BBQ Pulled Pork Potato Skins
Forget the sandwich! These BBQ Pulled Pork Potato Skins are a tasty way to serve up pulled pork!
I love pulling out the grill or the smoker. Seriously. As soon as the snow has melted (and sometimes when it hasn’t…), you can find me outside tinkering around near the grill or the smoker. Ok, the warm sunshine on the back deck helps a bit, too. But our porch has a new addition this year. We built a pool. No, we didn’t go all MTV Cribs and get a pool installed into our deck. Instead, Dad got out the air pump and inflated a pool on the back deck.
I have to go all the way back to early February to explain the pool on our deck. Robbie loves fish. We’ve taken him to our local aquarium, and the look on his face is priceless. Heck, we’ve even done the “free aquarium” trip to our local PetSmart. It’s all the same to him!
So there we were wandering around Sam’s Club last February with a cart full of diapers and more chocolate than any two people can justify. That’s when we saw the giant inflatable pool printed with an underwater theme. I mean a pool in February makes sense, right? It’s not like we had 12″ of snow on the ground or anything. But then again, their job is to sell inflatable pools…and we bought one. In February.
Fast forward 3 months, and it’s just now getting warm enough to set up that pool. Correction: We’re now safely past the point that we might get a late freeze. So I planted the garden last weekend, and now it’s time to pull that pool out of the closet. I’m quite excited to see Robbie splash around in the pool while I play with my smoker. Dad might even have to climb into the pool at some point. Just sayin’.
One of my favorite things to make on the smoker is pulled pork. I’ll smoke at least 2-3 large pork butts each summer. (And for the record, a pork butt is not the south side of a north-facing pig. Pork butt, or Boston butt, is a cut of meat from the shoulder of a pig. #NowYouKnow) I then divide all of that pulled pork into 1-pound freezer bags, and we freeze it for cold, winter nights. But there’s only so many pulled pork sandwiches you can eat before you get tired of ’em. Yes, I just admitted that I get tired of pulled pork sandwiches. I’ll go ahead and turn in my Southern birthright card now.
So last weekend I decided to put that pulled pork to use in a different way: BBQ Pulled Pork Potato Skins. I mean a potato skin is a delicious crispy vessel for whatever toppings you want, right? So why not BBQ Pulled Pork Potato Skins? And talk about easy to make! I just baked the potatoes until done, scooped out the middle and then replaced it with pulled pork. And BBQ sauce. And cilantro and sour cream. And just like that, Dad invented a new way to use his stupid amount of pulled pork in the freezer!
If you’re looking for us this summer, then look on the back deck. Robbie will be in his pool, and I will be tinkering with the grill or the smoker…or perhaps both. Cheers!
BBQ Pulled Pork Potato Skins
Ingredients
For the potatoes
- 4 medium russet potatoes
- 2 Tbsp butter melted
For the BBQ Pulled Pork
- 2 cups pulled pork homemade or store-bought
- ¼ cup barbecue sauce
- ¼ cup sour cream
- red onions thinly sliced
- fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Pierce each potato several times with a fork and then bake for 60-80 minutes, or until fork-tender. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Once potatoes have cooled, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scoop out most of the flesh, leaving ~¼-½” of flesh on the skins. Brush tops and bottoms of potatoes with the melted butter.
- Heat grill (or grill-pan, if cooking indoors) to medium-high. Add potatoes and grill for 4-5 minutes. Flip and continue grilling for 4-5 more minutes, or until skins are crispy.
- Using a small saucepan, add the pulled pork and barbecue sauce. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until hot. Divide pulled pork among potato skins. Top with a dollop of sour cream, thinly sliced red onions and freshly chopped cilantro.
Robbie is going to love that pool! I’ve been telling Cookie we’ll get her a wading pool but I have a feeling she’s going to be afraid of it, hence the delay. So I’ll live vicariously through you watching your child play in a pool. (Yes I think of my dog as my child :).) And I will legit eat cardboard if it’s stuffed inside a crispy potato skin. Loving this recipe! It sounds like the perfect change of pace from a sandwich.
I could see Cookie being afraid of the wading pool. That’s why you’ll just need to get in there with her…to show her that it’s ok! 🙂 And for the record, I totally consider our dogs our kids, too. They don’t get quite as much attention (i.e. spoiling) as before, but they are still kids. Hope you’re getting (sorta) settled into Phoenix now!
I love these loaded skins! And I love them even more knowing I can do them on the grill but I might top them with a different meat.
Definitely! You can totally adapt these potato skins in so many different ways. After all, a potato skin is just a vessel for whatever you want to put in it. We just happen to always have pulled pork around here, so the bbq pulled pork just made sense for us. No matter how you fill ’em, potato skins are always a winner! Thanks, Neetu! 🙂
Haha! Didn’t go all MTV Cribs, did ya 😉 ?? Too funny! And too funny that you bought a pool in February. It’s still so cold around here so I don’t think I can put out anything like that any time soon. But we do grill year round, which is always nice. I don’t make pulled pork often enough, but when I do I love it! This is such a delicious recipe for summer and I’m sure it would go over really well at get-togethers 🙂 Hope you guys had a lovely long weekend, David!
Is MTV Cribs even still on tv? Haha! Our tv watching has taken a serious downward turn now that Robbie is getting older. I hear ya on being too cold! I originally wanted to include a photo of Robbie with his pool for this post, but it’s still too cold here! Not freezing anymore (phew), but way too cold to be getting into a pool outside. Hopefully in another month or so, I can sneak a photo of Robbie in his pool! Thanks, Dawn!
I love the topping, sounds really refreshing!
Why thank you very much, Manali! Potato skins are the perfect vessel for all sorts of fillings. 🙂
Hi David. Pulled pork is definitely high on my list of good eats, as well as potato skins. Great combined. I also like pulled pork nachos. Have you seen how some stores label meat as “country ribs from butt”, which of course is just slabs of shoulder meat and has nothing to do with ribs.
“Country ribs from butts”? Now that’s a new one! What a sneaky way to try to include ribs in the name…and they probably up the price just for that reason! So I love nachos, and I think we had pulled pork nachos at a brew pub one time. I totally need to recreate those here at home! (Nachos can be REALLY hard to get a good photo of, though…imagine that.) I hope you are doing well, Dorothy! I was just thinking of you guys yesterday. 🙂
I’ve been devouring potato skins all weekend. When I get back from a vacation that I worked hard to lose weight for I let myself go and eat what I want for a few day and potato skins were at the top of my list. Ohhh you got a pool, inflatable or not a pool is a pool in my book 🙂 There was an amazing aquarium in Nassau that I visited twice because I couldn’t get enough, Robbie and I have a lot in common. I can’t wait to see pictures of your newly planted garden David. I want a smoker so I can smoke salmon and other seafood. I have a slight addiction to smoked fish lol these potato skins look amazing, just like all of your recipes.
Seriously? You’ve been on a potato skin run, and then I post some potato skins?? It’s like the universe was lining up for us, Mary! Potato skins really are the perfect vessel for all sorts of fillings. I know you’re not a meat-eater, but I’m thinking some sauteed veggies in a potato skin could be kinda fun! And I’d still put some BBQ sauce just because it’s summer.
So I’ll have to work some photos of the garden in here soon! And when it finally gets warm enough (we’re only ~70°F during the day right now), I’ll get a photo of Robbie in his pool, too! Thank you so much for the kind words, Mary. You are awesome…seriously!!
Uuuuuuummmmmmmm, yes please! These look and sound so damn good. I just put a boston butt into the freezer that we didn’t get around to making this weekend. Guess I have a reason to take it back out now! I’m a huge fan of anything potato skin and these are right up my alley! Cheers David!
Yes!! Pull that butt back out of the freezer, Lindsay! (And for the record, I totally understand freezing butts. We almost always have a ton frozen…although I like to smoke ’em first and then freeze ’em in little one-pound bags so they are ready to eat.) Potato skins are the perfect vessel for all sorts of yummy eats, and I gotta say that pulled pork stuffed in potato skins is might tasty! Thanks so much, my friend!
i’ve definitely had my fair share of pet store “aquarium trips” 😂 anyways, these sound like such a tasty appetizer! especially if you quick pickled the red onions 😍
Haha! Pet store aquarium trips are the best! They’re so much closer, and just the right size for little kids. 🙂 And I actually didn’t quick pickle these onions, but that would have made these ‘tater skins even better! I’m not quite sure why I didn’t pickle ’em…ok, now I have to make these skins again. Haha! Thanks, Heather!
I was just out to dinner last weekend and my friend ordered potato skins! I haven’t had potato skins in forever and I enviously eyed her skins! Maybe I just need to make my own! I love the idea of bbq pulled pork piled on top! I hope you are enjoying the pool! It’s amazing what you will do for your kids! 🙂 Enjoy!!!
Potato skins are so tasty! Sure, they’re a bit involved at home since you’ve gotta bake the potato. But just save the inside for mashed potatoes…that way you get 2 recipes out of it! And tater skins are an excellent vessel for all sorts of fillings! So it’s still a bit chilly here for that pool, but I’m hoping it will warm up (and stop raining!) soon so we can pull that bad boy out. I’m sure you know about chilly days all too well, Kathy. 🙂 Thanks so much!!
Aww, I hope that you guys enjoy the pool this summer.. I’m sure that Robbie will! Did you break out the bathing suits over Memorial Day weekend?
No bathing suits this Memorial Day weekend! It’s somehow still too cool here in upstate New York. But we did have a couple of days in the mid-70’s, so that was nice. That pool is on the radar, though, and it will most definitely be making an appearance soon! Oh! We did get Robbie a water table, so we pulled that out over the weekend. He loved it! (A water table is literally just that. A toy table that you can fill with water. Then it has a bunch of toys so he can splash and play. Perfect way to entertain him on the back deck!) Thanks, Nicole! 🙂
For a second I thought I was on the wrong blog when I read “…I get tired of pulled pork sandwiches”…but then you redeemed yourself with these BBQ Pulled Pork Potato Skins! Wow – potatoes are some of my favorite foods 0 and am sitting here thinking why have I never enjoyed ’em with pulled pork! Darn delicious, my friend! As for that pool on y’alls deck – I hope y’all enjoy the heck out of it – though if Robbie likes fish and aquariums… guess what we have down here in Atlanta – http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/experience?keyword=atlanta%20aquarium&gclid=CjwKEAjw07nJBRDG_tvshefHhWQSJABRcE-Z7LVfO5MQYbA4zn_MBoY97pGLNn6q2YwRcvTAU1RjgxoC4svw_wcB
Happy Wednesday, my Upstate NYC friend!
Hahaha! Yes, I had a hard time writing that sentence. In truth, though, I rarely get tired of pulled pork! Potato skins are the perfect base for all sorts of fun recipe, and we just happen to always have pulled pork in the freezer. It just seemed like the right combination! 🙂 So it’s still a little chilly for that pool, but as soon as it warms up enough to heat the water, then that pool is coming out! I know Robbie will love it. Also, we totally remember the aquarium! We were there when they built it, and we compare every aquarium to that one…and nothing ever lives up to it. Laura actually commented the other day, “The problem is that we are comparing our local aquarium to one of the best in the world (Atlanta’s).” We’ll have to make a trip back south sometime. After all, Robbie needs to know about the south! Thanks, Shashi!!
Pulled pork and potato skins, sounds yummy to me. Robbie is going to have a ton of fun in his pool this summer.
He definitely will have fun in the pool this summer! Thanks so much, Dawn!
David, getting a pool in February is just the right time…because when else? However, I wouldn’t be that sure we’ve passed this late freezing point. Remember, we can send some nasty weather from Canada to your location hah:) But there’s an excellent deal – send me some pulled pork potatoes, and I’ll try to handle these weather issues!
Haha! I couldn’t agree more, Ben. I mean why in the world did they have pools out in February? Shrug. But it worked on us since we bought one! Now I’m just waiting on it to finally warm up enough. Speaking of that, keep your cold air up there please! Or turn your heater on in your house, open your windows, and then send the air our direction. That’s a good plan, right? 🙂 I’ll even send you some pulled pork tater skins if you do that for me!
Sounds completely sensible to me to buy a pool in February – you have to be prepared for summer! Cute how much Robbie loves fishes, surely there are many more trips planned to PetSmart 🙂 What a great idea to top potato skin with pulled pork, sour cream and cilantro – you always come up with the best food inventions! Have a nice weekend, David!
Well there is prepared…and then there is just way over-prepared. I promise I don’t have 6 months worth of canned goods stocked in the basement in case of an emergency. (Although, if we could keep the freezer going, then we could live for months on pulled pork!) Thank you so much for the kind words, Miriam! I hope you guys have a great weekend as well! 🙂
“And cilantro and sour cream”. It was at the point of reading through your post David that I made that “Oooo” shape and sound with my lips. I mean the whole description of how easy these are to make was making me salivate anyway, but that point was the tipping point! 🙂
I should imagine that inflatable pool was cheaper in February anyway? Not many people challenging you in the supermarket aisles for it?? 😉
Haha! I’m glad I could make you “ooo” with this post, Neil! But I hope there wasn’t any drool involved…because that could just get messy. Seriously, though, BBQ pork goes so well with the lighter sour cream and cilantro. Nice and easy…and SO tasty! 🙂 And you’re totally right. There wasn’t much competition for those pools in the store in February. But I did notice recently that they’ve all been sold now. So I guess it is a good thing that we grabbed one when we did!
I swear that need to get out over the BBQ as soon as it has warmed up is primordial. I have grilled almost every night this week. Just love being outside and cooking food. Pulled pork potatoes skins sounds like a pretty genius idea. It’s bringing me back to my midwest roots!
I couldn’t agree more, Stacy! I swear I wonder why I even bother putting the grill away lately. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy grilling, my friend!
I’m cracking up at you guys buying a pool in February. But look how it’s paying off! I bet Robbie is just adorable splashing around while you’re at the smoker.
I haven’t thought about potato skins for ages, but I love them! And I’ve never had them with pulled pork. Delicious and I love that it makes them portable + no silverware required = perfect party fare!
So that February pool purchase hasn’t quite begun paying off yet…because it’s still chilly here! Not like February chilly (that’s just downright cold), but still way too chilly to be outside in water. Soon though! Soon! At least according to the weatherman…if he can be believed. 🙂 Thanks so much, Marissa!!
Man, I haven’tthought of potato skins in quite some time! Thanks for the recipe!
Well you should start putting potato skins on your morning agenda each day, Jeff. I’m imagining something like: “6:10 am: Think about potato skins.” That can be repeated each day. Minimum is 5 minutes of thinking time. Maximum is 10…only because you probably have other stuff to be doing. 🙂
Oh Lord. I recently started eating meat (for the first time again in 12 years) and now Im seariously drooling. Its BBQ season and ohhhhhhhhhh this is something im going to have to re-create. David, I seriously wish you were one of our neighbours!
Wow! Well, this is certainly a good time to jump back into eating meat. I respect everyone’s own personal choices when it comes to food, but I gotta say that the summer is one excellent time to be a meat eater! 🙂 There’s just so many tasty recipes for the grill out there! We’ve got our grill and/or smoker going nearly every day…oh, and there’s a house for sale down the street. Sure you don’t want to move over? Haha!! Thanks, Lucie!
Omg these look so delish!! You made me really hungry lol
Haha! Why thank you very much. And here’s the thing about these potato skins….once you’ve got the pulled pork done (and we always have some in our freezer), then this appetizer comes together in a flash! 🙂