How Too Much Sauce Can Ruin Your Pulled Pork Sandwiches
A BBQ pulled pork sandwich is a delicious option for when you want something with a juicy, savory base — the pork — complete with a sweet, tangy, smoky topping — the barbecue sauce. Completed by two soft buns (and a layer of coleslaw, if that's your preference), the pulled pork sandwich makes for one satisfying meal. But there is one detail that, if done wrong, can ruin the experience: The amount of sauce.
Namely, if you accidentally incorporate too much sauce, the flavor and texture of the pork are going to be completely overwhelmed by the sauce — meaning you'll have a soggy mess, including buns that are potentially too soaked to hold, that is also missing the complex flavors of the slow-roasted pork. In other words, it'll be the opposite of a satisfying meal and can even deter you from wanting to make a homemade pulled pork sandwich again.
Seeing that the amount of sauce is a delicate matter, it's important to proceed with caution when it comes to handling the barbecue sauce. So how much is too much?
It's better to be sparing with the sauce and add more as needed
If you're looking for an exact answer as to how much sauce you should include in a batch of pulled pork, we can look to Tasting Table's recipe for easy pulled pork. The recipe uses a whole 21-ounce bottle for a batch that serves six people — that means that each serving uses up three and a half ounces of sauce, which you can use as a guide next time you're whipping up pulled pork sandwiches and want a number to guide you.
However, there is no perfect answer to how much sauce should go on a pulled pork sandwich because it comes down to personal preference. Really, it's better to put less then add more later if you need to. This can be done two ways: Either you can add the sauce to a batch and do a taste test before serving out the portions, or you could leave the sauce out and have each person add their desired amount of sauce to their own sandwich. With the latter, you can even have a portion of extra sauce handy so that you can add more to each bite if needed.
If you order a pulled pork sandwich at a restaurant and you're worried about the possibility of too much sauce, you could always see if it's possible for them to go light on the sauce or serve it on the side.