Pulled pork

I love it but have been a fumble bumkin trying to do it….would appreciate some advice. Cuts to use, spices, cooking, shredding methods, etc…advise would be appreciated.

I keep it simple. Had it yesterday.

Big loin
1/2 stick of butter
Lots of pepper

Cover in oven at 300° 6 hours.

Shred with a spoon

I put onions and potatoes in there too.

Go to the butcher and get a pork butt “boston” cut. This is a pork shoulder that has the shoulder bone still in it but has less bone than a “picnic” cut. They are relatively inexpensive and usually come in the 6 to 10lb range.

Bring home and rub down with yellow mustard and then a dry rub. Use any dry rub you prefer, I throw together some garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, celery salt, and whatever else sounds good at the time. Wrap tightly in saran wrap and store in the fridge overnight. Do not inject with marinade at this point because when the meat chills in the fridge, it will shrink and force all injected marinate out of the meat.

On the day of cooking, take out about an hour prior and let rest. This will relax your meat (no jokes please) and bring the temp up a bit allowing for better absorption of injection. For an injection, I mix up bbq sauce, apple juice, worchestire, and a teaspoon or so of liquid smoke.

It is best to smoke them but they turn out good in the oven as well with much less work. Cooking temp is optimal around 245. Cook until temp gets to about 145 and remove from smoker or oven. Wrap loosely in aluminum foil with about 1/2 cup of apple juice in the bottom of the foil before sealing. Put back into smoker/over and bring up to 205-210 degrees.

Remove from heat and let rest for about 45 mins or until your hands can handle the heat to pull it. Shoulder bone should pull out easily and meat will “pull” apart but mostly just fall apart. Throw on a bun and top with bbq sauce or your favorite homestyle coleslaw and you are set! Love me some good pork butt!

Forgot to add that you can plan on about 1hr per pound or slightly longer. If I’m planning on doing one for supper, it’s usually a 4:30am start time but it is well worth it!

get it up to internal temp of 190 or she wont pull apart then wrap in tinfoil and a towel and place in a cooler for a couple hours to let those fats break down even more. yum I smoke mine, but have been fooled with both crockpot and oven renditions with liquid smoke by buddies. I have been messing with injecting meats especially full birds before smoking and all I can say is WOW! No need to marinade overnight at all anymore! It’s incredible!

Pulled pork is one of the easiest meals to make. It can sound intimidating to the newbie but have fun. The best advice is already stated. Get the meat over 190 degree so the tissue breaks down. Otherwise if really isn’t pullable. Also let the meat rest after cooking so the juices mingle and the meat relaxes.

I do several a year for picnics and gathering and you cannot go wrong with the advice above. I do it a little different but that will work. If you have a smoker, the funniest part is when the fella (neighbors) smell the meat going. They stop by with plates in one hand and the beer donation in the other.

Got some great neighbors.

Good luck and have fun with it.

D

As stated pork shoulder, Bone in, aka boston butt, only cut to use.
As of late I have been brining my BBQ as it gets an even distribution of flavor and salt throughout entire cut of meat, you can even add a bit of liquid smoke to brine if you want to simplify process and lessen or skip smoking the meat. I brine, dry and then rub with a SALT LESS rub, as I like the crust you get from the rub, this isn’t necessary, just my personal preferance.

To cook I’ll “blast” with smoke for a 1/2 hour or more on grill, continually reloading chips, to add a lot of quick smoke flavor. I then finish in the oven at 300 covered until it pulls apart easily. You could also finish in a crock pot.
Alow meat to rest and cool before “pulling” Strain excess liquid, allow to cool. Once this is cool you can skim the fat and what you’ll be left with is super concentrated pork jelly that can be added or used to make BBQ sace or just mix in with the meat.

I am a huge fan of brining any white meats for roasting, you can use the same basic ratio of salt/water/sugar(sweet) and add flavors as you like.

Let me know if you have any questions.
Enjoy!

If I had a smoker i ‘d have at it just like that…Looks great!

I have made pulled pork in the oven, quick n easy. Buti do love my weber bullet

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I do several a year for picnics and gathering and you cannot go wrong with the advice above. I do it a little different but that will work. If you have a smoker, the funniest part is when the fella (neighbors) smell the meat going. They stop by with plates in one hand and the beer donation in the other.

Got some great neighbors.

Good luck and have fun with it.

D

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My neighbors return the next day with a stack of rib racks or a shoulder for the next weekend too!

costco has great pork shoulder at a great price… i smoke mine at 210 degrees for 12 – 14 hours, just as long as the conective tissue breaks down… should be able to push your finger in the meat…. as far as rubs,i’ve used alot of store brands and famous daves pork rub is a pretty good old stand by……

I made this fishing and everyone gobbled it up:

Rub with some garlic, salt, pepper and stuff

Then into crock pot with:

1 can beer
1-2 onion
1-3 jalepenos

Cook on high for 4-6 hours and meat falls apart. Beer and jalepenos add real nice flavor. Remove seeds and white pith from peppers if you want it less spicy.

Some ate with buns, others with tortillas.

mmmmmmmm……..

Here’s a really easy lazy mans way of doing pulled pork. Not quite as good as when it is slow smoked but a lot less work. Use a crock pot slow cooker. Put the meat in with a bottle of Italian dressing and a little water. Add a little liquid smoke and cook over night. The next day pour off the liquid and use a couple of forks to shred the pork. put it back in the slow cooker with a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce and cook on low for the rest of the day. Then enjoy on a good bun.

Thanks for all the ideas and tips! Gonna have to try again when the kids come home.