How to Make Pulled Pork Sliders

How to make pulled pork sliders with the meat cooked on a Traeger smoker, in an Instant Pot pressure cooker or in slow cooker is here. Fork tender loin or shoulder cooked with your favorite barbecue sauce served on Hawaiian rolls. You can basically make these like our roast beef sliders.

If you are hosting the next big event at your house you have got to make slow cooker pulled pork sliders. Served on sweet Hawaiian rolls or even as lettuce wraps, this easy pork recipe is out of this world. (affiliate links present)

Sliders with BBQ Pulled Pork

You can offer an array of vessels to serve this up if you have people over and want them to have choices. Beyond rolls for sandwiches you can top it over white rice or make pulled pork baked potato for a heartier meal too.

The sauce is up to you too. Of course you can just use a ready made bottle of barbecue sauce or whip up what we have listed below. Homemade is always better so you can adjust the heat level to make it just right for you and your family. I will share 3 methods but this is a fave as a Crockpot recipe.

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

How to Make Pulled Pork Sliders

in pressure cooker

We used a large loin for the one shown below and in the recipe card. It is quite similar to our Instant Pot Hawaiian pulled pork recipe except cooked low and slow. If you want to get it done in a fraction of the time under high pressure you’d want to follow this recipe here.

in a smoker

For a smokier flavor, use our Traeger pulled pork tips. This is by far our favorite if we have the time and the weather is great for cooking outside. And then slider buns of your choice. The grocery store usually has some at the bakery of various sizes, or make individual pulled pork bread bowls.

What buns are best for pulled pork sliders?

When we make our Sloppy Joe Sliders I typically will use the same ones, sweet Hawaiian style buns. They are small and the kids love them. If you wanted open faced then I would choose Texas garlic toast baked to crispy and then load this stuff right on to the top!

For added sweetness you could replace some of the broth with pineapple juice and add tidbits on to the top. Want this to be on the spicy side? Dry Sriracha or red pepper flakes are great for that. We prefer sweeter over hot but that is up to you.

You literally just add the meat, whisk sauce in small bowl or pour bottled bbq sauce on top and close the lid for the rest of the day. It needs a fair amount of time to make really tender fall apart shredded pork so be patient.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sliders

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb pork loin
• 1 onion chopped
• Minced garlic
• Your favorite barbecue sauce
• Some apple cider vinegar
• Some broth of your choice, beef is best
• Worcestershire sauce
• Yellow or dijon mustard
• Paprika and some garlic powder
• Brown sugar for some sweetness, could add pineapple tidbits too
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Place the pork in the crockpot and sprinkle on the chopped onion and minced garlic. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour the sauce mixture over the pork.
• Secure the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until you can pull it apart easily with 2 forks. Remove the cooked protein and shred with 2 forks or dice with a sharp knife.
• Return to the pot and stir to coat completely in the sauce.

How much sauce you add depends on the eaters. 😉 I like mine well sauced so at the end I usually add another 1/2 cup or so after pulling and toss to coat. You could alternatively top the buns with meat and pour sauce directly on top of that. You can jump to recipe below but here is a quick rundown.

I have a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post with nutritional facts like saturated fat and calories listed too. That will vary depending on the size and fat content of your meat of course. There are several things you can serve on top of this but I think you need a crunchy texture with some sort of slaw…..

What toppings do you put on pulled pork sandwiches?

Ok so we have used this blue cheese coleslaw recipe but then we tweaked it up this year just to serve it on this! I felt like adding a bit more fruit, cold, to the top just took these sliders to the next level.

• And that is when Hawaii cole slaw was born…..
• For bolder colors and a more firm texture, try a dollop of red cabbage coleslaw on the bottom bun.
• My husband likes just quick sauerkraut, go figure.

You can even make a slaw out of broccoli if you wanted to make something really unusual. Use your imagination and see what is at the store. I even had leftover macaroni salad left once and that was kinda’ killer in a surprising way.

Try them all on game day and see which your tastebuds prefer. You really can’t go wrong, there are plenty of other choices that work great, or just enjoy as is as an easy recipe plopped on a bun. 😉 Overall it is a cheap Super Bowl recipe that literally everyone (including kids) absolutely love a lot.

Best way to save leftover cooked pork

If you do have leftovers make sure it has cooled completely to room temperature before you do anything else. Ideally the meat should be well coated with sauce so it stays moist. If it isn’t already add some more and toss to coat. Then transfer what is left into a freezer bag and push ALL of the air out, that will keep it tender. Store that bag in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you are ready for reheating leftover pulled pork I think the microwave is the easiest method.

Transfer into a heat safe bowl and warm 30 seconds at a time rotating the contents every time until hot. If you need to moisten with more bbq then do so once more. Use fresh rolls and toppings and serve up for a second go around, it saves quite well actually. Cabbage does not however so that should be remade.