Bread recommendations for a pulled pork sandwich

[CraigC]

I just tried my new favorite bun for pulled pork sammies last week, King's Hawaiian!

 

[tenspeed]

Potato rolls were suggested, and I agree. I use them for burgers, and they hold up to a juicy burger better than the regular white buns. White buns tend to disintegrate when they get wet.

 

[GotGarlic]

Where I'm from originally, the BBQ joints all used plain white sandwich bread, toasted or not per the customer's preference. It was just a carrier for the meat.

Coleslaw was a side, NEVER on the sandwich.

Here in SE Florida in the predominantly black neighborhoods on most Friday afternoons you can drive along quite a few streets and see where the local Q'er has set up and is selling his BBQ by the pound. It comes with a loaf or half-loaf of regular white sandwich bread depending on how much you buy.

I grew up in Michigan - no pulled pork sandwiches there. The first time I had one here in Virginia, I was working late on a project with a deadline and my boss bought me dinner - a pulled pork sandwich on a plain white burger bun with cole slaw on top and fries on the side.

I took a bite and was shocked to taste the cole slaw inside the sandwich. She was shocked that I had never had it before Took me a while to get used to it, but now I love it

The place where she bought it has been on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives." It's a real drive-in with curb service and everything! And they invented the waffle cone for ice cream

http://www.doumars.com/dous-on-diners-drive-ins-and-dives/

 

[CraigC]

Potato rolls were suggested, and I agree. I use them for burgers, and they hold up to a juicy burger better than the regular white buns. White buns tend to disintegrate when they get wet.

How are they getting wet with pulled pork?

 

[GotGarlic]

Quick question about coleslaw. IS it the type of thing that is better the next day after it has sat ? or is it better fresh ??

Your opinions ?

larry

HI, Larry. This is DH's favorite slaw recipe: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/07/creamy-cole-slaw.html

I make a half recipe at a time. After shredding the cabbage, carrot and red onion, you mix them with sugar and salt and let sit for five minutes (it's okay to let it go longer). This pulls liquid out of the vegetables, softening and flavoring them. Then you rinse, spin dry, mix the dressing separately and dress the veggies to taste.

Then I refrigerate for a few hours so it's nice and cold and the flavors meld. DH will eat it for several days. I only eat a little, for medical reasons.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Love coleslaw on a pulled pork sandwich with a vinegar sauce on it. I use kaiser buns made from french dough...

 

[tenspeed]

How are they getting wet with pulled pork?

Maybe it's because I'm not from the South, but don't you have a fair bit of sauce on it? Dressing on the cole slaw?

 

[CraigC]

Maybe it's because I'm not from the South, but don't you have a fair bit of sauce on it? Dressing on the cole slaw?

Even with added sauce, it is moist not dripping with it. Same with the coleslaw, whether the dressing is mayo based or vinegar based. Most often I let the dry rub and smoke speak for themselves! The sandwiches don't last long enough for the bun to get soggy, even if additional sauce is added.

 

[tenspeed]

Even with added sauce, it is moist not dripping with it. Same with the coleslaw, whether the dressing is mayo based or vinegar based. Most often I let the dry rub and smoke speak for themselves! The sandwiches don't last long enough for the bun to get soggy, even if additional sauce is added.

Must be regional differences. Pulled pork usually requires extra napkins.

 

[GotGarlic]

Must be regional differences. Pulled pork usually requires extra napkins.

There are definitely regional differences North Carolina/Virginia pork barbecue, aka pulled pork, is generally just drizzled with a mixture of cider vinegar and red pepper flakes, sometimes with added hot sauce to taste

Other parts of the South use tomato-based barbecue sauce; South Carolina has a mustard-based sauce. But the sauce is used to enhance the smoked flavor of the pork. Must be careful not to overpower it

 

[Chef Kenny]

The place where she bought it has been on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives." It's a real drive-in with curb service and everything! And they invented the waffle cone for ice cream

Dou's on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives | Doumar's

I LOVE Triple D!

Imma have to take a road trip from the Virginia Piedmont here down to the sandy soil where you are and get me summa dat!

 

[Chef Kenny]

So, I smoke my own butts and have my sauce down and rarely variate. I have it down to where when my wife goes to NC for family I tell her not to even bother bringing back Lexington BBQ anymore. Now, liver mush/puddin...yea, I haven't even tried, so a couple blocks, but BBQ? Not bragging, just speaking the truth. I rarely buy it and there are plenty of great smokers in Virginia.

I make a combination of a Carolina vinegar based sauce and mop sauce for my pulled pork, never a thick sauce. I toss the meat with it before food-savering and freezing as well as add more when re-heating.

My wife likes the Carolina red slaw...I like pretty much all slaw...just don't put flipping fruit in it!

Although my wife likes a sandwich with slaw, we skip the bread usually. my BBQ is...well, I just eat BBQ on a plate nowadays with anything else on the side. It's almost a shame to put excellent BBQ in a sandwich. So/so BBQ needs the sandwich, slaw, nachos, something to bring more to the plate.

The BBQ referenced in this thread I believe is vegetarian. That is on an entirely different ethereal plane, I simply cant relate. No hating here...I just cannot get my head around that one and one of my customers is a high end organic tofu maker that makes the wanna-be meat variations...I've tried them all. Seitan is another one I just cant relate to. I suppose this mock meat stuff makes some people feel better and that's cool. But, I totally get why this wants to be a sandwich!

If I am to make a hot juicy sandwich, whether BBQ or a burger; these days I am hooked on the sandwich sized ciabatta...onion ciabatta. A rugged flavorful bread with nooks and crannies like an English muffin to capture the rapturous goodness of all things wet, drippy, decadent and unctuous.

OK, I'm stopping there, my wife is out of town and...well...

 

[Cheryl J]

So, I smoke my own butts and have my sauce down and rarely variate. I have it down to where when my wife goes to NC for family I tell her not to even bother bringing back Lexington BBQ anymore. Now, liver mush/puddin...yea, I haven't even tried, so a couple blocks, but BBQ? Not bragging, just speaking the truth. I rarely buy it and there are plenty of great smokers in Virginia.

I make a combination of a Carolina vinegar based sauce and mop sauce for my pulled pork, never a thick sauce. I toss the meat with it before food-savering and freezing as well as add more when re-heating.

My wife likes the Carolina red slaw...I like pretty much all slaw...just don't put flipping fruit in it!

Although my wife likes a sandwich with slaw, we skip the bread usually. my BBQ is...well, I just eat BBQ on a plate nowadays with anything else on the side. It's almost a shame to put excellent BBQ in a sandwich. So/so BBQ needs the sandwich, slaw, nachos, something to bring more to the plate.

The BBQ referenced in this thread I believe is vegetarian. That is on an entirely different ethereal plane, I simply cant relate. No hating here...I just cannot get my head around that one and one of my customers is a high end organic tofu maker that makes the wanna-be meat variations...I've tried them all. Seitan is another one I just cant relate to. I suppose this mock meat stuff makes some people feel better and that's cool. But, I totally get why this wants to be a sandwich!

If I am to make a hot juicy sandwich, whether BBQ or a burger; these days I am hooked on the sandwich sized ciabatta...onion ciabatta. A rugged flavorful bread with nooks and crannies like an English muffin to capture the rapturous goodness of all things wet, drippy, decadent and unctuous.

OK, I'm stopping there, my wife is out of town and...well...

Hi, Chef Kenny. Larry made it clear when he started this thread that he was looking for suggestions of what bread to use for a cole slaw and meat substitute sandwich, and it did kind of turn into a pulled pork thread.

You're correct that the original thread is vegetarian related. I'm not sure that he was looking for personal opinions on his choices and whether or not any of us can 'relate' to them. Just sayin....

Also, I'm sure Virginia has some great smokers, but so do many other states. Not everyone believes that even the tastiest of smoked pulled pork belongs strictly on a plate, and not as leftovers in a sandwich.