St. Louis Pork Steak Sliders

I've never been a fan of a BBQ sandwich. I'm not sure what it is about them that turns me off -- wait, that's not true. I don't care for the fact that they are basically meat and bread. I like sandwiches with crispy lettuce and juicy tomatoes and tangy pickles and nutty cheese and sweet ketchup and spicy mustard and peppery bacon. A BBQ sandwich lacks, well, all of that. It's like eating Manwich.

As I'm keen to trying new things, after all, palates do change over time, including non-discerning ones like mine, I gave this recipe a go.

St. Louis Pork Steak Sliders

from Cooking Club

click to print

BARBECUE SAUCE

1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dry mustard
1 12-oz. beer (say Black Toad)
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 c chili sauce
1/3 c molasses
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

PORK
4 c water
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf, broken
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
4 lb. bone-in thin-cut pork shoulder steaks or pork loin blade chops (scant 1/2 inch thick)
16 small hamburger-style slider buns, split

Cook onion in oil in large saucepan over medium heat 4 minutes or until onion is softened.

Add garlic and mustard; cook and stir 30 seconds.

Stir in all remaining barbecue sauce ingredients;

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly reduced and flavors are blended, stirring occasionally.

(Sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before using.)

Heat broiler. Bring all pork ingredients except pork and buns to a simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; place near broiler.

Broil pork 4 minutes, turning once.

Dunk pork in vinegar mixture.

Grill an additional 20 minutes, turning and dunking in vinegar mixture every 4 minutes.

I'd saved us both the hassle and reps of turning and dunking. Just know the image above is at 24 minutes.

Brush pork with barbecue sauce; grill an additional 1 minute per side.

Pork brushed with sauce, broiled 1 minute, and flipped.

 Place in large pot, along with remaining sauce.

Simmer, covered, over low heat 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until pork is fork-tender and sauce is slightly reduced.

Remove and discard bones; shred pork. (Pork can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before serving.)

Serve pork and sauce in buns.

Pork piled on high and smooshed between the buns.


This recipe required a lot more work I didn't realize was required before starting. Flipping the pork in the broiler every 2 minutes and rinsing it every 4 minutes for 24 minutes was over the top. I was tired of that real quick.

Putting the broiled pork in a Dutch oven for 70 minutes on the stove-top was a mistake. It should've gone into the oven. I found that the pork sitting in the bottom of the Dutch oven was becoming blackened, which required stirring/flipping, in turn requiring lengthened cooking time. And really? The pork could've stood a longer braising time.

Tastewise, the saucy pork was decent. Honestly though, the effort required wasn't suitable for the outcome. Maybe I should've put some lettuce on it. I don't think I'll make the effort to do this again.

Cost:

• onion: $0.26
• garlic: $0.28
• beer: $1.13
• tomato sauce: $0.59
• chili sauce: $3.19
• pork shoulder blade steaks: $11.13
• Sara Lee slider buns: $2.99/12

Total: $20.57 or $1.29 for each of 16 sliders.

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