"Aghadoe" Sliders

                       Day 1 of the “Aghadoe” Music Video Shoot

     Andrew the director,  being the one to inform me of the slight limitations or “additions” as I would refer to them,  wanted to let me know that he didn’t want his stomach to settle for just veg and hoped for many a meaty/cheesy option. When cooking for a lot of people one must consider many things; dietary restrictions, quantity, time in which it takes to make proposed food, and likability. Day one is where I set my bar. High of course! I wanted something that would stick to the ribs out there in the woods all day so I thought barbeque. Pulled pork that is. Dry-rubbed pork shoulder, cooked low and slow, then shredded and mounded onto a bun and topped with simple coleslaw. When walking around the grocery store, I was struck by the cuteness of a bag of mini party buns. I chose to make tons of sliders for lunch, rather than huge sandwiches. Good idea turns out. For the vegans I swapped out the pork for an amazingly robust meaty-tasting portobello mushroom, rubbed with the same pork dry rub. Plus a gluten free bun from Udi’s baking company for the glutard. 

          Pulled Pork Sliders with Coleslaw

• 4 to 5 lb. hunk of pork shoulder
• 3 Tbsp kosher salt.
• 2 Tbsp cracked black pepper
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 medium size plastic bag
• Vegetable oil
• Aluminum foil 
• 1 large pack of party buns or large kaiser/hamburger buns
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp hot sauce (I prefer Louisiana’s Crystal hot sauce)

1.) In a medium size bag (like a gallon-size ziplock bag) combine all the dry ingredients together by shaking the bag around until you see that everything has been well combined.

2.) Add your pork shoulder to the spice bag, the shake the bag around so that every part of the shoulder seems to be covered in the spice rub.

3.) Put in fridge for at least 24 hours. In this time the meat will take on the spice’s flavor and will bring the moisture to the edges of the meat for better meat overall. 

4.) Crank your oven to 400 degrees, remove pork from fridge and bag. 

5.) In a heavy duty pan, place just enough vegetable oil to cover bottom of pan, then add meat. Work to sear every side evenly. This should take about 3ish minutes per side of roast. 

6.) Remove meat from pan and Wrap in two layers of aluminum foil. 

7.) Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 degrees and continue to cook until the internal temperature of the meat has reached 160 degrees. After its done, let cool.

8.) Meanwhile combine vinegar, sugar, and hot sauce in a small bowl. 

9.) Begin to shred the pork shoulder. I like to use over-sized forks and just literally pull and scrape down the meat so it rips and shreds from the roast.

10.) Pour the vinegar mix into the pulled pork and depending on when you are serving, place meat back into oven to bring back up to a warmer temperature. 

11.) Split buns and load up with pulled pork and coleslaw of you are so inclined. Really easy coleslaw recipe will follow the Portobellos.

  Grilled Portobello Sliders with Coleslaw

*Basically you are making my pulled pork recipe but with portobellos and smaller-portioned ingredients.

• 4 Portobello Mushrooms,  stems removed.
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 medium size plastic bag
• vegetable oil
• 1 pack of party buns or 4 large kaiser/hamburger buns
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp hot sauce, (I prefer Louisiana’s Crystal hot sauce)

1.) In a medium size bag (like a gallon-size ziplock bag) combine all the dry ingredients together by shaking the bag around until you see that everything has been well combined.

2.) Add mushrooms to the spice bag, the shake the bag around so that every part of the mushrooms seem to be covered in the spice rub.

3.) Put in fridge for at least 2 hours. In this time the mushrooms will take on the spice’s flavor and help marinate. You will also notice that they will shrink in size slightly which is fine.

4.) Remove mushrooms from bag and heat grill. Grill portobellos for 5ish minutes per side. Remove from grill and place in a bowl. 

5.) Combine vinegar, sugar, and hot sauce in a small bowl. 

6.) If you are using slider buns, cut mushrooms into quarters or leave whole for sandwiches. Pour the vinegar mix on mushrooms and toss to coat. 

7.) Split buns and load up with grilled portobellos and coleslaw of you are so inclined. Coleslaw recipe follows.

                    Really Simple Coleslaw

• Half of a large head of green cabbage
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp hot sauce, like Crystal
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 2 Tbsp red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp cracked black pepper

1.) Remove the core from the cabbage and slice into thin and short strips.

2.) Blend vinegars, hot sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, and black pepper together in a bowl.

3.) Add in sliced cabbage and toss to coat evenly with the marinade. 

4.) Let sit at least over night so the cabbage has a chance to break down a bit from the acids which leads to a better coleslaw overall. 

5.) Serve on top of pulled pork above or simply as a side dish.