BBQ Pork Sandwich with Slaw

This juicy BBQ Pork Sandwich is filled with delicious sliced pork, homemade BBQ sauce and served on a soft bread roll with fresh and crunchy slaw.

BBQ Pork comes in many forms, all of which are delicious. You can slow cook it for hours, or if you’ve got a little less time (like on a weeknight), you can cook up a tenderloin, slice it finely and slather it with BBQ sauce. Either way you know it’s going to be satisfyingly sticky and scrumptious.

In this recipe, we’re going to make our very own BBQ sauce from scratch. It takes just five minutes, and I love it because it’s super tasty, but it means that now you have this base recipe you can adjust it to suit your own tastes.

How to make homemade BBQ sauce?

Homemade BBQ sauce is so quick, simple and easy. All you have to do is mix together brown sugar, garlic powder, tomato sauce (ketchup), Dijon mustard, dark soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper, then simmer over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until it thickens. You can also try Worcestershire sauce instead of (or in addition to) dark soy sauce.

What to put on a BBQ pork sandwich?

For me, there are a few things that make this BBQ pork sandwich great.

1. Soft bread rolls - you want these soft and white - think a bap roll. Steer away from brioche buns because there is already a lot of sweetness in the BBQ sauce, and adding this to brioche will give you that sickly sweet flavour that I think is a bit much.
2. Crisp slaw - you want lovely fresh, crunchy veggies to cut through the sweetness of the pork and the softness of the bun. I used carrot, cucumber and capsicum (bell peppers), added some coriander (cilantro), and made a dressing of lemon juice and mayonnaise.
3. Perfectly cooked, finely sliced pork fillet - we’ll pan fry our tenderloin, then cook it in the oven for 15 minutes. This will give us a lovely crispy edge and well cooked pork, without being tough or dry. Make sure you let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. This means that the juices won’t escape when you cut it (and it won’t go dry).

What flavours go well with BBQ pork?

I love to serve my BBQ pork with a nice tart lemon mayonnaise or lemon juice and Greek yoghurt dressing, like the one in this recipe, to cut through the sweetness of the BBQ pork. 

Coleslaw is another classic side for BBQ pork, because it gives you that really fresh and lovely relief from the richness of the pork. In this recipe, I serve the fresh veggies on the pork roll, then once everyone has been served I mix the remaining vegetables with the lemon mayo to make a slaw that goes on the side.

Substitutions for Pork

• Alternative proteins - Instead of pork tenderloin fillet you could use steak.
• Vegetarian - Swap pork fillet for pulled jackfruit. If using young jackfruit you will need to increase the cooking time. Simmer on the stove, then once you can pull it apart, add the BBQ sauce.
• Gluten Free - Swap bread rolls for GF bread rolls. Use GF dark soy sauce, or GF Worcestershire sauce in its place.
• Dairy Free - This recipe is dairy free.

Kid-Friendly Variations

• Slice your child’s portion of cucumber into batons and peel carrot and chop into batons. 
• Serve kids carrot, cucumber and capsicum. Slice pork and place on bread rolls.

Equipment

You will need an oven, an oven proof casserole dish or a baking tray, a saucepan, a stovetop, a large frying pan (if not using a casserole dish).

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