I have been going to the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival for a few years (at Walt Disney World Epcot Center) and this was Curtis' first year. I have so much to share with you including this recipe for Kalua Pulled Pork Sliders made in a slow cooker (yeah!) that I'm sharing with another post about my favorites overall at the festival.
We went opening weekend, thanks to Disney for inviting us to attend their opening weekend press event…before we left, Curtis said please make the pulled pork sliders. I had been eyeing the Festival cookbook. It's a hardcover edition this year because it's the 20th annual festival…I can't believe it's been going on for 20 year!
Let's talk about the festival. There are so many marketplaces for you to try, so many great food inspired by different countries. When you get inside Epcot, the first thing you wan to do is grab the festival passport and a gift card. Load the gift card to make it easy to pay and use the passport as a guide, it has all of the marketplaces listed along with all of the food and drink you can enjoy!
It's grillin' Mickey!
The Festival cookbook got an upgrade this year for the 20th anniversary, it's a hardcover edition and there are tons of recipes I want to try. I'm so glad I bought it the last time I attended the festival.
And there's the pulled pork sliders. You can get in the Hawaii marketplace. I also got the poke tuna and Curtis Kona Brewing beer too.
It was such a pretty weekend! Love the clouds.
All of the marketplaces are well-decorated according to themes from the countries or areas they represent.
And a lot of the greenery that the festival organizers use have to do with the produce they use in the dishes too!
We stayed at the Boardwalk Inn which is within walking distance to Epcot Center. I love the decor of the hotel.
After a fun and food-filled day, the walk back to the Boardwalk is so pretty!
Turn down service! I love that they leave taffy on your pillow at night.
Now back to these pulled pork sliders. I'm so glad Curtis suggested I make these at home. They are so wonderful. We even froze half of it in the freezer for a dinner later on…because it made so much!
Curtis actually picked up a bone-in pork shoulder so I removed the bone.
Just add salt and pepper and put it in the slow cooker. We couldn't find banana leaves so that's it. I couldn't believe how easy it was.
Cut the red pepper into thin strips and then dice. That's how you can get a small dice on veggies.
Add the ingredients for the chutney into a pot.
And bring to a boil and cook down.
Add all of the ingredients for the spicy mayo (I love sriracha!) and whisk.
It's a beautiful thing!
Make these and go to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival…you'll thank me later. 🙂
Kalua Pulled Pork Sliders with Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayo Recipe
Ingredients
Kalua Pork
- 1 4-pound boneless pork shoulder (also called boneless pork butt)
- 1 large organic banana leaf, cut in half widthwise, optional
- coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pineapple Chutney
- 1 pound diced pineapple, I used canned tidbits, partially drained
- 1 large sweet yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 small red bell pepper, diced small
- 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
- 1 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic, about 3 cloves
- 1 Tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
- coarse salt, to taste
Spicy Mayonnaise
- 6 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons Sriracha, Asian hot chili sauce
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- coarse salt, to taste
- Brioche Rolls or Hawaiian sweet rolls
Instructions
Kalua Pork
- If you bought a bone-in piece of pork, cut out the bone. Cut pork into two pieces and season with salt and pepper and wrap each piece in a banana leaf half. (I omitted this since I couldn't find banana leaves near me.)
- Place pork in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on the lowest setting for 8 to 10 hours, until meat shreds easily with a fork.
- Remove the meat from the slow cooker, reserving drippings. Discard banana leaves, if using. Shred meat, adding drippings as needed to moisten.
Pineapple Chutney
- Combine all of the chutney ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until pineapple starts falling apart and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Allow to cool and then refrigerate in a sealed container until ready to serve.
Spicy Mayonnaise
- Â Whisk together all of the ingredients for the spicy mayo in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve
- Cut rolls in half. Place warm pulled pork on bottom of the roll. Place pineapple chutney on top and drizzle spicy mayo over the chutney. Top with second half of the roll and repeat.
Notes
Disclosure: I was hosted by Walt Disney World as a media guest for the opening weekend of the Festival. The opinions I share are always my own and always share with you what I love.