This orange barbecue pulled pork sandwich is full of orange flavor, using orange juice and orange zest. It is also easy to make in your slow cooker/crockpot.
I’m down to the last giant bag of oranges from our visit to the orange grove. I’m feeling a little sad. My family and I have really enjoyed the freshly squeezed orange juice every day. And I’ve enjoyed baking and cooking with the oranges and trying them in everything. It’s to the point where no one is surprised when I tell them what they are eating has oranges in it!
Winter has finally hit San Diego – well, San Diego-style! It’s cold (okay 63ºF) and raining (okay, more like cloudy with scattered sprinklings), but that’s our winter!
So, this weather shouts comfort food for us, and I brought out my giant 6-quart slow-cooker. I am feeding a family of 5, you know. One of my favorite meats in the slow-cooker is a pork butt roast. Whether I’m making carnitas or pulled pork, it’s perfect for the slow-cooker.
And this version of pulled pork uses a homemade orange barbecue sauce. Of course. What, did you want another dessert recipe? I still had an abundance of leftover oranges from my family’s visit to the orange grove, I decided to make an orange barbecue sauce.
I mixed up the ingredients for the orange barbecue sauce separately. Flavors like orange juice, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, honey, garlic, molasses and spices… it was already smelling quite incredible before I poured it over the pork in the slow cooker.
Five hours on high, 8 hours on low and this baby was done. My house smelled incredible. This is a great recipe for a weekday meal you need between shuttling the kids from piano lessons and basketball practice, or to please big, hearty appetites when you are watching the big game or have masses to feed. Lip-smacking good.
Orange Barbecue Pulled Pork
This easy, slow-cooker recipe features a tangy orange barbecue sauce for your next pulled-pork dinner. Recipe by Laura Bashar of Family Spice
Ingredients:
- 4 lb pork butt roast, boneless
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed preferred
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 3 TBS honey
- 3 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 1/2 tsp chile powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp molasses
- 8 kaiser rolls
Directions:
- Rinse with water and pat dry with paper towels:
- 4 lb pork butt roast , boneless
- Trim off the large chunks of fat and season with:
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
- Place pork roast in a 6-quart slow-cooker with:
- 1 small onion , sliced
- Whisk together in medium-sized bowl:
- 1 cup orange juice , freshly squeezed preferred
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 3 TBS honey
- 3 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 3 garlic cloves , crushed
- 1 1/2 tsp chile powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp molasses
- Pour barbecue sauce over the pork roast and cover the slow-cooker.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours.
- For the last hour, remove the roast from the slow-cooker.
- Use two forks or your fingers to pull pork apart until the entire roast is shredded. Discard any excess fat.
- Return shredded pork to the slow-cooker and continue cooking for one hour.
- Place pulled pork into serving dish and mix in with some of the juices from the slow-cooker.
- Serve with:
- 8 kaiser rolls
Notes:
Serving Suggestions: Got picky eaters? You can also cook the pork without the barbecue sauce. Just serve the sauce on the side for those who want to mix it in!
Cooking Tips: Don't have a slow-cooker? Heat your oven to 300º F and cook the pork without the water and bbq sauce in a roasting pan, fat side up, covered with aluminum foil, for 4 hours. Remove the foil and continue to bake until roast is tender, about 2 more hours. After shredding the pork, add bbq sauce and serve.
Prep Time:
Yield: 8 servings
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Lovely pictures! And 1554? One of my fav beers ever! Okay, so I don't eat pork, but I bet my husband would love this recipe! 🙂
Gorgeous…love cooking pork butt! This sounds fabulous!!
Love the orange bbq flavor. And the photo, well it's so beautifully yummy i had to pin it! Yes I would have enjoyed another dessert as well, shame on me 😉
If food porn exists then this bbq pulled pork sandwich is definitely some serious eye candy! I loveeeee pulled pork. The addition of citrus, I can just taste how good it is now! Yummmmy.
I just want to pick up the sandwich and devour it.
What gorgeous drrrooooooolsome photos. I love your styling! All good things (like your orange stash) must come to an end but you made great use of the final treasures of your harvest in this flavour combo.
Such a good idea! I made peach BBQ sauce this summer and was just thinking, "Oh! I should make that again..but wait, peaches aren't in season – drats!" But ORANGES are! Thanks for the idea!
I love this food styling so much Laura! And the orange bbq pulled pork sounds so delicious that I drool just thinking about it. I am definitely citrus lover. 🙂
I cooked this up yesterday following your recipe exactly and it turned out AMAZING! So delicious and the orange flavor is fantastic. My husband declared it was the best bbq pulled pork he'd ever eaten.
Yay! I love "meeting" other San Diego bloggers! This orange pulled pork is such a great idea. We just launched our online Seasonal Potluck and February is Oranges month! If you’d like to link up your recipe, we’d love to have you! http://bit.ly/zDoNfx
I love this recipe! I used pork loin instead of pork butt and it was equally delish! I kinda wish I had made extra sauce it was soooo good. Thank you for posting!!!!
That is one fantastic looking sandwich! Love your photos too!
This sandwich looks amazing! I am not too too much into sandwiches, but this one certainly stands out :-). I wish this were my lunch….