Holy smokes! These might be my favorite of all of the different Bierocks (a.k.a. Runzas) that I’ve made thus far! Tender, juicy, pulled smoked pork…bathing in an awesome apple, mustard-maple barbecue sauce… piled into baked rolls with gooey, melted cheese!

Shut the front door!! Right?

These, omg…THESE… “Autumn Apple Maple Mustard Smoked Pulled Pork Bierocks / Runzas” were, probably needless to say, a smash hit!!!

 

 

 

I came up with another new recipe to slather onto a humongous pork shoulder (a.k.a. pork butt) roast, and  between the wet and dry rubs, plus my new recently posted barbecue sauce, and a bit of cheese, the flavors were absolutely pheNOMenal!

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and you’re going to flip over these!!

Like the others, we simply start with convenient frozen bread dough that you just thaw in the fridge overnight.

 

 

Once your pork shoulder is done, pulled, and coated with the sauce, the assembly is easy.

Making one at a time, slice off a pice of dough, press it until an un-floured cutting board, then top with a little pile of shredded cheese.

 

 

Then top with a 1/3 to a 1/2 cup pulled pork. Don’t add too much or you’ll have trouble in a minute.

Then pull up two sides, then the other two sides, holding up above the meat. Pinch and roll down a little, turn over, and place onto a sprayed baking sheet.

Brush with melted butter, (and sprinkle with a little kosher salt if you’d like).

 

 

 

Then once the first loaf is assembled, pop them into a preheated oven and bake!

And ta-daaaaah!

See how gorgeous they are??!! Almost too pretty to eat! Almost.

*Now, the 2 photos below, are actually photos of another bierock/runza  that I made awhile back. But once you’ve seen one, you’ve basically seen them all!

 

 

 

 

They all look the same from the outside, so I thought it silly to take any more photos of them uncut.

(*If you prefer the rolls to be soft on the outside, baste them with more melted butter as soon as you take them out of the oven. If you prefer them to be slightly crispy on the outside, skip this step.)

 

 

And these, just like those, looked identically beautiful!  And so will yours!

You don’t have to worry about making them perfect, they all turn out pretty no matter what.

Besides, I don’t think that homemade food should have to look perfect anyways. People will think that you bought them and didn’t make them yourself. Right?

So just have fun and don’t fret over it. Life’s too short for that.

 

 

 

 

And see those fries on the side? OMG are THEY ever good, too! I made a special seasoning for them, and that recipe will be coming at a later date! So stay tuned!!

You’ll really want to make them, too!!

 

 

 

 

Though these are small, don’t let them fool ya! My hubby was able to eat two of them (four halves), but ONE was more than plenty for me.

So keep that in mind when figuring out how many you’d like to make.

And if you make too many, no worries!! They reheat extremely well in the oven the next day! Just as good as day one!

 

 *My Spiced Apple Maple Mustard Barbecue Sauce! A perfect match!

 

 

And since they do reheat so well, it also makes them perfect for fall parties such as Halloween, and tailgating/Sunday Football get togethers!

Seriously delicious. Unique. Fun to eat. What’s not to love, right? So make a list of what you need so that you can make these crowd-pleasers soon! You’re really going to LOVE these!! Enjoy!!

 

 

Homemade Barbecue Sauces that go well with this:

Apple Maple Mustard Barbecue Sauce (pictured above)
South Carolina-Style Mustard Barbecue Sauce
Apple Barbecue Sauce

 

If you enjoyed these Bierocks / Runzas you might also like:

Easy State Fair Runzas / Bierocks
Cheesy Breakfast Bierocks / Runzas
Apple Pie Bierocks / Runzas

 

 

Yield: 8 - 10 filled roll sandwiches

Autumn Apple Maple Mustard Smoked Pulled Pork Bierocks / Runzas

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Ingredients

Pork & Wet Rub:

• 1 (9-10 lb.) pork shoulder roasts (bone in), remove thick top layer of fat trimming down to ⅛" thick
• ¼ cup spicy brown mustard
• 1 Tbl. heavy mayo
• 1 Tbl. apple juice

For Dry Rub:

• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbl. garlic salt
• 1 Tbl. smoked sweet paprika
• 1 Tbl. Cajun seasoning such as Slap Ya Mama
• 1 Tbl. coarse ground black pepper
• 1 Tbl. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. dry ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. instant espresso powder

Rest of Ingredients:

• 2 (1 lb.) loaves frozen bread dough, thawed overnight
• about 4 cups or so of the pulled pork (above), *amount depends on size and number of rolls you make
• 1 cup of my Apple Maple Mustard Barbecue Sauce (or as much as you like to coat)
• 4 cups sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded (or as you like)
• 1 stick butter, melted

Instructions

The Night Before: Wrap one sprayed loaf of frozen bread dough with plastic wrap tightly, place into fridge to thaw overnight. In small bowl, whisk together mustard, mayo and apple juice. In second small bowl, mix together well, the Dry Rub ingredients.

Trim pork shoulder of most of fat from top leaving just a thin layer. Spread meaty side with some of the mustard mixture. Then pack on some of the dry rub mixture. Place onto smoker rack that has been placed on top of a baking sheet, coated side down. Finish coating top and sides the same way using the rest of the wet and dry rubs. Do not cover, refrigerate overnight to marinate.

The Next Day: Smoke in you smoker according to your smoker's directions until fall apart tender. Remove, cover with foil, and let rest at least 20 minutes. Pull meat, place into a large bowl, and stir in barbecue sauce to coat well. Cover.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Remove one of the loaves of thawed bread dough from fridge, and place (wrapped) onto cutting board. Unwrap and slice into 4 equal sections, keep one piece out, and keep rest wrapped as you go along so that they don't dry out. Place one piece onto board, flatten with palm, and start pushing outward like you would a pizza, into a 6 inch circle. Place a small handful of cheese, and about ⅓ cup of the pork into center. Don't try to put too much in. Then bring up two sides, pulling up high over filling, then two more sides and pinch together, sealing closed, and roll under. Turn over and place seam side down onto sprayed baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt if you like. Continue with rest until one loaf is done.

TIP: *Don't get any of the filling or bbq sauce on the outside of the dough while pinching the dough closed, or you'll have a difficult time getting it to stick and stay closed.

When one sheet is done, pop into oven and bake for 20 - 22 minutes until lightly browned and crispy on the outside. (Will sound hollow when tapped.) Start on the second sheet and repeat.

When first ones are done baking, remove from oven, place onto a cooling rack, (*baste with more butter for soft rolls, don't baste again if you want them slightly crispy). Bake rest of rolls.

Let bierocks/runzas cool for 10 minutes, then slice in half and serve warm! Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator.

*To Reheat: Place rolls onto a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake for 12 - 15 minutes in a preheated 350º F oven.