I recently reviewed The South’s Best Butts, a different barbecue book. Author Matt Moore has a middle section where he explores a dozen barbecue spots across the Southeast. He covers the owners, presents their most special recipes, and can provide quite an urge to begin cooking. These are mostly the small, hole-in-the-wall spots that you might drive right by but that happen to serve world class barbecue. And sides and desserts.
Everybody seems to like pulled pork and a pulled pork slider can be delightful. Particularly when served on petite sweet potato biscuits! This is not the quickest recipe, so I suggest you invest a Sunday afternoon. Make the pork, cool, it and pull away.
Petite Sweet Potato Biscuits with Pulled Pork and Slaw
Yield: serves 12
Ingredients:
For the biscuits:
- 1 ½ cups mashed cooked sweet potato
- 1 cup (8 ounces) whole buttermilk
- 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) salted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 ⅓ A cups self-rising flour
For the sliders:
- 1 cup finely chopped red cabbage
- ½ cup shredded carrots, chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup barbecue sauce
- ¼ cup sliced scallions
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 12 Sweet Potato Biscuits (recipe included here)
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ pound pulled pork (without sauce), warmed
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Preparation:
To make the biscuits, preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease (with cooking spray) a baking sheet. Stir together the potato, buttermilk, and butter in a large bowl. Add the sugar, baking soda, and 3 cups of the flour stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 8 to 10 times, adding up to A cup more flour to prevent dough from sticking. Roll the dough to ¾ inch thick; cut with a 2-inch round cutter. Place the biscuits on prepared baking sheet.
Bake at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 2 dozen
To make the sliders, toss together the first 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. Rinse and drain well. Whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of the barbecue sauce in a medium bowl. Stir in the cabbage mixture and the scallions. Add the salt and the pepper to taste.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Split the biscuits, and brush with the butter. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 450°F for 5 minutes or until golden.
Top the biscuit halves evenly with the pork, remaining barbecue sauce, slaw, and chives.
Source: The South’s Best Butts by Matt Moore [Oxmoor House, 2017]