Delicious Apple Butter Pull Apart Sliders featuring Bourbon Barrel Foods Apple Butter Spread. This recipe can be made in a crock pot or instant pot and is great to serve at autumn gatherings and parties.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 70 minutes for Instapot / 4-5 hours for crockpot
Makes 2 dozen sweet roll slider sandwiches
Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients:
- 4-5 pound, boneless Pork Shoulder, cut into 2-inch steaks
- 4 tablespoon Brown sugar ( packed )
- 3 tablespoon Bourbon Smoked Paprika
- 1 tablespoon Bourbon Smoked Pepper
- 2 tablespoon Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt
- 1/4 cup Tomato paste
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 2 cup Fresh Cranberries (optional)
Braising liquid:
- 1, 12 ounce can of Cranberry juice concentrate
- 2 cup Chopped white onion
- 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- water as needed
Final Touches:
- Bourbon Barrel Foods Apple Butter
- Sweet Rolls, 24 count bag
Method:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, incorporate the following ingredients; brown sugar, Bourbon Smoked Paprika, Bourbon Smoked Pepper, Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt, tomato paste and Dijon mustard.
- Gently combine aromatics with a rubber spatula until it becomes a thick paste.
- Coat the pork shoulders with the thick paste and gently lay them inside the Instapot or crockpot.
Braising Liquid:
- In the same mixing bowl used to season the pork, mix together the cranberry juice, white onion and apple cider vinegar.
- Pour Braising liquid directly from the mixing bowl into the slow cooker. Make sure the pork is completely covered with liquid.
Instapot:
- set cooking time for 70 minutes on High Pressure. When the cooking time ends, turn off the pressure cooker and allow the pressure to release naturally ( about 20-minutes ).
- When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid.
- Remove the meat from the pressure cooker and shred with two forks.
- Shred the pork.
Crockpot:
- Cook pork on low heat for 4-5 hours or until tender.
- Carefully remove pork from the braising liquid, and place it into a medium-sized bowl.
- Shred with two forks.
Apple Butter Pulled Pork Pull-Apart Assembly:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Carefully cut the sweet rolls in half lengthwise into equal pieces creating a top and a bottom bun. Place the top bun portions to the side.
- In an oven-safe dish or sheet tray, lined with parchment paper, mound the pulled pork evenly on the sweet rolls bottom bun slab.
- Spread Bourbon Barrel Apple Butter on the top buns.
- Place open-faced, bottom buns filled with pork and the Apple Buttered top buns side by side on the sheet tray.
- Bake the two pieces for 10-15 minutes.
- Place the top buns on the bottom buns and you’ve got an Apple Butter Pork Pull-A-Part crowd pleaser!
- Repeat these steps for the second dozen.