Pulled pork sliders for 12: a pork shoulder smoked or slow-cooked at home until it pulls apart, reheated in a foil pan with barbecue sauce at the lot and piled on soft rolls under a tangy slaw. All the long cooking happens the day before, so the lot only needs one foil pan and about 40 minutes on the grill.
Feeds: 12 (24 sliders) · Hands-on: about 45 min · Total: about 14 hours, mostly unattended smoking or slow cooking
Home gear: a smoker or a slow cooker (6 quarts or larger), a meat thermometer, 2 forks or meat claws
Pack for the lot
- Pulled pork, cold and sealed, in the cooler
- Slaw, sealed, deep in the ice
- Barbecue sauce, apple juice and vinegar
- Slider rolls and pickles
- 1 deep half-size foil pan and heavy-duty foil
- Tongs and a serving spoon
- Instant-read thermometer
- Charcoal and a chimney starter, or a full gas tank
Lot notes
- Fuel: one foil pan over medium heat is all this needs. A small gas or charcoal grill works fine.
- Holding hot: the pan stays covered on the cool side of the grill at 140°F or above. Once it's off the heat, eat it within 2 hours, or 1 hour when it's over 90°F.
- Slaw stays cold: it's mayo-based, so it lives on ice at 40°F or below and only comes out to build sliders.
- No grill at your lot: reheat the pork at home to 165°F, then carry it in the covered pan wrapped in towels inside an empty cooler, and eat it within 2 hours.
- Cleanup: crimp the foil over the empty pan and bag it. Let the coals burn out before you pack the grill.
Can you make pulled pork sliders ahead?
Yes. Cook and pull the pork up to 3 days ahead, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Reheat it in a covered foil pan with sauce to 165°F.
How do you keep pulled pork hot at a tailgate?
Keep it in a covered foil pan on the cool side of the grill at 140°F or above. Without a grill, pack it hot in a towel-lined cooler and eat it within 2 hours.
What temperature do you pull pork shoulder at?
Pull it at 195°F to 205°F. Pork is safe at 145°F with a 3-minute rest, but the shoulder needs the higher range to turn tender enough to shred.
How much pulled pork for 20 people?
Plan on 2 sliders each, so 40 sliders. A raw bone-in shoulder loses about half its weight, so you need about 13 lb raw, which is 2 shoulders of 6 to 7 lb each. Scale the rest by 1⅔: about 2½ cups of sauce for the pan, 2 bags of slaw mix and 40 rolls.