Pulled Pork Sliders with South Carolina Mustard Sauce and Mustard Microgreens

Why mustard greens works here

South Carolina is the one state where barbecue sauce is yellow, and mustard microgreens are the only green that belongs on that plate without apology. They pick up the sauce rather than fighting it, and their sharpness cuts the pork fat the way a pickle does, with more freshness and less brine.

Ingredients

• •2 lb cooked pulled pork, warmed
• •12 slider buns
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• •3/4 cup yellow mustard
• •1/4 cup cider vinegar
• •1/4 cup brown sugar
• •1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• •1 tsp black pepper
• •1/2 tsp cayenne, or to taste
• •2 tbsp butter
• TO FINISH:
• •2 generous handfuls of mustard microgreens
• •Sliced dill pickles (optional, but the greens do much of this work)

Method

1. Whisk the mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, pepper and cayenne together in a small saucepan.
2. Bring it to a bare simmer over medium-low heat and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until it thickens slightly and loses the raw mustard smell.
3. Take it off the heat and whisk in the butter. Taste it – it should be sharp first, sweet second, with heat arriving last.
4. Toss about two-thirds of the sauce through the warm pork, keeping the rest for the table.
5. Pile the pork onto the buns.
6. Top each one with a small pinch of mustard microgreens – less than feels right, because they build. Close the buns and serve, with the extra sauce alongside.

Notes from the farm

• Use a light hand with the greens. Mustard microgreens are the hottest thing we grow and a big handful will bury the pork.
• The sauce keeps two weeks in the fridge and is better on day two.
• Do not add the greens to the warm pork in the bowl – they wilt and the heat goes flat. They go on at the last second.

Questions

How much mustard microgreen is too much?

A pinch per slider. The heat is volatile and it builds as you eat, so what tastes mild on the first bite can be a lot by the fourth. Start with less and add more at the table.

Can I use a different microgreen here?

Radish is the sensible swap – peppery but less sharp, and it will not overwhelm the sauce. Arugula is milder still and leans nutty, which works but takes the South Carolina edge off the whole thing.

The other eight recipes

Shrimp and Grits with Pea ShootsSunflower — Sunflower Shoot Salad with Lem…Radish — Oysters with Radish Microgreen…Arugula Microgreen PestoBroccoli — Soft Scrambled Eggs with Brocc…Kale — White Bean and Sausage Soup wi…Cabbage — Fried Fish Tacos with Cabbage …Cantaloupe Melon — Prosciutto with Cantaloupe Mel…

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