Is a grilled cheese with meat really a melt, not a grilled cheese? That is the question. I polled nearly 2,000 people on Instagram and had 921 votes for melt, 166 votes for grilled cheese, and 652 votes for it doesn’t matter. So, I’m here to ignore 921 people by calling this extra meaty sandwich a pulled pork grilled cheese. Deal with it!
Nomenclature aside, this grilled cheese recipe is an awesome way to use leftover pulled pork or any pulled or shredded protein. The sourdough bread is grilled with a buttery garlic mayo for an extra crisp and tangy crust. And the most important part, the cheese, is a blend of American, Colby Jack, and Provolone for tons of flavor and melty cheese pulls.
See? Cheese pulls to the max. Let’s talk about how to make them.
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Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need:
- sourdough bread
- butter and mayo
- a clove of crushed garlic (or garlic powder) and minced parsley (or parsley flakes)
- American, Colby Jack, and Provolone cheese slices (or your choice of cheese)
- pulled pork
The Bread
As you can see, there’s plenty of wiggle room on ingredient selection. I think sourdough is a great grilled cheese bread choice, but I’m sure that’s up for debate. Use any bread you want.
The Best Cheese for a Grilled Cheese
Go with American that’s sliced at the deli if possible. Worst case, the little American singles still melt like butter. You can put American cheese with just about any other cheese and it’ll melt really well.
Get creative with your cheese selection. It’s tough to go wrong here unless you use a cheese with a high moisture content that’ll get soggy. Ew.
Side note: I think some sautéed red onion and havarti cheese go together with bbq pulled pork and chicken like spaghetti and meatballs. Check out our BBQ chicken quesadillas for an example.
The Pulled Pork
And finally, the pulled pork. We had some leftover from a local BBQ spot, but you could certainly make your own. Check out our pressure cooker pulled pork, Instant Pot BBQ pulled chicken, or slow cooker BBQ chicken thighs if you’re looking for something easy to make.
You could also use chopped pork tenderloin like our BBQ pork fried cauliflower rice calls for.
Well, I think that’s a wrap sandwich. If you have any ingredient or recipe questions, don’t hesitate to ask. And if you enjoy this pulled pork grilled cheese recipe, we always appreciate recipe reviews!
Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese
BBQ pulled pork with a 3-cheese blend between buttery garlic mayo grilled sourdough.
Ingredients
- 4 large slices Sourdough Bread
- 1 Tbsp (14g) Butter
- 2 Tbsp (30g) Mayo
- 1 clove Garlic, crushed
- 1 small handful Parsley, minced
- 4 slices American Cheese
- 2 slices Colby Jack Cheese
- 2 slices Provolone Cheese
- 8 oz Leftover or Prepared Pulled Pork, reheated
- 1-2 tsp Olive Oil or Cooking Spray, for grilling
Instructions
- Microwave the butter in a small bowl for 10 seconds to soften before mixing with the crushed garlic, parsley, and mayo.
- Spread the mayo mixture evenly across the 4 slices of bread.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat with a teaspoon of olive oil. Once hot, place the bread mayo-side down and top each bread slice with two slices of cheese. (I like doing one American slice per piece of bread mixed with another cheese.)
- Once the cheese starts to melt, add the reheated pulled pork on top of one half of each sandwich before folding the other slice over, enclosing the sandwich.
- Continue cooking until each side of the grilled cheese is golden brown and the cheese is fully melted. (If your pan is too hot and the sandwich browns before the cheese melts, you can cover the pan.)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1/2 SandwichAmount Per Serving: Calories: 443Total Fat: 18gCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 24g
Emily
Thursday 15th of September 2022
Easily the best grilled cheese and pork sandwiches. I love the addition of the garlic on the outside of the bread. I ‘may’ have used double your recipe. Lol.