This is a special message from the National Pork Board

Pulled pork is not just for barbecue any more. Restaurants are adding pulled pork to menus in everything from breakfast sandwiches to ethnic cuisines to fast casual alternatives to trendy “better burgers.” Industry experts say the slow-cooked pork shoulder provides a tasty, healthful offering at a low price.

“In world cuisine you will see pork in the shredded format because it’s a good way to take an inexpensive cut, make it tender, and feed a lot of people at a low cost,” says Ted Stoner, director of strategic product development for Qdoba Mexican Grill. “It is one of our more profitable proteins.”

In April, the Wheat Ridge, Colorado-based chain added Mini Street Tacos nationwide for a limited time offer (LTO). The three small soft corn tortillas were filled with a choice of either shredded beef or slow-roasted pulled pork, topped with a red onion and cilantro garnish. The full order with a side of ancho chili barbecue beans had a price point of $4.99. Stoner explains that by adding an LTO, the 525-unit Qdoba did not have to reduce the price of an existing menu item, then raise the price again and anger customers.

“We wanted to create something unique with a value price platform, and at the same time turn people on to something different,” he says.

Consumers do want something different. According to Technomic’s Center of the Plate: Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report, released earlier this year, consumers crave variety in pork offerings at restaurants, and would order pork dishes more often if these needs were satisfied.

Restaurants are responding by pairing pulled pork with something other than barbecue sauce. In August, the 250-unit California Pizza Kitchen added Habañero Carnitas Pizza, which features slow-roasted pulled pork, red onions, cilantro pesto, mozzarella and queso quesadilla cheese with spicy habañero salsa. In July, Honey Dew Donuts, a Plainville, Massachusetts-based chain with 150 units, rolled out its newest International Breakfast Sandwich, the Mexican, with pulled pork, egg and chipotle spread served on Ciabatta bread. Applebee’s Wonton Tacos Pork have zesty pulled pork stuffed in crispy wonton shells and topped with crunchy Asian slaw and cilantro.

There’s even a Pacific version of pulled pork. Marination Mobile, a Seattle food truck that serves Hawaiian Korean fusion foods, offers Aloha Sliders, smoky, salty pulled pork and slaw on a Hawaiian sweet roll. Co-owner Kamala Saxton says the slider is one of the best sellers for the food truck and for the brick and mortar Marination Station, also in Seattle. “People have been to Hawaii and they have been to a luau, so there is that familiarity,” she says.

At a luau the pork would be cooked for six hours in a pit in the ground, but for Marination, a commercial kitchen cooks the pork offsite. “We pull it by hand, create au jus for it, wrap it in Hawaiian tea leaves, and add Hawaiian salt,” Saxton says. “It’s pretty labor intensive but it’s worth it.”

Other eateries offering sliders include Sidecar Catering in Dallas, who serve up Pulled Pork Sliders with cumin and apple butter mole. Huntington Beach, California-based BJ’s Brewhouse, with 102 units, features pulled pork sliders with crispy onion strings and a smoky barbecue ranch sauce made with BJ’s Jeremiah Red Ale.

Pulled pork is also popular in Mexican fusion cuisines. In Livermore, California, Los Vaqueros Grill features a Caribbean Enchilada, two enchiladas topped with coconut curry tomato sauce, stuffed with pineapple pulled pork. University Café in Fredericksburg, Virginia, features a Pulled Pork Omelet with Manchego cheese and spicy ranchero sauce.

Some places offer both barbecue and non-barbecue pulled pork. Denver-based Quiznos, with 3,103 units, offers the Southern BBQ Pulled Pork Sub, which features slow-roasted pulled pork, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, pickles, yellow mustard and smoky barbecue sauce, and the Pork Cuban, which tops slow-roasted shredded pork with sliced ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, yellow mustard and mayonnaise.

“The pork is marinated and then slow cooked for 11 hours,” says Zach Calkins, senior vice president, culinary innovation. “We designed a marinade that has broad appeal with consumers and is easily used in a multitude of options. Therefore we didn’t have a Carnitas flavor or smoke flavor that is essentially a one trick pony.”

Barbecue is still an important part of the pulled pork repertoire. “Barbecue is embedded in the memories of childhood,” says Chris Lilly, vice president and pitmaster of the three-location Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, based in Decatur, Alabama. “The types of seasonings and sauces used on pulled pork are often an indicator of what part of the country a person was raised.” Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q seasons 20-pound whole pork shoulders with a blend of spices, and slow smokes the pork in a brick pit with hickory wood for 17 hours.

At Qdoba, the pork shoulder is slow simmered for six hours, then hand shredded to remove the fat. Stoner thinks pulled pork will grow in popularity as people learn about its nutritional value. “People think fresh pork can’t be healthy because of its close cousin bacon,” he says. “Pork shoulder can be healthy because it’s lean.”

For more information, and to keep up on the latest pork foodservice trends, visit the National Pork Board's website for foodservice professionals, www.porkfoodservice.org and sign up for The 400 Newsletter.