I remember the first time I tried pulled pork fries at the movie theater.
I loved it so much that I finished the last fry before the pre-movie trailers even finished!
Since then, I’ve been obsessed with making pulled pork fries for our at-home movie nights. Let me share my cherished recipe with you!
🧑🍳 Important Pulled Pork Fries Components
Pork Shoulder: I always use pork shoulder for pulled pork as it gets so tender once cooked slowly. It’s usually a more affordable cut, too, so it’s perfect for cooking pulled pork fries on a budget!
Seasoning Mixture: For this recipe, we’ll keep the seasoning mix simple with some salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder.
BBQ Sauce: The BBQ sauce will be the ingredient to really add flavor to the pulled pork. Choose your preferred brand or experiment with making one from home!
Frozen Crinkle-Cut Fries: This recipe works well whether you use regular frozen fries or crinkle-cut fries. I personally prefer the latter, as it provides more texture and creates more crispy areas!
Cheese: Use the classic combination of cheddar cheese with mozzarella cheese to have both the melted stretchiness of mozzarella and the familiar flavor of cheddar cheese.
Garnishes: Crown your fresh-from-the-oven pulled pork fries with fresh garnishes such as scallions and chilies for presentation and flavor! Serve with sour cream as a dipping sauce.
🥘 Ways to Customize This Recipe
The best part about cooking pulled pork fries instead of just ordering them is you’ll be able to fully customize the dish according to your preferences!
Here are some customization ideas:
- Spicy Variant: Add sliced jalapeños and mix the shredded pork with buffalo sauce instead of barbecue sauce to enjoy spicy pulled pork fries that are still just as good!
- Nacho-Fusion: Instead of just using a bed of fries, add some nachos into the mix as well, to enjoy nacho-fries that offer your dish more textures and flavors!
Customize the Toppings: The easiest way to customize your pulled pork fries is to customize the toppings you choose! There are really no “wrong” toppings for this dish, so feel free to get creative!
Irresistible BBQ Pulled Pork Fries for the Crowd
This recipe takes a bit of time to cook, but all the effort is well worth it once you and your loved ones try the combination of crispy fries, melted cheese, and extra-tender BBQ pulled pork!
Ingredients
For the Pulled Pork:
- 2 pounds of pork shoulder (or pork butt)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of paprika
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon of onion powder
- 1 cup of BBQ sauce
For the Fries:
- 16 ounces of frozen crinkle-cut French fries
For the Toppings:
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup of scallions, sliced (green parts only)
- Sliced fresh chilies (optional)
- Sour cream (optional for serving)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C).
- As your oven heats up, season the pork shoulder using salt, black pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Rub the seasoning mixture so that every inch of the pork gets covered by it.
- Once the oven reaches the desired temperature, which usually takes about 10-15 minutes, add the pork shoulder to the oven, covered with aluminum foil. Bake it for 3 hours or until the pork is tender enough to shred with minimal effort using a fork.
- When the pork’s all nice and tender, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
- While the pork rests, increase the oven’s temperature to 425°F (220°C) so you can bake your fries faster later.
- Using two forks, shred the pork into thread-like pieces, and in a bowl, mix the shredded pork with your preferred BBQ sauce. Don’t make the mixture too saucy. You just want the BBQ sauce to season the shredded pork, so add the BBQ sauce in small increments if needed.
- On a baking sheet, spread the frozen crinkle-cut fries in a single layer. Then, bake the fries according to the package instructions, until they’re golden and crispy. Make sure to turn the fries halfway to ensure even cooking.
- Once the fries are perfectly cooked, remove their tray from the oven. Layer the shredded pork on top of the fries evenly, followed by the cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake the tray again for about 5 to 10 minutes to melt the cheese.
- After that, remove the tray from the oven and garnish with your preferred toppings, such as scallions and chilies. Serve these pulled pork fries on the tray as is, or divide them into portions before serving!
Notes
Image credit to ©fourcornersch.
Featured image credit to ©firehouse.grill.