Applesauce Pulled Pork Sandwiches (Printable)

Slow-cooked pork with applesauce and apple cider, served on soft buns for a sweet-savory twist on a classic.

# What You'll 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

# Directions:

01 - Pat the pork shoulder dry and season all sides evenly with kosher salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, and ground cinnamon.
02 - Arrange the sliced yellow onion and minced garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker.
03 - In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together unsweetened applesauce, apple cider, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
04 - Place the seasoned pork on top of the onions and garlic in the slow cooker. Pour the applesauce mixture evenly over the pork.
05 - Cover the slow cooker and cook on low heat for 8 hours, or until the pork is very tender and easily shreds with a fork.
06 - Remove the cooked 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 thoroughly with the sauce to combine.
08 - Serve the pulled pork warm on sandwich buns. Top with coleslaw and additional applesauce or barbecue sauce if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The applesauce tenderizes the pork while adding a subtle sweetness that balances the savory spices without tasting like dessert.
  • It cooks itself in the slow cooker, so you can start it in the morning and come home to a house that smells like a cozy fall evening.
  • Leftovers reheat beautifully and taste even better the next day when the flavors have had time to settle into each other.
02 -
  • Don't lift the lid during cooking, every peek adds 15 to 20 minutes to the cook time and lets out the steam that's tenderizing the pork.
  • If your pork isn't quite tender at the 8-hour mark, give it another 30 minutes to an hour, different cuts and slow cookers vary more than you'd expect.
  • Skimming the fat from the sauce makes a huge difference in the final texture, it goes from greasy to silky in one quick step.
03 -
  • Buy a pork shoulder with a good amount of marbling, the fat renders down during cooking and keeps everything moist and flavorful.
  • Taste the sauce before serving and adjust with a little more vinegar if it's too sweet or a pinch of brown sugar if it's too sharp, every batch is slightly different.
  • Toast the buns lightly in a skillet with a little butter before piling on the pork, it adds texture and keeps them from getting soggy too fast.
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