Need sauce and/or vinegar-based slaw ideas for pulled pork sammitches

Smoking a rubbed pork butt or two this weekend for a family event. Will pull and go on sandwiches. I prefer a vinegar-based slaw, but haven't made one myself yet. Am I overthinking the slaw? Do a basic cabbage mix, sugar, apple cider vinegar, carrots, celery seed? Maybe go a little heavy on black pepper. I want the pork to be the focus. Definitely no BBQ sauce.

Thoughts?

The ingredients you listed are all you need. If I follow recipes, I end up often with slaw that is too soupy, so I dial down the salt and sugar (believe this is what attacks the cell walls of the cabbage, and releases a lot of the moisture). If I have any, I'll add a little mayo or sour cream (not much, and never in the amounts most recipes that include them call for). With BBQ, I do something I saw Bobby Flay do on some cooking show. He added a recipe's worth of celery seed, tasted it, and jacked it another 2 times -- very aggressive amount of celery seed. I've tried it, and it makes great slaw with a bite, pairing well with smoking BBQ.

Cheers,

Jack

Thanks, Jack!

Salting the cabbage beforehand and then rinsing helps prevent soupy slaw. Here is a nice recipe from chef steps: http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/red-coleslaw

Add red onion or scallions and flat leaf parsley.

Sounds great, panda, thanks.

+1 to the pre-salting/draining, and the mayo/celery seed. If you're making the mayo yourself, substitute the lemon juice for red wine vin. Works great with the cabbage.

Rice wine vinegar and fresh lime juice are a great combo for slaw base with you standard spices. Customized a little or a lot. A little sugar or honey. Scallions. Chopped p nuts , cashews, maybe a few drops sesame oil and or sesame seeds, a little fresh ginger and a little soy sauce

Thanks, Mike. Everyone has given good advice!

panda said:

Add red onion or scallions and flat leaf parsley.

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I'd use pickled red onions! Either in the slaw or on the pork...

I was thinking of doing that! Love pickled red onions.

brianh said:

I was thinking of doing that! Love pickled red onions.

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They're the best, i could eat them with everything. Matter of fact, just had them with avocado on whole wheat Italian bread ...

How do you do yours? I like an overnight lime and orange juice pickle, no vinegar. Might add some serrano or even habanero to this round.

Wow, never saw that recipe... Gotta try!

brianh said:

How do you do yours? I like an overnight lime and orange juice pickle, no vinegar. Might add some serrano or even habanero to this round.

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Do the habanero, results are excellent.

1 red onion - thinly sliced
1 habanero - stemmed, seeded, minced or slivered
1 lime + 1/2 orange - juiced
salt
cilantro (optional)

combine, let sit until onion wilts

Started the smoke at 4am. Not the most pleasant time of day for me.

About 15 pounds in total. Right now I'm at the Texas crutch.
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