Easy Pulled Pork Sliders

Fourth of July without Scott. The first holiday of the new normal. Last year, Scott grilled ribs and held Mason on his shoulders at the parade and held my hand during the fireworks. This year, I grilled ribs myself — his spice rub recipe, which I reverse-engineered from the spice jars he left in the cabinet, because he took the fishing rods but left the cumin, and that tells you everything about his priorities.

Brett and Claire came over. Carol from next door. The kids ran through the sprinkler. I grilled ribs and made Mom's baked beans and a flag cake, and it was the same barbecue as last year minus one person, and the subtraction made the addition clearer: the people who stayed are the people who matter. Brett was there. Carol was there. Biscuit the cat (the stray I've been feeding on the back porch for two months and who I will definitely not adopt, definitely) was there. Hank was there. My children were there. And I was there, which is the most important presence of all.

Mason held a sparkler without fear this year. He's six now (he'll turn six in July) and the cautious child from last summer has grown into someone braver, or at least someone who has learned that bright things don't always burn you. He held the sparkler with one hand and traced letters in the dark — M, A, S — before it fizzled out. Lily watched from my lap again, but this time she said, "I want one," and I said, "Next year, baby," and she said, "Now," because Lily does not understand delayed gratification and possibly never will.

We watched fireworks from the backyard — Lucky Peak does a show visible from the Bench neighborhood if you know where to look. Mason lay on a blanket and looked up and said, "Mama, it looks like the sky is celebrating." It does, I said. It is. And maybe it was. Maybe the sky was celebrating the fact that we made it — one year since the diagnosis, six months post-chemo, cancer-free, divorce-pending, and still lighting sparklers in the backyard. That's worth a firework. That's worth the whole show.

The ribs were good. Not as good as Scott's — I'll admit that, because honesty is the only thing I have left, and his ribs were objectively excellent. But mine were close. And next year they'll be closer. And the year after that, they'll be mine, and no one will remember that they were ever his. That's how recipes work. That's how lives work. You take what someone leaves behind and you make it yours.

The ribs were mine this year — really mine — and that felt like enough of a beginning. But if you’re standing at a grill for the first time on your own, or if you’re just looking for something low-stakes and high-reward to feed a backyard full of people who stayed, pulled pork sliders are the answer. You can start them in the morning and forget them while the kids run through the sprinkler, and by the time someone needs feeding, they’re ready. That’s the kind of recipe that fits this particular kind of summer.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours (slow cooker) | Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 12 sliders

Ingredients

3 to 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder (also called pork butt)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 cup chicken broth or apple cider
1 cup barbecue sauce (store-bought or homemade), plus more for serving
12 slider buns or Hawaiian rolls
Coleslaw, pickles, and sliced onion, for serving

Instructions

Make the dry rub. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, black pepper, salt, and cayenne if using.
Season the pork. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels, then rub the spice mixture all over the meat, pressing it in on all sides.
Slow cook. Place the seasoned pork in the insert of a slow cooker. Pour the chicken broth or apple cider around (not over) the meat. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours, until the pork is fall-apart tender.
Shred the pork. Transfer the cooked pork to a cutting board or large bowl. Use two forks to shred the meat, discarding any large pieces of fat. Drain and discard most of the cooking liquid from the slow cooker, leaving about 1/4 cup behind.
Add barbecue sauce. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker. Stir in the barbecue sauce and that reserved cooking liquid. Stir to combine, then cook on LOW for another 15 to 20 minutes to let the flavors come together.
Toast the buns. Split the slider buns and toast them cut-side down in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly golden. This keeps them from getting soggy.
Assemble and serve. Pile pulled pork onto the bottom buns. Top with coleslaw, pickles, and sliced onion as desired. Add a drizzle of extra barbecue sauce and cap with the top bun. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Easy Pulled Pork Sliders — The BBQ You Make Your Own