Easy Pulled Pork Sliders with a Crockpot
Ok, brace yourselves. These easy pulled pork sliders have multiple components. With a little patience and the help of a slow cooker, you will get through. I love Mexican flavors and spices, and will oftentimes use them in recipes that are my own versions of some traditional dishes that I’ve tasted growing up in a Chicano community. I do not pretend to be an expert in Latin cooking, but I definitely have a fond appreciation of it and try my best to emulate some of the flavors that I’ve tasted.
Image by Aline Ponce from Pixabay
The Perfect Party Food
I had a house warming party for my husband’s cousins a while ago. I took requests for what they wanted to eat. My nephew Miles requested something with slow cooked pork using Latin spices. Which is how I came up with this Latin-inspired easy pulled pork sliders recipe. The pulled pork is actually quite simple to make because I use pre-made salsa as the sauce/marinade for the pulled pork.
The Components of these Easy Pulled Pork Sliders
Because the pulled pork brings spice and savory meatiness, I wanted to have a contrast of flavors and textures.
Sweet: I wanted some sweetness, which was why I chose to serve the pulled pork sliders on Hawaiian rolls.
Acid: To bring some acid to cut into the heaviness of the pulled pork, I added some pickled red onion.
Crunch: The pickled red onion is a perfect pulled pork slider topping that gives a nice crunch.
Creaminess: Lastly, the creamy cilantro lime sauce brings everything together with a nice creaminess. The creamy sauce adds a zing and cools the tongue from all the wonderful spices in the pulled pork. So there you go: every component serves a purpose and helps to make this a complete dish.
Hope you give this a try for your next potluck or party. It will be a crowd pleaser!
Slowcooker Pulled Pork: Secrets for a Perfect Pulled Pork
- Usually slow cooking results in lots of liquid left in the pot. I decided to pour out this liquid and remove most of the fat. Whatever juices were left, I put into a pot on the stove and boiled it on high heat to let it reduce to about half its volume. This took about 30 minutes.
- I then added this reduced sauce back into the pulled pork to soak in. The result? Amazing depth of flavor. I highly recommend doing this to any slow cooked meat dish you make in the future. Do not waste those yummy juices! They just need a little tweaking and help from heat to concentrate their deliciousness.
How do I make raw onion less spicy?
To dilute the harsh spiciness of raw onion, soak it in cold water for at least an hour before using. I did this for the pickled onion prior to marinating it in its pickling brine and it worked really nicely.
What kind of yogurt should I use?
For better depth of flavor and richness, use plain full fat Greek yogurt rather than reduced or non-fat. You will not be sorry.
For other yogurt recipes, check out my pina colada yogurt.
What if I don’t have cotjia cheese?
Cotija can be substituted with feta cheese, but the cotija gives this dish the Latin flair that I was aiming for.
What cut of meat should I use for pulled pork?
Image by Reinhard Thrainer from Pixabay
You should be using pork butt or pork shoulder. A leaner cut of meat would not do well with this recipe because slow cooking can really dry out the meat, resulting in a tough product at the end. For example, a pork loin center cut would not be recommended.
Can I make these easy pulled pork sliders ahead of time?
Since this is a crockpot recipe, it can be done ahead of time and would even be more delicious the day after making the pulled pork. Meat dishes that are slow cooked tend to taste better 1-2 days after the initial cooking time.
What to do with leftovers
The pickled onion is great in salads and on other sandwiches if you have any leftover
The cilantro lime dressing is something that I make for dipping veggie sticks or as a kind of green goddess dressing for my salads and/or pita wraps
The pulled pork can be frozen and later used as a filling for quesadillas and enchiladas, even tamales if you are up to the task.
Pulled Pork Sliders with Creamy Cilantro Dressing
Equipment
- slow cooker
Ingredients
Pulled Pork
- 1 1/2 pounds pork butt
- 1 1/2 cups medium spicy red salsa
- 1 tablespoon BBQ spice rub
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 1/2 cup water
Creamy Cilantro Dressing
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 lime- juice & zest
- 1/2 cup full fat plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup cotija cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pickled Red Onion
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
Slider Ingredients
- 12 Hawaiian rolls
- 1 handful cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Rub pork butt with BBQ spice rub.
- Add salsa into a slow cooker with diced tomato and water.
- Place pork butt into the slow cooker. Set slow cooker on high and allow to slow cook for 6 hours until pork is falling apart.
- After pork is done, remove pork from liquid and pull apart with 2 forks.
- Remove excess fat from the pork's cooking liquid. Then transfer the liquid into a saucepan. Turn heat on high and boil for 20-25 minutes until it reduces to 1/2 the volume and coats the back of a spoon.
- When sauce has reduced, mix into the pulled pork and set aside.
- Make pickled red onion: add water, white vinegar, sugar, salt and mix together until salt and sugar dissolve. Add in sliced red onion and allow to sit in the refrigerator.
- Make creamy cilantro dressing: add cilantro, lime juice, lime zest, yogurt, cotjia cheese, black pepper, salt, and sugar into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.
- Assemble sliders: Spread cilantro sauce to both sides of Hawaiian rolls. Place a scoop of pulled pork onto one side of the roll. Add pickled onion, chopped cilantro, and extra creamy cilantro sauce on top of pulled pork. Top with another half of the Hawaiian bun.
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