BBQ Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sliders

Easily (and cheaply!) feed a crowd with BBQ Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sliders, topped with horseradish dill coleslaw and pickle slices.  Perfect for parties and football games!

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Horseradish Dill Coleslaw: perfect for parties and football games! {Bunsen Burner Bakery} #pulledpork #slowcooker #gameday

The food blog of a Jewish vegetarian probably isn’t the first place you’d look for a pulled pork recipe.  However, I have it on southern authority that I make a darn good BBQ pulled pork.

{Update: I ended my 15 year vegetarian status and started eating meat again while I was pregnant in 2015.}

Pulled pork is my favorite party/feed a crowd food.  It’s so easy to toss in the crockpot and the majority of the cooking time is hands-free.  Pork shoulder is very inexpensive, as far as meat goes.  It also feeds a lot of people.  Perfect for holiday parties, football parties, or tailgates!

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Horseradish Dill Coleslaw: perfect for parties and football games! {Bunsen Burner Bakery} #pulledpork #slowcooker #gameday

How to Make BBQ Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

One of the reasons I love this recipe so much is that it’s so easy.

Start with a pork shoulder — bone in, bone out, it really doesn’t matter.   I prefer boneless because it’s easier to shred the meat, but this works just as well with bone-in.

Give it a good rub with a homemade spice blend.  (Pro tip: don’t skip the smoked paprika; it’s so good!)  Place it in your slow cooker, sitting on top of a few quartered onions.

Pour in some root beer (cola works here, too) — just be sure to go for the regular stuff, not diet.  We need the real sugar from the soda.  Cook all day (~5 hours on high, 8-9 hours on low).

Once the pork is fully cooked and practically falling apart, take it out of the slow cooker, shred it (with forks, knives, or my favorite trick: in your stand mixer).  Pour everything out of the slow cooker and put the pork back in.  Mix with some worcestershire sauce and BBQ sauce.

Cook again until everything is heated back up.  Serve.  Party hero, minimal work.

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Horseradish Dill Coleslaw: perfect for parties and football games! {Bunsen Burner Bakery} #pulledpork #slowcooker #gameday

Serving BBQ Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

BBQ pulled pork sandwiches are always a winner, and so easy to put together.  For entertaining, I just pile up all sorts of toppings and let people go to town.

We always have potato rolls (just a personal favorite) and I make a batch of my favorite horseradish dill coleslaw.  Set out some extra barbecue sauce on the side and pickles on top.

(Do you put pickles on your pork BBQ sandwiches?  If not, you need to start ASAP.)

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Horseradish Dill Coleslaw: perfect for parties and football games! {Bunsen Burner Bakery} #pulledpork #slowcooker #gameday

How to Use Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Leftovers

So.  You had a big party yesterday, made this BBQ Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, and have some leftovers.  You don’t want another sandwich.  What else can you do with all this pulled pork?

The possibilities are endless!

Add it to soups and stews.  Bake sweet potatoes and pile the pulled pork on top.  It’s a delicious topping for macaroni and cheese.  Use it to make sheet pan nachos.

A personal favorite around here is serving pulled pork on top of these Mexican couscous bowls, for an easy, filling, one-bowl dinner.

There are lots of things you can do with pulled pork (add it to soups and stews! top sweet potatoes! add to mac and cheese! make nachos!) but the easiest is a pulled pork slider.  Set out your pulled pork with some extra barbecue sauce, my favorite horseradish dill coleslaw, sliced pickles, and potato roll sliders.

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Horseradish Dill Coleslaw: perfect for parties and football games! {Bunsen Burner Bakery} #pulledpork #slowcooker #gameday

Freezing Leftover BBQ Pulled Pork

Want to save some of your slow cooker pulled pork for later?  Easy!

Freeze individual portions in quart-sized ziploc bags.  Frozen pulled pork is perfect to pull out and add to dinners that are too vegetable-heavy for my husband’s taste.

The frozen pulled pork will be good for 3 months (or longer – anyone else live dangerously when it comes to frozen food storage guidelines).  To thaw, either move to the refrigerator the night before or defrost in a microwave.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Horseradish Dill Coleslaw: perfect for parties and football games! {Bunsen Burner Bakery} #pulledpork #slowcooker #gameday

It really doesn’t get much easier – the pork cooks all day in the crockpot, then you just shred the pork and add some barbecue sauce.   Then sit back and enjoy the game/party/gathering, because your work is done.  Super Bowl party perfection – make ahead, so you can enjoy the game, too!

More Easy Entertaining Foods:

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Horseradish Dill Coleslaw: perfect for parties and football games! {Bunsen Burner Bakery} #pulledpork #slowcooker #gameday

BBQ Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sliders

Yield: Serves 10
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes

Easily (and cheaply!) feed a crowd with Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders, topped with horseradish dill coleslaw and pickle slices. Perfect for parties and football games!

Ingredients

For the pulled pork:

  • 5-6 pound pork shoulder, preferably boneless
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 onions, quartered
  • 1 liter root beer (regular, not diet)
  • 2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
  • 16 ounces barbecue sauce

For serving as sliders:

Instructions

  1. Rub the pork shoulder with spices. Cover all sides well.
  2. Place the two onions in the bottom of the crockpot, then place the pork shoulder on top. Pour in the root beet to cover roughly half of the pork shoulder (this usually uses about half of the liter of root beer).
  3. Cook on high for 5 hours (or low for 8-9 hours), until the meat begins to fall apart and shred with a fork.
  4. Drain everything out of the crockpot and shred the meat. If you have a stand mixer, the easiest way to do this is to put sections of the pork into the bowl of the mixer and stir with the paddle attachment until shredded.
  5. Add the shredded meat back into the empty crockpot. Add in 1 cup of the remaining root beer, the worcestershire sauce, and 12 ounces of the barbecue sauce. Stir well to combine. Cook on high for an additional 30 minutes, stirring again before serving.
  6. Serve with buns, horseradish dill coleslaw, the remaining BBQ sauce, and pickles.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 449Total Fat: 16gCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 51.9g

Nutrition information is for pulled pork alone, without bun or coleslaw.

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Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Horseradish Dill Coleslaw: perfect for parties and football games! #bunsenburnerbakery #pulledpork #slowcooker #gameday