When it comes to pulled pork, there are a few ways to make the meat, and about 1001 ways to flavor the dish. I decided to go the easy and creative route to make this extremely flavorful, Japanese American inspired version. Yes, I could just do a basic BBQ sauce….but I find that uninspired for my own taste buds and desire to be creative in the kitch. So, I decided to bring some umami to the table with some white miso, ginger and mirin. All of these flavors together add a depth of flavor to a traditional recipe.
I decided to go with the slow cooker method to cook this pulled pork, because I find it extremely convenient to let the pork cook over night. All you need to do is get a beautiful night’s sleep and then make your cheese and assemble the sliders in the morning. You won’t be able to resist eating one (or 7) for breakfast. 🙂
I love a dish that hits a lot of flavor notes, and these sandwiches are sweet, salty, spicy (mildly spicy, but you can up it if you want) and acidic. I used Hawaiian Sweet rolls as my base for the sandwich. I then made a sriracha pimento-less pimento cheese ….what I mean by this is that I forgot to buy pimento peppers, and I ended up just throwing pickles in my cheese mix instead. Can I just say, pickle cheese is f*cking awesome!?!? In this cheese, I mix cheddar, cream cheese, a hint of spicy sriracha mayo, garlic powder and finely chopped dill pickles. Do not knock it until you try it. I spread this mixture on the bottom bun. I then topped it with a scoop of warm, beautiful pulled pork. To finish off this sandwich, I added some thinly sliced crispy red cabbage (also for color as well) and 2 pickle slices. Put the top bun on…. and we’re golden. So. Damn. Delicious.
Enjoy for game day. Enjoy for every day. Here’s how to make it!
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Sriracha Pimento Cheese
Ingredients
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork + Cooking Liquid Sauce
- 1 4 1/2 or 5 lb bone-in pork shoulder
- 3 sweet onions sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic sliced
- 1/4 cup sliced ginger
- 32 oz. low sodium chicken broth
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp white miso
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter for cooking liquid sauce (optional)
- 1 tsp corn starch for cooking liquid sauce (optional)
Dry Rub for Pulled Pork
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp black pepper
Liquid Glaze for Pulled Pork
- 1 tbsp white miso
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 tsp molasses
- 1/4 cup mirin can sub for rice vinegar
Sriracha Pimento
- 4 cups cheddar cheese
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 dill pickles finely chopped or fine diced
- 8 oz softened cream cheese
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Sandwich
- 12-15 Sweet Hawaiian Rolls *can also use potato, brioche or white
- 4-6 Dill pickles sliced horizontally into chips
- Red cabbage thinly sliced
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Directions
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- NOTE: You can make this a few days ahead and store it in the fridge, but I prefer the night before you want to eat it.
- Trim the skin and any large fat chunks off of the pork shoulder. Pat dry and set aside.
- Put the onions, garlic and ginger on the bottom of the slow cooker. Evenly spread them out to create a bed for your pork.
- In a bowl, mix together the chicken broth, 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp molasses and 1 tbsp white miso. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Pour this mixture on top of the onion mixture in the slow cooker.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the dry rub ingredients until thoroughly combined.
- Pat this dry rub all over the pork, on every side. Rub it into the meat. Use all of the dry rub.
- Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker, on the bed of onions and the chicken broth mixture.
- In another bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the liquid glaze until thoroughly combined and there are no chunks of miso.
- Pour this glaze onto the pork shoulder and rub it into the meat. The rest will fall into the slow cooking liquid.
- Cook the pork on low for 8 hours, or on high for 6 hours. I prefer 8 for a low and slow tender meat.
- When the meat is done, let it rest for an hour.
- Shred the pork and discard any bones and large chunks of fat.
Cooking Liquid Sauce
- Strain the cooking liquid in a bowl and then transfer the liquid to a stock pot.
- On medium high heat, boil the cooking liquid for 4-5 minutes. Stir throughout.
- Lower the heat to a simmer and continue to let the liquid reduce for 5 minutes.
- Add 1/4 cup of butter and 1 tsp of cornstarch to the mix. Stir until thoroughly incorporated. There should be no chunks of corn starch. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes, until the liquid is reduced and slightly thickened.
- OPTIONAL: If the sauce is not thick enough for you, add more corn starch and stir continuously until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Pour the sauce over the pork in the slow cooker.
- Keep the slow cooker on the keep warm function and let the meat soak up the flavor. Let it sit until you assemble your sandwiches. If you plan on refrigerating the pork, let it cool and then cover it and place it in the fridge.
Sandwiches
- In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the sriracha pickle pimento. Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Spread the pimento on the bottom buns. Top generously with warm pulled pork.
- Sprinkle red cabbage slices on top, then top with 2 dill pickle slices. Put the top bun on and serve immediately.
Rate & Review
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