The Spicy Sauce Your Pulled Pork Sandwich Needs ASAP

To give levels of heat to a pulled pork sandwich, you might use a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce or a dash of your favorite hot sauce. Those work, but out of all of the ingredients that can improve pulled pork sandwiches, there's one sauce that hails from Mozambique that will really amp up the spice levels and flavors. It's all about the piri-piri sauce, according to Mary Fawzy, a food writer and professional recipe developer for Tasting Table.

For anyone who hasn't tasted piri-piri sauce, perhaps on grilled chicken, it has tangy and spicy notes from ingredients like vinegar, garlic, and fresh lemon juice. But what really makes piri-piri sauce unique is the type of peppers that will give that heat to any pulled pork sandwich. The go-to varieties are typically red Thai peppers or African bird's eye chili peppers, the latter of which can contain up to 175,000 Scoville heat units. Thai peppers range between 50,000 and 100,000 Scoville units, so while still hot, it's milder if you don't want to overwhelm your pulled pork. According to Fawzy, that heat from the chilis is partly why it's the ideal sauce to elevate your next pulled pork sandwich.

Homemade is always best, so make piri-piri sauce like Curtis Stone, skip the rest of the recipe, and focus on the sauce. There are also plenty of other recipes online if you want to make it from scratch another way. Then, there are the store-bought bottles of piri-piri sauce that you can find at many major grocers. Or you can always head to Amazon and buy this Nando's peri-peri sauce (yes, it's spelled two ways), which is from a popular South African chicken chain that's all the rage across the UK too.

Whether you use homemade or bottled sauce, you can toss your pulled pork in the piri-piri sauce to let the meat soak up the flavors. Another option is to squirt it on top like any other condiment so that everyone can use it as much as they prefer, with heat levels in mind. Try it with our easy pulled pork recipe if you don't already have some on hand. To offset the richness of the pork and heat from the sauce, pair it with an apple and cucumber slaw or mix the sauce with mayonnaise for a balance of flavor. And according to Mary Fawzy, other easy additions to your next pulled pork sandwich range from pickled red onions to cheddar cheese.