Pulled Pork Totchos
Kick off BBQ season the right way! These Pulled Pork Totchos are topped with pulled pork, cole slaw and pepper jack queso. This delicious appetizer will be the hit of the party!
Disclosure: This Pulled Pork Totchos post was sponsored by Byron’s BBQ & Rich Products, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
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It’s here! It’s finally here! May 1 marks the kickoff of National BBQ Month. After what felt like an especially long and cold winter this year, I am all about some barbecue flavors…and I get to celebrate those flavors all month long. (Heck, who am I kidding? We’ll be celebrating all summer long around this house!) I decided to kick off the festivities with a batch of Pulled Pork Totchos. Nope, that’s not a typo. Instead of nachos, I replaced the chips with tater tots. Talk about one heck of an awesome meal!
Every New Year’s Eve, Laura and I have a tradition of making tater tots as an afternoon appetizer. I have no idea how this tradition started, but I’m not about to complain! Tater tots are delicious in their own right, but this recipe takes those tots and improves upon ’em. Like with pulled pork. And pepperjack cheese sauce. And onions, jalapenos and coleslaw. These Pulled Pork Totchos are basically a delicious bbq sandwich served over tots instead of a roll. What better way to celebrate National BBQ Month!?
I do enjoy making pulled pork at home, but pulled pork takes time. As in hours and hours of time. We were in Sam’s Club recently, and I noticed Byron’s Fully Cooked Pulled Pork BBQ in the freezer section. It took about 2.3 seconds before a few containers of that pulled pork ended up in our cart!
Byron’s Fully Cooked Pulled Pork BBQ is downright delicious. It is slow smoked for over 8 hours on an open-pit hardwood fire, and then that hand pulled pork gets tossed in Byron’s signature spicy-sweet sauce. Byron’s is also made with no artificial ingredients or preservatives. Laura and I could barely stop nibbling on the pulled pork while I was making these totchos, which came together so quickly! You can find this item in the freezer section exclusively at Sam’s Club now.
Byron’s Smokehouse first opened its doors in Gallatin, Tennessee back in 1957. They’ve had more than 60 years to perfect the art of authentic BBQ, and boy have they!
Pulled Pork Totchos
Pulled Pork TotchosBack to these Pulled Pork Totchos! In my book, nachos (and totchos) aren’t complete without a good queso on top. I whipped up a batch of my go-to queso, although this time I used only pepper jack cheese. The result is a creamy, delicious cheese sauce that goes great with tater tots and pulled pork. (It’s worth noting that you’ll have extra cheese sauce. I don’t know how to make a small batch of queso. However, I suspect you’ll find a good way to use up the leftovers!)
I hope you join me in celebrating National BBQ Month all summer long! Cheers, friends!
Did you make a batch of these Pulled Pork Totchos at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog).
Looking for other tasty barbecue-inspired recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Bacon-Wrapped Corn with Honey BBQ Sauce
BBQ Grilled Jalapenos
Homemade Southern Banana Pudding (a classic dessert whenever BBQ is on the menu!)
Pulled Pork Totchos
Ingredients
For the Pepper Jack Queso
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced red onions
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 10-oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1 4.5-oz. can diced green chilies
- 4 cups shredded pepper jack cheese ~16 oz.
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ cup sour cream
For the Totchos
- 28- oz. package frozen tater tots
- 2 cups Byron’s Fully Cooked Pulled Pork BBQ
- 1 cup coleslaw
- ½ cup diced red onions
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeno peppers
- sliced green onions
Instructions
- Cook the Byron’s Pulled Pork in the oven according to package directions.
- Cook the tater tots according to package instructions. (Tip: Bake the tots for several minutes longer than package instructions, or until extra crispy.)
- While the tater tots are baking, add olive oil to a medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onions.
- Sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until onions have softened.
- Add garlic and continue sautéing, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add flour and cumin, stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add milk, diced tomatoes, diced chilies, pepper jack cheese and cream cheese. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until cheeses have melted and mixture is smooth.
- Remove from heat and stir in chopped cilantro and sour cream.
- Once baked, transfer tots onto a large plate or into a cast iron skillet (for serving).
- Sprinkle coleslaw, red onions, pickled jalapeno peppers and pulled pork evenly on top of tots.
- Drizzle pepper jack queso on top.
- Garnish with sliced green onions before serving.
David, what a great looking dish. I’ve got to figure out how to make your Pulled Pork Totchos here.
Pulled pork is no problem, queso is no problem, but tater tots are a big problem. Man, I wish we could get tater tots here, but alas no. No frozen hashbrowns either but we do have these rectangular frozen potato patties that might work. I’m going to give it a try, but I’ll need to give it another name. I’ll work on that. Thanks for another inspiration. FYI, we’ll be firing up the BBQ this evening as it’s May Day a holiday here.
Tots? Really? I would’ve thought the pulled pork or queso would’ve been more challenging. I’m surprised that tots aren’t a thing over there! You could perhaps do smashed potatoes? They’re not the exact same, but that would be delicious!
I hope you had a great May Day, my friend! And I hope that grill got plenty of use yesterday. 🙂
Pulled pork nachos AND National BBQ month??! Say whaaaaaat?! What a way to kick things off, my friend! I mean, ‘totchos’? That’s just brilliant! I could see myself eating my fair share of these, especially on a Friday night while catching up on our fave shows! Extra jalapenos for me please 😉 Pinned! Hope you have an awesomely delicious month, my friend!
Tell me about it, Dawn! My mind was blown, too. A whole month to celebrate awesome BBQ…and it’s just now beginning! By my count, we still 29 days left to celebrate. (But let’s be real…we’ll be celebrating all summer here!)
Also, Friday night with a plate of these pulled pork totchos and our favorite show? That’s exactly what we did! And it was amazing! 🙂
Cookie’s nickname is Totcho (I don’t know why), so totchos hold a very special place in my heart. And who could ever turn down tater tots loaded with delicious toppings? These look AWESOME! Happy National BBQ Month!
Wait. Cookie’s nickname is Totcho, but you don’t know why? Eh, who cares…that’s the best nickname ever! Actually, I might need to ‘borrow’ that nickname. You can start calling my Totcho from now on! 🙂
Happy BBQ Month, my friend!
Hi David! Pulled pork makes everything better!! I almost always have a bag of tots in the freezer and I just made pulled pork the other day. I think these will be perfect for the weekend! I’m getting hungry!!
You couldn’t have said it any better, Dorothy! Pulled pork really does make everything better. 🙂 Sounds like you’ve got the fixins to make a batch of totchos this weekend! They’re delicious. Happy National BBQ Month, my Tennessee friend!
National BBQ Month!!! Count me in! These pulled pork totchos look like a great way to kick off this month. What a fun dish!
Heck yeah! A whole month dedicated to awesome BBQ…count me in! As far as I’m concerned, the whole summer might as well be called BBQ Month, right? 🙂 Thanks so much, Kathy!
I love this! Pulled pork is one of my favorite dishes, but never tried to make it at home. I better check those freezers next time when I am in the supermarket. I am always up for doing anything to save time!
Definitely grab a package of Byron’s Pulled Pork, Marina! It’s delicious, and there are so many awesome dinners you can make once you have pulled pork ready to go. Thanks so much, my friend!
I love when grilling/barbecuing season sneaks up on us. Especially nice where you are — where the winters are so cold. Must be so nice to get outside to cook. 🙂
This dish looks so delicious — such a fabulous combination of flavors. I love slaw with he pulled pork. A perfect balance of flavors.
Oh you’re telling me, Valentina! As soon as March rolls around, I start counting down to BBQ season. (Of course, it’s usually still 6 weeks away or more…ugh.) Slaw with pulled pork is a magical combination…and serving that over tots with queso? Sign me up all day! 🙂
I so love this idea of using tater tots instead of nachos to cradle and sop up all that delicious pulled pork! Yesterday I took pictures at a BBQ for first responders and they made me have a plate too – and gosh, that was some good pulled pork, but I don’t make pulled pork at home, like ever, so I need to get my hands on some Byron’s Smokehouse Pulled pork soon and try it on a bed of taters – such bliss! BTW – I might just have to borrow your’s and Laura’s New years tradition and whip some taters up with puled pork, black eyed peas and greens in 2020 🙂
Haha! I’ll have to convert you to the tots tradition on New Year’s Eve! I have no idea why that started, but it became a thing in our house. And now we love it. But then topping tots with pulled pork, cole slaw and queso? Now that’s even MORE of a thing! Sounds like you had at that BBQ for first responders. What a fun event. Thanks so much, Shashi!
Well, this is such a clever and delicious idea! Yum! I always love new things – and this is sure to please the family. Love pulled pork!
Any recipe that uses pulled pork is always a favorite in this house! And if that recipe also happens to involve tots and queso? Sign me up! 🙂 Thanks so much, Alexandra!