A juicy pulled pork slider is a near-perfect way to finish off a day after working around the house or entertaining.
They are the perfect meal for game day or settling in to watch a movie. And with today’s pellet smokers, much of the guesswork or constantly checking temperatures of the grill and the meat is taken out.
A couple of words of warning before you start. Don’t expect to eat right away. The process may take eight hours, but it will be worth it.
Ingredients
8 to 10 pound pork butt
Premium pork rubs
Yellow mustard
Apple juice
2 Sticks of non-salt butter
1 bag of brown sugar
Package of Hawaiian rolls or brioche buns
Cole slaw
Barbecue sauce
2 deep foil roasters
Bag of pellets, preferably apple, cherry or mesquite
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 8 to 9 hours
Prepping
Start with an eight to 10 pound pork butt. Use pork butt and not pork shoulder for more tender meat. The pork butt also generally has more marbling, which also translates to more flavor and juiciness.
Once you take it out of the packaging, you will need a sharp knife to cut some of the fat off the bottom. You will leave just a thin layer of fat.
After trimming the fat, comes the messy part. You will smother the full pork butt in yellow mustard. The mustard is the perfect binder, but it will not affect the flavor of the meat.
Now, you are ready to cover the pork butt in the rub. This is where you can’t skimp. A very quality rub is needed and luckily there are plenty of choices.
My favorite is a mixture of Meat Church’s Holy Gospel BBQ Rub and Honey Hog Hot BBQ. You really can’t go wrong with any of Meat Church’s rubs.
I generally like to let the pork rest overnight in the fridge to really soak in the rub. You can do it within an hour of going on the grill. You will need it in a deep roaster pan, and I suggest covering it in foil.
Ready to smoke
Long and slow is the rule of thumb here. You want your grill or smoker to be around 275 degrees Fahrenheit for a good even smoke. Put in your probes. I suggest using probes that are connected to your phone or tablet via bluetooth. This will give you a little extra freedom. You can check the temperature of the meat while running around the house.
Also if using pellets, try using pecan, hickory, apple or mesquite for a little extra bold flavoring.
Once you hit that 275 temperature, put the pork butt directly on the grill and plug in the probes.
Every 45 minutes or hour, you will need to go out and spritz the pork. I prefer to use apple juice for that extra sweetness. The moisture of the juice will soak in to keep the meat moist.
Slowly over the hours, you will see the pork start to turn a perfect golden brown.
As you wait, you can make your cole slaw to go on top of the sliders. It’s the perfect complement as a side dish also.
Around hour four or five, you will see the internal temperature of the pork hit 165 degrees, it is fully cooked at this point, but it’s not ready. We’re just now ready for the second important phase.
Secondary prep
Remove the pork butt from the smoker and put it in a foil deep roaster pan for the secondary prep.
Once in the pan, it’s time to lather the pork butt in brown sugar. As with the rub in the first step, don’t be shy with the brown sugar.
After covering the pork butt in brown sugar, take the two sticks of butter, cut squares and place them all over the pork butt. This will help add a little extra moisture.
Add a little more apple juice into the pan. Cover the pan with foil before returning it to the smoker. Your temperature will stay at 275.
Getting to the right temperature
This is where your patience will be tested. You want to get the internal temperature to 205. This is where the tissues will break down and the pork will be juiciest and most tender to pull apart.
When you reach the 205 temperature, you are ready to take the pork off the smoker. Put it on a cutting board and let it rest for up to 20 minutes.
Once it’s had time to rest, you can start pulling the meat apart. The best tools for this task are meat claws, they will let you dice up the entire slab of pulled pork within minutes.
Slider time
You have done the hard (or really easy) work and it’s time to enjoy. I pile a big helping of pulled pork on a Hawaiian roll and then top with cole slaw and barbecue sauce. Yum yum, it’s time to dig in.
You will have plenty left over and best thing to do is to freeze the leftover. You can then pull it out, defrost, heat and have it ready within minutes for nachos or quesadillas.