Creative Meals for Today's Cook

Slow Cooker Korean Pulled Pork Sandwich

by

Do you remember the Quick Cucumber Kimchi from the last post? I mentioned that it’s a great topping on hamburgers and hot dogs. Well, it’s amazing on pulled pork as well! The vinegary, garlicy, spicy kimchi pairs perfectly with the savory pulled pork. Forget slaw, you need kimchi on your pulled pork sandwiches! Slow Cooker Korean Pulled Pork with Cucumber Kimchi and Gochujang BBQ Sauce These Slow Cooker Korean Pulled Pork Sandwiches are guaranteed to be a hit! The pork is slathered in a spicy and sweet mixture of gochujang, hoisin sauce, and brown sugar; then cooked slow and low for 8 hours. The result is fall off the bone pork that you could literally shred between two fingers. That succulent pork is then tossed in a totally addictive gochujang BBQ sauce. Is your mouth watering yet? The beauty about this dish, is you can make it for parties or barbecues, as it will feed 8 – 10 people. However, if you’re just making it for a small family meal, pulled pork freezes very well. You can also make your own Korean style tacos, pair it with mac n’ cheese, make a pizza, or give it a go on waffles! Have fun with it and be creative – you just might surprise yourself. Slow Cooker Korean Pulled Pork with Cucumber Kimchi and Gochujang BBQ Sauce

Save Print
Slow Cooker Korean Pulled Pork Sandwich
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Korean Fusion
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: Serve 8 - 10
 
Pork slathered in a spicy and sweet bbq sauce, cooked slow and low for 8 hours. The result is fall off the bone pork that you could literally shred between two fingers. Is your mouth watering yet?
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup gochujang
  • ¼ cup hoisin sauce
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 5 pound bone-in pork shoulder (pork butt), trimmed of excess fat
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • Quick Cucumber Kimchi
  • 6 - 8 hamberger buns
  • Gochujang BBQ Sauce
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ cup gochujang
  • ⅔ cup low sodium soy sauce
  • ⅔ cup rice vinegar
  • ⅔ cup brown sugar
  • 1⅓ cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup fresh lime juice
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, combine the gochujang, hoisin, and brown sugar. Place the pork into the slow cooker and rub the gochujang paste all over. Pour the chicken stock into the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours.
  2. To make the Gochujang BBQ Sauce - in a large sauce pan over medium heat, heat the oil and sauté the garlic just until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients. Turn the heat down to low and stir occasionally for 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Do not let the sauce boil.
  4. When the pork is done cooking, remove from the slow cooker and place in a large bowl. Take two forks and shred. Pour half of the BBQ sauce over top and toss to combine.
  5. Pile the pulled pork on top of the bottom bun, top with the Cucumber Kimchi, and place the top bun on top. Serve with extra BBQ sauce on the side. Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Korean Pulled Pork with Cucumber Kimchi and Gochujang BBQ Sauce

Comments

  1. Hi! I made these for a baby shower a few years ago. They were a hit! I want to make it for a graduation party this weekend but some of the links no longer work, specifically for the cucumber kimchi and the gochujang bbq sauce. Would you mind emailing me the recipe so I can make a grocery list? Thank you!

  2. This looks great and since I accidentally thawed a pork loin, the perfect recipe for tonights dinner. Any ideas how to cut down on the heat without losing the depth of flavor? I have a wimpy kid (switched at birth I’m sure) who loves flavor but can’t handle heat.

    • Hi there! I hope I’m not too late in responding for tonight’s dinner! I had to laugh at your ‘switched at birth’ comment. I just had a baby 3 weeks ago and I’m eating spicy food in the hopes that she loves it as much as I do when she gets older 🙂 That being said, I wasn’t a fan of spicy food when I was a kid, but I love it now! So I guess there’s always hope 😉 Ok so unfortunately there’s no really great substitute that cuts out the heat, that I know of. You can buy gochujang in various heat levels, including mild. Coupled with all of the other ingredients, it should cut the heat quite a bit. You can also trying adding less gochujang – just add slowly and taste as you go. I hope you guys enjoy!

  3. Oh deliciousness. My amazing friend gave me homemade gochujang sauce her Korean mother made. So I googled recipes with that ingredient and came up with yours.. Holy mouthwatering goodness. My friend is now going to give me some of her homemade Kimchi to try. We are fast becoming food buddies. Yummy recipe!!!!

    • Oh wow! Homemade gochujang sauce?!!! That is REALLY special! And you can’t beat homemade kimchi – always better than jarred, in my opinion. I hope you enjoy the pulled pork and have a wonderful weekend 🙂

  4. I was considering making this for a friends bridal shower. Do you have any recommendations on how I can heat it up if I make it in the crockpot the day before the shower? Think I can also double the recipe? Will the kimchi keep overnight?

    – Lindsay

    • Hi Lindsay! Oh how exciting! Baby showers are always so much fun. The pulled pork actually reheats very well. If you’re doubling the recipe, buying 1 of those large disposable aluminum pans would work well. Simply heat the oven to 225 degree F. Toss about half of the bbq sauce with the pulled pork to keep it moist as it reheats and then cover the pan with aluminum foil and cook until the meat reaches 165 – about 1 to 1.5 hours. Then serve the rest of the bbq sauce along side for dressing.
      As far as doubling the recipe – yes, that will work just fine! But unless you have a giant slow cooker, I would recommend cooking the 2 pork shoulders separately; maybe see if you can borrow an extra slow cooker to do double-time. And yes, the kimchi will actually keep in the fridge for a month!
      Thanks for the questions, Lindsay. And I hope you all enjoy the shower!

  5. You should repost this with the title of Gochujang Barbecue Sauce. I would have found it sooner!

    • I don’t see my first post about this recipe so this one seems curt. What I mean is, we had this tonight on chicken and it was outstanding. We will be using the barbecue sauce on everything. Can’t wait to try it on ribs

      • No worries, Megan! Your comment didn’t show up immediately because I have to approve them first – your comments should be there now 🙂 The gochujang bbq sauce would be amazing on ribs – I can’t wait to hear how they turn out! Oh, and if you’re interested… I do have a ribs recipe that uses gochujang. You can check it out here, if you like: https://hapanom.com/spicy-pork-ribs/

    • That’s actually a really great idea, Megan. I adapted this bbq sauce from a Sriracha BBQ sauce post did awhile back. I should create a separate post and link it to the sandwiches. Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂

  6. I just made this recipe using chicken breasts, which only took 3 hours in the slow cooker, and it was awesome. I had been looking for a barbecue sauce using gochujang and this will be “it” from now on. We love it and can’t wait to try it on ribs. Thank you!

    • Chicken breast are a fantastic substitution! I’m so glad you enjoyed the dish, Megan. My husband tells me I should bottle the sauce 😉

  7. I tried this recipe today for the first time and it was absolutely fantastic.your Korean BBQ sauce is just unreal.Will definitely be making again (and again)…

    • That’s great – I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And thanks so much for taking the time to let me know, Carrie 🙂

  9. This sandwich is my ultimate comfort food. . LOVE everything about it .. the Korean pulled pork and everything . . down to that brioche bun. Damn, can’t wait to make this!

  10. Seriously girl, my mouth is watering over this amazing fusion sandwich! I LOVE all the flavors you packed in here and your cucumber kimchi sounds just perfect in here! Drooling and pinning!:)

    • Thanks, Kelly! I’ve kinda been on a Korean food kick… if you couldn’t tell 😉 The flavors are just so fantastic and wonderfully balanced in that cuisine!

    • Lol! That’s totally ok, Melissa 😉 Isn’t gochujang amazing?! Seriously, there’s like 101 ways to use that stuff!

  12. Not only are your photos making my mouth water but so are your descriptive words and I just finished eating lunch. I have everything in my house to make this dish except I just need to to grab some pork at the market. This is a perfect dish for Father’s day weekend when you have loads of visitors! Just pinned and shared!

    • Thanks so much my dear 🙂 I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! If you’re having company over for Father’s day weekend, this dish will feed a small army 😉

    • I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe, Annie! This dish can definitely feed a hungry family 😉

  16. Although I don’t eat pork, I know that my boyfriend and his buddies would love this sandwich during football season. It’s easy too to just let the slow cooker do it’s magic. I would be all over that kimchi though. 😀 It looks fantastic.

    • Thanks so much! You are so right, Erin! A dish like this is perfect for football season. I’ve made it for several super bowls and it’s always gone by the end of the game 🙂

    • Thanks! I love fusion dishes, particularly the east meets west kind. And yes, it’s perfect for parties – easy to prepare and it can feed a small army 😉

  20. Amazing, Kathleen! I love that you roasted the pork in the gochujang. I was at a food show today and was watching a TV chef over here make a recipe using it – he just soaked cabbage leaves in it to make a sort of very simple kimchee. It seems Korean food is becoming quite trendy!
    The burgers really do sound delicious. Love your photos, too! (I know, I always say that, but it’s always true!)

    • You’re so sweet, Helen! Thank you! Yes, I think Korean/Korean Fusion is totally trending right now. And gochujang is my ‘new’ favorite ingredient – it makes everything taste amazing!

  21. Omg- I bet this is one seriously delectable sammie! I read the first part of this post, then read the kimchee post, then came back here to this sandwich 🙂 Killer combination of flavors..my mouth is watering just dreaming of stuffing my face with this bad boy!! Yum × a million ♡ Cheers, girlie!

  22. Oh. My. God. This is SO my type of food!! I can’t wait to try this. I have to! I’m not even going to wait until I have company. This has the potential to be like the Thai soup. I make it over and over and over again…..

    • I had a feeling you may like this one 😉 If we only lived closer, I would suggest throwing a party of porktasktic goodness. Between this and your awesome carnitas, I think we’d have a winner 🙂

  23. My mouth is totally watering right now! I adore pulled pork and these look fantastic! Can you believe that I’ve never had kimchi? It looks delicious!

  25. These are definitely a hit! I just moved my slow cooker to the garage (storage), because I thought I won’t be using it in the summer 🙁 But then I keep seeing awesome recipes like the one and will need to take it back! Love pulled pork sandwiches and the flavors in these are amazing!

    • Thank you, Mira. Funny, I actually use my slow cooker more in the summer because it doesn’t give off a lot of heat. But I hear ya, I’ve got so much extra cooking equipment, I have to rotate out between seasons too 😉

  28. Kathleen…I LOVE pulled pork because of its versatility!!! Use it in sammies, carnitas, tacos, philly steak sammies, cheese steak sammies…ohhh damn, I just gave myself an idea 🙂 Lovely post girly!

  29. Sharing to Welcome to My Kitchen tomorrow and pinned it-awesome. My daughter-in-law is Korean and and we have grown to love Korean food. I even make my own kimchi! Will make your mozzarella soon. All I need is some get up and go!

    • Thanks so much, Charles! Isn’t Korean food great! The flavors are just so bold – it’s fantastic!

    • Oh it’s so good on pulled pork – the flavors balance perfectly! It’s one Mr. HapaNom’s new favorites 😉

Trackbacks

Creative Commons License
Hapa Nom Nom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at hapanom.com.

Sharing Recipes

All images, recipes, and text on this site are my intellectual property and are protected under copyright. You are welcome to write about my recipe in your own words; however, please re-write the recipe and instructions and link back to Hapa Nom Nom as the original source. Thank you!
Subscribe
Get every new delicious dish delivered straight to your inbox!

Join other followers

Powered By WPFruits.com