Pulled Pork Sandwich

Pulled Pork Sandwiches are the perfect pot-luck food – juicy, smothered in homemade sauce, and topped with chilled coleslaw. Your family and friends will be begging for more!

With summer right around the corner, I wanted to start stockpiling my favorite warm-weather recipes. Nothing says summer more than family pool parties, neighborhood barbecues, and pot-lucks among friends. I love to prep cold salads as side dishes for summer, but when it comes to main dishes… pulled pork is always the way I go. Nobody can turn down a warm pulled pork sandwich and this particular recipe is a keeper. If you’re looking for a totally NO PREP version of pulled pork, check out this Crock Pot Pulled Pork!

PULLED PORK SANDWICH
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Aside from chocolate, there is one thing that I crave constantly….barbecue. We’ve got a local family-favorite BBQ place that we visit on the regular. There’s something so delicious about smoked meats smothered in bbq sauce. And the sides…. ohhhh the sides. French fries, mac and cheese, collard greens, cornbread? There’s nothing better.

Even with all the meat options my local barbecue offers, my family knows that I can always be counted on to order the pulled pork. Pulled pork is such a versatile dish – eat it on its own, on top of a big bowl of mac and cheese, or on a fresh roll topped with creamy coleslaw!

When I find a meal that I love, I try to find or create a recipe that acts as a “copy cat” so that my family and I can enjoy restaurant-quality style foods from the comfort of our own kitchen. That’s how this delicious BBQ pulled pork recipe came to be!

With only around 15 minutes of prep work and then a few hours in the crock pot, you too can have delicious, tangy pulled pork that is just as good (if not better!) than your local BBQ joint!

This pulled pork recipe has been named my “signature recipe” by my friends and family. It is so yummy and it makes enough to serve a crowd, so clearly, everyone always requests it! I bring it to pot-lucks, tailgates, and all kinds of other big gatherings.

I simply do my ingredient prep first thing in the morning and then let my crock pot work its magic throughout the day!

Ingredients for Pulled Pork Sandwiches

While this recipe does not call for traditional (pre-made) BBQ sauce, you’ll find that the mixture of seasonings, cider vinegar, and chipotle chiles makes the perfect sauce for a juicy, tangy pulled pork sandwich!

• Olive oil
• Onions
• Sugar
• Garlic
• Dried oregano
• Salt & pepper
• Cider vinegar
• Chili sauce (I used Heinz brand)
• Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• Boneless pork shoulder or butt roast
• Fresh sandwich rolls
• Shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix

How to Make Pulled Pork

1. The morning before you want to serve pulled pork sandwiches, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. When the oil is heated through, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to soften (this typically takes about 3 to 6 minutes).
3. Next, add in the sugar and continue to cook – stirring constantly – until the onions are golden brown (about 6 t0 8 minutes more).
4. Now, add the garlic, oregano, pepper, and salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
5. Pour in the vinegar and bring the entire mixture to a boil.
6. Cook this until the liquid is mostly evaporated (30 seconds to 1 minute).
7. Remove from the heat and stir in chili sauce and chipotle to taste – I like it mild, my husband likes it hot… we meet in the middle 🙂
8. Now comes the super easy part: place your pork in a 4-quart (or larger) slow cooker and cover with the sauce. Cover the slow cooker and cook until the pork is almost falling apart. This takes about 3 to 4 hours on High or 7 to 8 hours on Low.
9. Once it’s cooked, transfer the pork to a cutting board and shred using two forks
10. Stir the pulled pork back into the sauce, mixing until it is all coated in sauce.
11. Serve on fresh rolls with the shredded cabbage/coleslaw mix.

If I’m serving this BBQ pulled pork to a crowd (pot-luck style), I leave the pork in the crock pot on the “warm” setting and allow people to build their own sandwiches. This way, everyone gets a warm sandwich when they want it!

When I’m serving it to my family as our main dish, I’ll put what we’ll eat in a bowl on the dining room table and save the rest for left-overs!

How much pulled pork per person?

This recipe calls for a three-pound pork shoulder. I typically allot about 1/3 to 1/2 pound of meat per person, so we make enough for 6 to 9 people. No, my family is not that big… just me, my husband, and my two boys. But we LOVE eating BBQ pulled pork as a leftover dish. (My oldest son swears he likes it better the next day).

If you want to serve a bigger crowd, go for a bigger pork shoulder! If you don’t want as many leftovers or you’re just cooking for one or two people, go smaller. Either way, you’re bound to gobble your pulled pork sandwiches right up!

Looking for some more crowd-pleasing main dishes? Check out these other Real Housemoms favorites!

• Philly Cheesesteak Casserole
• Perfectly Moist Pork Loin
• Easy Three Bean Turkey Chili
• Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Sheet Pan Crispy Ranch Pork Chops
• more MAIN DISH recipes…

Tools used to make this Pulled Pork Sandwich recipe

Crock Pot: this slow cooker is probably one of my most used appliances!

Non-stick skillet: no kitchen is complete without a trusty set of non-stick skillets!

*This post originally posted on 09/03/2012.