Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Pickled Red Onions, Jalapeno Coleslaw, & Fried Pickles

I know the title is a mouth-full right? But trust me, these sandwiches are awesome. Normally on a Pulled Pork Sandwich, there is pulled pork, BBQ sauce, coleslaw, and pickles. So I decided to make an updated, crazy, over-the-top sandwich that we would both love. Instead of plain creamy coleslaw I kicked it up a bit by making creamy jalapeno coleslaw. I especially LOVE this slaw. It's spicy, sweet, & creamy. It will really be one of my go-to sides for BBQ's. Since we were already making some fried pickles, I thought, why not put them on my sandwiches instead of just plain pickles. But then I was worried that I would lose the acidity that the pickles usually provide, so I made some pickled red onions to replace that missing factor. These sandwiches are so bizarre, but seem to work so well. We really loved them and I know we will be making them soon (especially the coleslaw)! Enjoy :)

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Pickled Red Onions, Jalapeno Coleslaw, & Fried Pickles

For the Dry Rubbed-Pulled Pork:

2T Salt

4T Brown Sugar

4t Garlic Powder

4t Onion Powder

2t Ground Cumin

2t Chili Powder

2t Black Pepper

1 5lb Boston Butt

Creamy Jalapeno Coleslaw:

3C Coleslaw Mix

3-5 Green Onions, Chopped (depending on how much onion you like)

2 Large Jalapenos, Diced

2T Candied Jalapeno, Diced (or you can use pickled jalapenos and add a little more sugar)

¼C Mayo

¼C Sour Cream

1t Yellow Mustard

1t White Vinegar

1t Sugar

1t Lemon Juice

Salt & Pepper, To Taste 

For the Pickled Red Onions:

½C Red Wine Vinegar

½C Water

2T Sugar

½t Salt

¼t Red Pepper Flakes

1 Large Red Onion, Peeled & Sliced

For the Fried Pickles:

1 24oz Jar of Dill Pickle Slices

1t Garlic Powder

½C Hot Sauce

½C Buttermilk

1Q Peanut Oil, For Frying 

1 ½C Self-Rising Flour

¼C Self-Rising White Cornmeal

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

 

For the Pulled Pork Sandwiches:

Toasted Buns

Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork

Creamy Jalapeno Coleslaw

Prepared Pickled Red Onions

Fried Pickle Slices

BBQ Sauce

Directions:

1. To Make the Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork: Mix together all of the seasonings and rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate the pork overnight, covered, in the refrigerator. The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for 6 hours, or until an instant-read thermometer registers to 170 degrees. Remove the pork from the oven and transfer to a large platter and allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While still warm, take two forks and pull the meat to form shreds.
2. To Make the Creamy Jalapeno Coleslaw: In a medium-mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, sour cream, mustard, sugar, lemon juice, fresh jalapeno, and candied jalapeno. Toss this mixture with the coleslaw and green onions until completely coated. Set it aside until ready to assemble the sandwiches.
3. To Make the Pickled Red Onions: Heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture over the sliced red onions in a jar and let it cool completely. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
4. To Make the Fried Pickles: Drain the juice from the pickle jar and refill the jar with garlic powder, hot sauce, and buttermilk. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. Heat your oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees. Once the pickles have marinated, drain them from the buttermilk mixture. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper. Toss the pickles in the dry mixture to coat thoroughly. Shake off the excess flour and deep-fry the pickles in batches for 3-5 minutes. When golden brown, remove the pickles from the oil and place on a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle with salt, and then stack them onto your pulled pork sandwich.
5. Assemble the sandwiches by stacking the pulled pork, BBQ sauce, jalapeno coleslaw, pickled red onions, and fried pickles onto toasted buns and enjoy.