Applesauce Pulled Pork Sandwiches (Printable Version)

Slow-cooked pork shoulder with applesauce and cider, shredded and served on soft buns for ultimate comfort food.

# What You Need:

→ Pork

01 - 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, trimmed
02 - 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
03 - 1 teaspoon black pepper
04 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
05 - ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

→ Sauce

06 - 1½ cups unsweetened applesauce
07 - 1 cup apple cider
08 - ¼ cup brown sugar
09 - 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
10 - 2 tablespoons 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 It:

01 - Pat the pork shoulder dry and season all sides with kosher salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, and ground cinnamon.
02 - Place the thinly sliced onion and minced garlic in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
03 - In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together unsweetened applesauce, apple cider, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar until smooth and well combined.
04 - Place the seasoned 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 until evenly coated.
08 - Serve the pulled pork warm on sandwich buns. Top with coleslaw and extra applesauce or barbecue sauce if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The applesauce creates a sauce so tender and glossy it clings to every shred without feeling heavy or overly sweet.
  • You can walk away for the entire day while the slow cooker does all the work, and come home to something that tastes like effort.
  • It freezes beautifully, which means future weeknight dinners are already halfway solved.
02 -
  • Don't skip patting the pork dry, wet meat won't brown or hold seasoning and you'll lose flavor before you even start.
  • If your slow cooker runs hot, check the pork at 7 hours because overcooked pork can turn stringy instead of tender.
  • The sauce will look thin at first but thickens as the pork releases its juices and everything reduces together.
03 -
  • If you have time, sear the pork in a hot skillet before adding it to the slow cooker for deeper flavor and a richer color.
  • Use a fat separator or chill the sauce so the fat solidifies on top and lifts off easily, it makes a huge difference in texture.
  • Let the shredded pork sit in the sauce for 10 minutes before serving so it absorbs every bit of flavor.
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