‘Tis the season, y’all! BBQ, pool, rose’, sunburns and more BBQ! This year, for the 4th of July, we headed up to a friend’s house in Napa mid-day, child in tow, and offered to do the first night’s dinner. We knew it had to be easy and something we could cook ahead.

Enter crockpot BBQ pork sliders. TWO WAYS! Both sliders are made with Williams Sonoma pulled pork braising sauce and their delicious Black Garlic BBQ sauce. The first version is a classic: store-bought coleslaw and extra crunchy pickles. The second version is a California twist: kale and avocado (because, why not?). The pork can be made two days ahead and is actually better if you do as the flavors will blend even more.

Side note: if you want to know how obsessed Simon and I are with easy to cook roasts, check out these recipes: Osso Buco, Zinfandel Short Ribs, and Pork Shoulder.

Let’s start with the Pulled Pork…

PULLED PORK

Ingredients:
3lb pork shoulder or pork butt (PS, they’re actually the same thing)
2tbs vegetable oil
1 Williams Sonoma Chipotle & Honey pork braising sauce

Directions:
Note: although William’s Sonoma provides instructions for pulled pork with their braising liquids, it wasn’t quite right with our Cuisinart slow cooker. Below is what worked for us.

Heat a cast iron pan on medium-high and add vegetable oil until shimmering. Cut pork shoulder down to thin strips, about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide. Lightly salt and sear until all sides are browned and a little crusty.

Add pork, 1 jar of Williams Sonoma pulled pork braising liquid and 1/2 c water to a crockpot. Set on high heat and cook for 5-6 hours until pork is very tender. Fork tear the pork apart for serving.

Pulled pork is best if made 1-2 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator as this allows flavors to blend.

And now…on to the versions…

CLASSIC PULLED PORK

Pulled Pork from from above
Coleslaw kit (I bought mine from Safeway in the produce section)
Vlassic pickles (they really are the crunchiest)
Williams Sonoma black garlic BBQ sauce
Slider buns or small burger buns, lightly toasted (I bought mine at Safeway)

The perfect classic pork sliders should be made in this order:
Slider buns
Pulled pork
Coleslaw
Williams Sonoma BBQ sauce
Vlassic Pickles
Smoosh down before eating 🙂

That’s it! Easy-peasy pork sliders for your pool, sun and family festivities this summer!

PS the salad on the side from the picture above is this recipe from Epicurious.

CALIFORNIA VERSION

Pulled Pork from above
Kale
Olive oil
Avocado
Williams Sonoma black garlic BBQ sauce
Slider buns or small burger buns, lightly toasted (I bought mine at Safeway)

Massage the kale with about 2tbs of olive oil (use enough so the kale doesn’t look slimy) for 2 minutes. Alternatively, and what we did, was made this recipe from Epicurious as it added a zing from dijon mustard and crunch from almonds. Also, it’s the same salad we served on the side, so double bonus for easy!

The perfect California pork sliders should be made in this order:
Slider buns
Pulled pork
Kale
Avocado
Williams Sonoma BBQ sauce

These sliders are the perfect match for your outdoor lunches, dinner, pools, kiddos, and rose’ during summer breaks and delicious for leftovers as well.