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Thank you for the amazing recipe! My boyfriend and I just got done devouring it. We have pretty different tastes when it comes to food, and the mix between sweet and savory was perfect for both of us. Thanks so much!
This post is sponsored by King’s Hawaiian, maker of pillowy soft sweet sandwich buns that are the vessel of choice for this grilled pineapple pork sandwich business. Check out their first ever commercial here to see people go pupule (crayyyzee!) for this bread.
Happy Father’s Day almost!
I pinkie promise that this recipe has nothing to do with my personal love and adoration of grilled pineapple and everything to do with making something nice and meat-lovery for Dad. See how thoughtful I am? Just because my thoughtfulness just happens to come through via my food obsessions doesn’t mean that this is about me. It’s my love language and it’s called gifts and foods, foods that are gifts, gifts that can be used to make food, and so on. And I’m using the gifts and food love language to speak to all the great dads everywhere: YoU’rE dA BeSt YoU gUyS!
And if this gifting opportunity for Dad doubles as a chance for me to put grilled pineapple on my juicy shredded pork sandwiches, to that I say –> win win.
Here’s the thing about me + meat.
I could usually do fine without it. Tofu and veggies of the honey ginger garlic variety has me totally captivated.
But pork is in a meat category all its own for me and I do not care to find out what life would be like without it. I mean, hullo? Bacon? And breakfast sausage? and adobo, and carnitas, and chorizo, and humba? My pork loyalty runs strong and deep. And this just in: I’ve accepted my place in the pork all-star super fan club by slow cooking it in pineapple juice and soy sauce with bell peppers and jalapeno and red onions, and then broiling it to golden browned bits of perfection and THEN topping it with grilled pineapple and serving it up on a soft, sweet King’s Hawaiian sandwich bun. Like whoa. I can feel myself about to hula dance.
Much like the simple french toast bake that we talked about for Mother’s Day, this is one of those recipes that allows the maker to enjoy a few hours of fun and games while the whole thing basically cooks itself. It’s like a cooking freebie.
And I can think of one person who might enjoy a little bit of your extra time and attention this weekend pre-face-stuffing of the grilled pineapple pork sandwich —> Dad <—! How perfectly perfect.
PS. I used my regular slow cooker for this recipe which is a Crock-Pot that I’ve had for the last five years. SO MUCH FOOD has come out of that thing over the life of this blog which is pretty impressive for a $28 kitchen appliance.
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Grilled Pineapple Pork Sandwiches
- Total Time: 6 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
These Grilled Pineapple Pork Sandwiches are easy and delicious! Featuring juicy shredded pork and sweet sandwich rolls from King’s Hawaiian.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder or pork butt
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 1–2 jalapenos, diced (keep the seeds for a little heat)
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 8 King’s Hawaiian sandwich buns
- 1 pineapple, peeled and cored
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley for topping
Instructions
- Place the pork shoulder, garlic, onion, peppers, jalapeno, pineapple juice, and soy sauce in a slow cooker. Cover and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. Shred directly in the slow cooker with two forks.
- Cover a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Use tongs to transfer the meat to the covered baking sheet, letting the extra juice drip off back into the slow cooker before transferring, otherwise you’ll have a big mess on your hands. Arrange the meat in an even layer and bake for 15 minutes or until some of the pieces are turning golden brown. Mine actually turned a reddish golden brown, which is fine – the color is from the red peppers. Remove the meat from the oven and gently toss all the pieces with tongs. Drizzle with a little bit of juice from the slow cooker.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Cut the pineapple into rings and cut each ring in half. When the skillet is hot, add the pineapple slices and “grill” them for a few minutes on each side to get a nice golden brown color, or you could grill them for real on the actual grill. Arrange the meat and pineapple on each sandwich bun and sprinkle with a tiny bit of cilantro or parsley for some fresh green color. Use the juice in the slow cooker to re-moisten the meat or give a little extra shine to the pineapple slices.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Hawaiian-Inspired
Keywords: pineapple pork sandwiches, hawaiian pork sandwiches, grilled pork sandwiches
This post is sponsored by King’s Hawaiian
Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links.
This grilled pineapple pork sandwich recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it for our next cookout. The combination of sweet and savory is always a winner in my book. Thanks for sharing!
This grilled pineapple pork sandwich recipe looks absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try it out this weekend. The combination of sweet and savory is always a winner in my book. Thanks for sharing!
Could this be made without the bell peppers or tomatoes. We just found out my daughter can’t eat anything with that? Or what could be subbed with? Thanks !
Hi Rosa! You can simply leave them out. Enjoy!
I eat your meals almost every night of the week 😍. Any recommendation if we don’t have a slow cooker? I’m living in airbnbs these days.
Do you have an Instant Pot? If so, cook time would probably be 30-45 minutes. If not, you could braise the pork in a Dutch oven or large pot on the stovetop. We’ve never tested this way, but I’d brown the pork in oil on all sides first and then remove from the pot. Then, saute the onion, garlic, and peppers. Add the pork back in. Pour in the pineapple juice, soy sauce, and maybe a cup of broth. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot, and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the pork is tender and easily shreddable. If you give it a try, we’d love to hear back!
This was a real family pleaser! I made a few modifications that aren’t at all necessary but we enjoyed: (1) I rubbed the pork with garlic powder and smoked sea salt, then seared all sides before putting it in the slow cooker (2) I briefly sauteed the onions and red peppers in the searing pan then added them to the slow cooker. (3) I made a sauce by bringing to boil some brown sugar, pineapple juice, and drippings from the pork and simmering it until it was thickened. (4) I brushed the pineapple rings with the sauce prior to searing them in a cast iron pan.
DELICIOUS! Thanks for the inspiration!!
Thanks so much for the comment! So glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe!
Absolutely delicious, and very easy to put together.
Could you make this in a pressure cooker?
We haven’t tried this in the pressure cooker yet, but we don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Let us know how this goes for you!
Hi Lindsey, These sandwiches look amazing and I am planning to make them for my father in laws lunch Sunday. Any suggestions for sides?
Has anyone made the leap to making this in an Instant Pot / pressure cooker? Thinking I will try it as dinner is fewer than 5 hours away 🙂
Hi Hilary, I’m wondering the same thing. Did you try it?
fast to cook and good to eat. i made this for my bae and he flipped. thanks a ton Linsay :*
I made this tonight. Outstanding sandwich! Very sloppy, but worth the hose down afterward! ; )
Ha! Glad to hear it. 🙂
What is the point of putting the meat in the oven?
Hi Ellen! We like to put it in the oven just to broil it and get it a little crispy. 🙂
I’m planning on making this for a group of 20 tomorrow. Think I can make the pork ahead (even today) in the crockpot then save the oven, crisping part for tomorrow right before I serve it? Thanks!
Yep, that should work well! 🙂
Did you use boneless or bone-in? I could only find 4.20lb bone-in shoulder so wondering how I should adjust ingredients.
Hi Michelle! We used a boneless shoulder.
How can I cook this in the oven? Don’t have a crock pot handy, and as it is already 2:30 and I will need to serve dinner before 7, I am running a little behind. All the recipes I have found are for 4+ lbs of meat.
Hi, Caitlin! In general, dishes that would be cooked 4 to 6 hours on high, would need 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours in the oven at 325 degrees. My guess is that this meat would take around 2 hours or slightly less.
This looks great! I usually don’t eat jalapeños unless they are served without the seeds and membranes (I’m a spice wimp), but never bother taking the time to do that myself, since it kind of defeats the purpose of having them in there in the first place 🙂 Any suggestions for a substitution, such as a seasoning or other vegetable? Or would the recipe be fine without it? Thank you!
Hi, Lia! I think the recipe would be just fine without the jalepenos. They’re basically there to add some heat, so if you don’t want the heat you can skip them. 🙂
Thank you for the amazing recipe! My boyfriend and I just got done devouring it. We have pretty different tastes when it comes to food, and the mix between sweet and savory was perfect for both of us. Thanks so much!
Love hearing that. Thanks Kristen!
Hey Lindsay! Just made these tasty grilled pork sammiches today 🙂 My family really liked them! The flavor of everything made the meat taste just a wee bit on the tart side. They were pretty dang yummy still! Was hoping for a more smoky flavor. Any suggestions on what to use next time for a more smoky flavor? I was thinking maybe teriyaki sauce.
I do think that the teriyaki flavor would make it a little more salty and rich. I don’t know if that’s what you mean by smoky? I guess I don’t know. Have you ever used liquid smoke? That’s what I always think of when I think of smoky flavor. 🙂 Also, smoky barbeque sauce!
I made this today and it is outstanding! I didn’t need a lot of pork since it is just for the two of us, but I made all of it and for tomorrow I am going to use some of the left over pulled pork to make cheesy pulled pork nachos!
Great idea Julie! I love it.
Every time I come across delicious looking recipes, such as this one, on Pinterest and I note the source I always do a mental “of course it looks so good, it’s from pinch of yum”. Your photos make everything look so appealing and your recipes alway back them up. Thank you for taking the time to share, the world is a better place for it!
Thanks Lakey! That’s so great to hear! 🙂
I know fresh is usually best, and I do love fresh pineapple. But we just are not BBQers. How do you think this would be using canned pineapple? (To be honest, I absolutely adore canned pineapple and have been known to eat an entire can by myself.)
Totally doable! I like fresh better but I think either way it would be delish.
Hey Lindsay! Thinking about making this recipe but my husband and I are trying to watch what we eat—do you have any idea of the nutritional facts? Even an estimate would be helpful. Thanks!
Hi Melissa! I often use this website to calculate the nutrition facts by just entering the ingredients and serving size. https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Totally feel you on the meat thing- I could go without it most days, but bacon!! This looks DELICIOUS – we don’t have anything remotely close to good BBQ or pulled pork where I live in Holland.. so this looks like a fab option for meeeee!
Enjoy! 🙂
Another delicious recipe!! I already had some Crockpot pulled pork in the freezer, so I just put it in a Dutch oven with all the other yummy ingredients and let it simmer away. So good!
More than a pinch of yum (sorry couldn’t help it) – these look amazing – can’t wait to try! It’s probably largely your fault I bought a slow cooker so I might as well use it as much as possible 😉
Thankfifi
I am willing to take the blame for that. 🙂