Time to strategize for your BIG GAME party!
Check out the stats on this meal:
- A $16.00, 9-pound cut of pork shoulder makes enough pulled pork for 25+ sandwiches!
- 8 hours of hands-free cooking in your slow-cooker makes this pulled pork super easy, tender and juicy!
- Apple + BBQ sauce are the co-captains of this dish – The pork is braised on a bed of apples + onions with apple cider and BBQ sauce. Then it’s topped with more BBQ sauce and tangy apple cole slaw! mmm – just wait until you smell the apple, BBQ braised pork goodness!
Score! You’ll be the MVP of your party!
Lol, seriously though, these sandwiches are amazing whether you’re having a big party or not. I fed my small team of 4, pulled pork sandwiches for dinner, then froze 4 more containers each with enough pulled pork for another meal. I just pulled one container out of the freezer a few days ago and made pulled pork enchiladas. That’s the beauty of pulled pork, you can make so many things with it: sandwiches, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, nachos, tortilla soup…okay now I’m getting really hungry!
Apple BBQ Pulled Pork and Apple Cole Slaw:
If you’ve never bought pork shoulder, this is what it looks like.
Pour apple cider over apples and onions in slow-cooker (Note: Next time I would chop the onions.)
Pour in BBQ Sauce
Stir to combine
Rub pork shoulder with salt & pepper
Place pork shoulder in slow-cooker and brush top with BBQ sauce
Cook for about 8 hours on high or until fork tender
Remove to cutting board, remove bone and shred
Stir in BBQ sauce and some of the reserved cooking juices
When ready to serve, whip up the dressing and toss with the slaw mix and apples
PERFECT FOR PINNING ⬇
Thank you for spending some time in the cloud with me! I hope you enjoy the recipes! Tina ( :
Sweet Baby Rays was nice enough to send me some awesome BBQ sauce samples to test out for this recipe!
Game Day Apple BBQ Pulled Pork
Ingredients
Pulled Pork:
- 1 (9-pound) whole pork shoulder (blade roast)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 medium sweet onions peeled and chopped
- 2 firm apples (I used granny smiths) peeled, quartered and cored
- 2 large cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 1 cup apple cider
- 2 cups BBQ Sauce, divided plus more for topping sandwiches, I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original)
Apple Cole Slaw:
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise (I used Hellman's Light)
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon mustard (I used Gulden's Spicy Brown)
- 2 teaspoons celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 14-ounce bag cole slaw mix (about 6-7 cups)
- 1 cup apple (granny smith) cut into julienne/thin strips
Instructions
Pulled Pork:
- Rub pork shoulder with salt and pepper.
- Arrange chopped onions, cut apples and garlic in bottom of large 6 1/2 quart or larger slow-cooker.
- Pour 1 cup apple cider and 3/4 cup BBQ sauce over apples and onions and stir to coat.
- Place seasoned pork (fat side up) over apples and onions.
- Brush top with 1/4 cup BBQ sauce.
- Cover and cook on high for 8 hours or until fork tender and easy to pull apart.
- Remove pork to cutting board and allow pork to cool about 10 minutes.
- Pour juices from slow cooker through a sieve placed over a bowl.
- Add cooked onions back to slow cooker. The apples will have "melted."
- Discard any bone and fat pieces. Allow the strained juices to settle. You can pour off some/all of the fat.
- Pull apart/shred the pork into bite sized pieces and add them back to the slow cooker with the onions. Discard any bone and large fat pieces.
- Stir in 1 cup BBQ sauce and about 1 cup reserved juices (or until moist enough).
- Reheat pulled pork and keep warm in slow cooker or transfer to containers to refrigerate/freeze.
- Reserve the remaining juices to add if more moisture is needed. (I even freeze in little containers to use with any leftovers.)
Apple Cole Slaw:
- Whisk together the first 8 ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.
- When ready to serve, in a large bowl, toss together the cole slaw mix and the apple strips.
- Stir in about half of the dressing or until dressed to your liking. Reserve the rest of the dressing to add if needed.
Assemble:
- Set up a self-serve area with: soft hamburger buns (I used the potato roll variety), warm pulled pork, apple cole slaw, and extra BBQ sauce.
Tina – I can’t wait to try this! It is on my list for the weekend. I will be freezing it for an upcoming girls weekend at the cabin ( : Vicki
Oh my goodness!!! This sounds awesome! Pinning now …… thanks for sharing!
Would you even believe that I had never tried pulled pork before a year or so ago? Now I am a fiend. I love how this one sounds like it has a little kick. Nice!
Mmmmmmmm ….. love the flavor combination of pork and apples. his is definitely on my "must try" list! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Susan!! I love this one cause it feeds an army on the cheap!! Have a great weekend!! ( :
Tip: Easy way to shred is to use your Kitchenaid stand mixer with the paddle. Just put in large pieces of the pork and turn in on. You will have shredded meat in a minute or less! Works on all meats. Nice and fast.
Hi Vince –
Thanks for stopping by!! I’ll have to try that with this particular recipe and see how it affects the cornbread baking. Happy Cooking!! Tina ( :
YES! Such a great use for the stand mixer!! I use with chicken a lot! Enjoy Vince!! Take care!