw inspiration from other areas of the south. This month’s recipe comes to us from a little farther west. These Mississippi pot roast sandwiches are crowd pleasers and make a great simple weeknight meal. If you’re only cooking for a few, you’ll end up with plenty of leftovers that will make the next meal that much easier. Most of the cooking involves pouring ingredients into your slow cooker, so the recipe is fairly fool-proof.

Ingredients

• 3-4 pound chuck roast
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 packet dry Italian dressing mix
• 1 packet au jus gravy mix
• ⅔ cup Coca-Cola
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 10 pepperoncini peppers
• ⅓ cup juice from pepperoncinis
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces
• provolone cheese slices
• pepper
• crusty bread or buns

Directions

1. Allow the roast to rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the roast all over with pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet until it shimmers. Brown the roast evenly on all sides, using tongs to flip it from side to side. Transfer to the slow cooker.
3. Add the onion, Italian dressing mix, au jus gravy mix, Coca-Cola, pepperoncini peppers, pepperoncini juice, and butter directly on top of the roast. Be sure to sprinkle the ingredients as evenly as possible.
4. Cook the roast in the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours or high from 5-6.
5. When the roast has finished cooking, remove the lid from the slow cooker and shred the meat directly in the pot. Use two forks to shred the meat, removing any fatty bits as you go.
6. As you’re shredding the meat, toast the crusty bread/buns. You’ll want to use a hearty bread as the Mississippi pot roast will be quite juicy.
7. Pile the toasted buns as high as you dare with the shredded Mississippi pot roast. Add a pepperoncini pepper or two. Add the sliced provolone cheese.
8. For extra melty cheese, pop the sandwiches (minus the top bun) under a broiler just until the cheese is melted.