If you haven’t yet seen my post on pulled pork tacos yet, I recommend you check it out here first before diving into this article. Today is about how to use up leftover pulled pork to make some saucy, delicious, messy pulled pork sandwiches. I recommend making the sandwiches for leftovers because on the day of cooking, the pork is just so damn flavourful and juicy. I am a pork purist, and believe that day-of pork stands on its own and doesn’t need to be smothered in sauce that can sometimes hide all the work you did to make it so juicy in the first place! A few days later, however, the pork may have dried out just a tad, and can be completely brought back to life with a sauce that compliments the flavour of the pork and adds that extra bit of juiciness that’s been lost over the days in the fridge.
I’m serving up pulled pork sandwiches in a sweet and tangy barbeque sauce topped with a vinegar-based red cabbage, jalapeño and radish slaw. The sweet and smoky sauce pairs so perfectly with the salty pork, and the recipe actually belongs to a close friend. He worked on perfecting this sauce for days and has a bit of a love affair with BBQ sauce, so trust me, it’s delicious. The spicy slaw serves as the necessary acidic relief from all that richness, and also adds crunchy texture to an otherwise mushy, delicious mess.
This sandwich is salty, smoky, sweet, spicy, tangy, and just downright delicious. Get some beers in the fridge, stock up your napkin supply, and get cooking!
Pulled
Pork Sandwiches with Tangy Slaw
Total time: 19 hours
Hands-on time: 1 hour
Makes 8 large sandwiches
Ingredients
About 7-9 pound pork shoulder
Pork rub
6 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. mustard powder
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. black pepper
Brine
10 cups cold water
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. coriander seed
1 tbsp. mustard seed
2 bay leaves
1/2 of pork rub
Cooking liquid
500ml chicken stock
1 white onion
2 cloves garlic
BBQ Sauce
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp. paprika
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. yellow mustard
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pickled Red Onions
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. mustard seed
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
Spicy Slaw
1/2 head of purple cabbage, very thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, pickled (see above)
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/2-1 full jalapeño, finely chopped*
4 radishes, thinly sliced in rounds
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
*Always taste jalapeño peppers before putting them into something. Jalapeño are delicious peppers, but they vary greatly in heat. Some taste like green peppers, others can blow your top off. Be sure to test the heat level and add the appropriate amount to your slaw accordingly. You can always add more, but you can’t take it away once it’s in!
Vinaigrette
2 tbs. red onion pickling liquid
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. grainy Dijon mustard
1 pinch sugar
Instructions
1. Prepare pickled red onions at least 1 hour before eating. Combine white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, salt, sugar, and mustard seed. Stir until dissolved. Add thinly sliced red onion and ensure that all onions are submerged in liquid. Cover and set aside
2. In small pot, combine all ingredients for BBQ sauce
3. Place on stove over medium heat and bring to a simmer
4. Cook until sauce is thick and coats a spoon, about 35 minutes
5. In meantime, combine all ingredients for slaw vinaigrette. In large bowl, combine cabbage, pickled red onion, green onion, jalapeño and radish. Add vinaigrette and set aside for at least 10 minutes before serving
6. Heat leftover pork in microwave, and add sauce as desired to pork
7. Slice buns and heat on grill if desired. Top buns with a healthy portion of pork and slaw, and dig in!
Labels: Mains, Party Ideas
