Applesauce Pulled Pork Sandwiches (Printable Version)

Succulent pork, slow-cooked with applesauce and apple cider until melt-in-your-mouth tender. Perfect for a hearty meal.

# What You Need:

→ Pork

01 - 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, trimmed
02 - 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
03 - 1 tsp black pepper
04 - 1 tsp smoked paprika
05 - ½ tsp ground cinnamon

→ Sauce

06 - 1 ½ cups unsweetened applesauce
07 - 1 cup apple cider
08 - ¼ cup brown sugar
09 - 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
10 - 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
11 - 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
12 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

→ To Serve

13 - 6 sandwich buns
14 - 1 cup coleslaw (optional)
15 - Extra applesauce or barbecue sauce (optional)

# How to Make:

01 - Pat the pork shoulder dry and season all sides with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and cinnamon.
02 - Place the sliced onion and minced garlic in the bottom of a slow cooker.
03 - In a medium bowl, whisk together applesauce, apple cider, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar until smooth.
04 - Place the pork on top of the onions in the slow cooker. Pour the applesauce mixture evenly over the pork.
05 - Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours, or until the pork is very tender and easily shreds with a fork.
06 - Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred with two forks, discarding any large pieces of fat.
07 - Skim excess fat from the cooking liquid, then return the shredded pork to the slow cooker and mix well with the sauce.
08 - Serve the pulled pork warm on sandwich buns. Top with coleslaw and extra applesauce or barbecue sauce, if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The slow cooker does practically all the work, leaving you free to go about your day while dinner cooks itself
  • That sweet and savory combination makes everyone ask for seconds, even people who claim they don't like fruit in savory dishes
02 -
  • The pork needs to be cooked until it literally falls apart, if you're still struggling to shred it, give it another hour
  • Letting the meat rest in the sauce for at least 15 minutes after shredding makes a huge difference in how flavorful each bite becomes
03 -
  • If your sauce seems too thin after cooking, just remove the lid and cook on high for 30 minutes to reduce it down
  • A tablespoon of bourbon added to the sauce mixture takes this to a whole new level of adult comfort food
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