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Slow Cooker Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork Sliders

Apple adds sweetness to this slow cooker bourbon pulled pork. This dish makes for great appetizer sliders or an easy main meal! Double (or triple) the recipe to serve a crowd! 

Apple adds sweetness to this slow cooker bourbon pulled pork. This dish makes for great appetizer sliders or an easy main meal! Double (or triple) the recipe to serve a crowd! | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

Elegant enough for a Holiday party, but easy enough for Game Day, these sliders are sure to be a conversation starter.

What is Bourbon vs Whiskey?

All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.

Whiskey (or whisky, if you’re in Scotland) is distilled from the fermented grain mash of wheat, rye, barley or corn and aged in oak barrels.

Bourbon law dictates that bourbon needs to be produced in America and made from 51% corn. Corn is a ‘sweet’ grain, meaning the more corn, the sweeter the whiskey. It also needs to be stored in new, charred, white oak barrels, and it must not contain any added flavoring, coloring or additives.

Why so strict?

In the 1800’s distillers spent a lot of time tampering with their whiskies.

By the end of the century, people must have been fed up, because the standards were set, and now there are laws to keep bourbon consistent.

Apple adds sweetness to this slow cooker bourbon pulled pork. This dish makes for great appetizer sliders or an easy main meal! Double (or triple) the recipe to serve a crowd! | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

Our Slow Cooker Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork Recipe

So, we thought, why not slow cook pork in bourbon?

The slightly sweet, charcoal-y flavor from the charred barrel aging is perfect for pork. And, apple cider was a natural second. (You can’t go wrong with apples and pork.)

We’ve added just a bit of molasses and brown sugar to the sauce to bring out the sweetness of the bourbon, but not so much that its classic flavor is lost. If you like a sweeter pulled pork, this recipe is easy to adapt by adding a bit more brown sugar, to your taste, at the end.

Slow roasting the pork for at least 7 hours is key. Once the meat hits 200F, magical things start to happen and the meat will literally fall apart around your fork.

That is pulled pork beauty!

Apple adds sweetness to this slow cooker bourbon pulled pork. This dish makes for great appetizer sliders or an easy main meal! Double (or triple) the recipe to serve a crowd! | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com
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Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork Sliders

Apple adds sweetness to this bourbon pulled pork, which makes for great appetizer slider or a main event.
Yield: 6 sliders
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 451kcal
Author: Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere

Ingredients

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground mustard
  • 2 lb pork butt or shoulder roast (USDA Prime), trimmed of any large sections of fat
  • ½ c bourbon
  • ½ c pure apple cider
  • 2 Tbsp molasses
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 6 sourdough slider buns

Instructions

  • Mix garlic with salt and mustard.
  • Make a few slits halfway through the pork roast. Pat the garlic mixture into the cuts. Place the roast in the bottom of your crock pot.
  • Mix bourbon, cider, molasses and brown sugar. Heat slightly to dissolve the molasses and brown sugar in the liquid. Pour the bourbon mixture into the crock pot with the meat.
  • Cover the crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
  • Remove the pork from the crock pot and shred with two forks. (If you would like, you can skim the fat off of the top of the juice left in the crock pot. Discard the fat.)
  • Return the pulled pork to the juices in the crock pot and cook on low for 1-2 hours, uncovered (to thicken the sauce and continue to flavor the meat). *
  • Serve pork on a sourdough slider bun.

Notes

*If you prefer your pork a bit sweeter, mix an extra 1 Tbsp of brown sugar into the pulled pork before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slider | Calories: 451kcal | Carbohydrates: 41.1g | Protein: 26.2g | Fat: 14.2g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 628mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 7.4g

 


This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We’ve updated our pictures since we first made it, but we’ve left the original images here as a fun throwback and shout out to how far we’ve come. Enjoy! 

Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork Sliders from Curious Cuisiniere Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork Sliders from Curious Cuisiniere


This week the Sunday Supper crew is breaking out the libations! Check out the alcohol-infused recipes below. 

Libations

Savory and Sweet Libational Dishes

Libational Desserts

 

 

Apple adds sweetness to this slow cooker bourbon pulled pork. This dish makes for great appetizer sliders or an easy main meal! Double (or triple) the recipe to serve a crowd! | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

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Serena | Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch

Wednesday 17th of December 2014

These sound so yummy!

Serena | Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch

Wednesday 17th of December 2014

These look fabulous and I love that they are made in a Crock Pot!

cookingchat (@cookingchat)

Tuesday 16th of December 2014

Looks tasty! Always like a good pork dish.

Amee Beck Livingston

Monday 15th of December 2014

These sliders sound amazing and I love the convenience of the crock pot!!

Julie @ Texan New Yorker

Monday 15th of December 2014

I had already researched the bourbon/whiskey difference out of curiosity several years ago, but I loved reading it again, thanks! And your recipe made me drool. I'm such a fiend for slow cooker pulled pork, and your flavors take it way over the top!

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