March Madness: BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders

Are you ready for March Madness? The championship series begins in a few weeks and viewing parties will be all the rage. Are you hosting or are you attending? If you're hosting, you probably want to serve bites that are easy to prepare. If you're attending, you don't want a fork and knife kind of deal to munch on. This recipe is the best of both worlds. Pulled pork is easy to make ahead of time and it's all in one pot so you don't need to dirty tons of dishes. It's also a hand-held sandwich that people love and can carry around on a small plate. So for your next March Madness party, get these cooking while you're still in your pajamas in the morning and let the slow cooker do the work for you.

This homemade barbeque sauce is delicious. A little bit tangy and a little bit sweet, the flavor combination is amazing. It's also nice and thick which makes it coat the shredded pork beautifully. Reserve a little in a squeeze bottle for people to add extra later.

When I make anything in the crockpot that requires a sauce or dressing, I like to hold back a bit just in case some people are not a huge fan of a lot of sauce. I started doing this after I visited a sandwich place last summer who (gasp) didn't put any sauce on their pulled pork or pulled chicken. They said that the barbeque sauce has a lot of extra sodium that customers don't always necessarily enjoy. So instead they make it simply with a little salt and pepper and let their customers add how much sauce they prefer and they have several kinds for them to choose from. I don't go so far as to leave it complete bare but I do keep in mind not to smother it. However, like almost every other recipe I write, it's completely up to preference. Go nuts if you want to. Just remember, people are probably going to be eating these on your couch.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders
Ingredients:
3-4lbs. Bone-In Pork Shoulder or 1.5-2lbs. Boneless Pork Shoulder
1 cup Ketchup
1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
3 tablespoons Honey
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
2 teaspoons Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 tablespoons Water
Hamburger Slider Buns

Directions:
1. Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper. Place in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 8 hours. 

2. Mix together all the ingredients from the ketchup to water. Taste the barbeque sauce and adjust ingredients where necessary.

3. Remove the pork shoulder from the slow cooker when it's finished cooking to a plate or cutting board. Turn the slow cooker to warm. Shred the pork and add back to the slow cooker. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 of the barbeque sauce over the shredded pork and mix well. Sever on slider buns with a little extra sauce drizzled on top.