Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese Sliders - FOOTBALL FRIDAY

Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese Sliders recipe with brown sugar butter glaze

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Ohio Pork Council. All opinions are my own.

Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese Sliders recipe - CRAZY good! I took these to a party and they were gone in a blink of an eye!!! Slow cooked pulled pork on Hawaiian rolls topped with macaroni and cheese, bbq sauce and a sweet and savory butter sauce. These sandwiches are THE BEST!!!! Pulled pork, store-bought mac and cheese, Hawaiian rolls, bbq sauce, butter, brown sugar, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and poppy seeds. YUM!

Cheese Sliders recipe with brown sugar butter glaze Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese Sliders - FOOTBALL FRIDAY

These Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese Sliders are dangerously delicious! These things some come with a warning label! I not even joking. SO good!!!! I took these to a party last week, and they were gone in a blink of an eye. Definitely consider doubling the recipe. Hawaiian rolls topped with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, macaroni and cheese and a sweet and savory butter sauce. Heaven!

As you can guess, this recipe uses Pulled Pork. I made my own in the slow cooker with a boneless Pork Shoulder. It was SO easy. Just season the pork and throw it in the slow cooker. Let it cook until it is fall apart tender. YUM!!

Let's talk about this pork for a minute. It can be confusing at the grocery store when picking out the cut of pork. Pork Butt, Pork Shoulder, Boston Butt, Pork Blade Roast are all the same thing. It is the top portion of the front leg of the pig. You can buy it with the bone in the pork or boneless. I've bought both and they work beautifully for pulled pork.

How do you know when the pork is done? For pork tenderloin, pork chops and pork loins, you want them to be at least 145ºF. It is A-OK for there to be some pink! I actually prefer to eat my pork with some pink.

For the pork shoulder, it should be at least 160ºF in the thickest part of the roast for medium. Most people (myself included) cook/smoke pork shoulders until they are well done - about 195ºF. You want the pork shoulder cooked well done and to be falling apart. Don't worry about it being dry, all the great fat marbling keeps the pork from drying out.

Look at all that yummy pulled pork!!!!

For the sliders, I used about 3/4 of a pound of the pulled pork. Save the rest of the pork for a quick sandwich or Brunswick Stew later. You can even freeze the extra pork.

For the macaroni and cheese, I used store-bought macaroni and cheese from the deli section at the grocery store. It was perfect!

The sliders can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until you are ready to bake them. I do suggest not adding the butter sauce on top until you are ready to bake them. It will firm up in the refrigerator and you really want it melted.

These Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese Sliders taste great hot out of the oven or cooled to room temperature. That makes them perfect for tailgating and parties!

We can not stop thinking about these yummy Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese sliders. Chicken Legs has already requested them again for this weekend. I've got some leftover pulled pork in the freeze that I'm going to use. I can't wait!!!

Yield: 12 sliders

Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese Sliders

prep time: 5 MINScook time: 20 MINStotal time: 25 mins

INGREDIENTS:

Pulled Pork

1 (3 to 4-lb) boneless pork shoulder/butt
1-1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water

Sliders

1 (12-count) package Hawaiian dinner rolls
1-1/2 cups prepared Mac & Cheese (I got it in the deli section at the grocery store)
2 Tbsp BBQ sauce
8 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 tsp poppy seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pulled Pork

Combine paprika, black pepper, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder and salt. Rub evenly over pork shoulder. Place in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
Remove pork to large cutting board or platter. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Chop. Measure out ¾ pound of pork for sandwiches. Save remaining pork for another use.

Sliders

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.
Split each dinner roll. Top the bottom of each roll with pork. Drizzle each pork roll with 1 to 2 tsp BBQ sauce. Top each roll with 2 Tbsp prepared mac and cheese. Place tops on sandwiches and place in prepared 9x13-inch pan.
In a small saucepan combine butter, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire and poppy seeds. Bring to a boil and pour over sandwiches.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are brown and crispy.