• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Looking for Pulled Pork recipes

kiwigtx

International Mod of Mystery
Staff member
FBBO Gold Member
Local time
9:42 AM
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
42,474
Reaction score
127,027
Location
New Zealand
Anyone got a good recipe for preparing Pulled Pork?
Looking for ideas that I can use in my BBQ - I don't have a Smoke House, so it needs to be an outdoor BBQ recipe please. Also, what cuts do you guys use? My local Butcher suggests boned out shoulder.
:thumbsup:
 
Butt... should always use a butt roast. :) The biggest problem I see with people cooking pork is they overcook the crap out of it and it becomes dry. Really tough cuts of beef require long cooking times, but pork generally cooks pretty fast.

I always coat mine with a good bit of dry rub, which varies depending on who you talk to. Most folks use brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika in varying amounts, but you can find a couple dozen rub recipes on the net. When you cook it, make sure you use an offset method, where all your charcoal is on the side opposite the vent and put the meat under the vent. That way the meat isn't exposed to direct heat but instead gets the heat rising up to get to the vent. Also, get a couple of wood chunks like Hickory, Apple, Cherry, etc., soak them in water for a few hours, and toss them on the charcoal before you put the grill lid down. That'll give you some smoke.

And the topper is you have to use a mustard/vinegar-based, AKA North Carolina, BBQ sauce. That's a must for pulled pork.
 
il_340x270.668549522_q8mt.jpg
 
Find a good rub recipe, brown sugar based like stated above. Cuts are either upper or lower shoulder, picnic or butt, bone in.

I've used a couple different smokers, ended up the Big Green Egg is my go to. Just did a shoulder last weekend. Ran it with apple wood and hardwood charcoal for 14 hours at 220*. The Egg keeps the moisture in very well and steady temp with swings or reloading.

Pull it and shred, add some reserved rub to it.

If you don't have a smoker or BBQ that can be indirect I'm not sure how you would do it.
 
I have always used pork shoulder and I believe most of the time the bone is out. I always through this in a crock pot with a pork rub on the meat and a bottle of beer and a cup of apple juice in the crock pot. You can put other spices in if you want (onions, garlic, etc.). I let it cook all day and then shred it before serving. This is a fatty cut of pork so I'm picky about separating the fat from the meat. You can put barbecue sauce on it or serve the sauce on the side. Put it back in the crock pot to keep it warm if you want and take some of the juice out of the pot if necessary. I usually serve mine on buns. I guess I don't seem to have time to put it on the grill. Good luck.
 
14 hours on a grill will turn any meat into a briquette. :) He's going to be looking at two to three hours tops on a grill.

I've stopped using crock pots to make any meat. It's tender, but it's usually way too dry for my liking. Worse, the meat tends to fall apart along the grain, which makes it tough to chew.
 
Rog, Boston Butt/pork butt/pork shoulder (all the same thing); although I always prefer bone-in as it is flavor country and it holds together better as it cooks. low and slow 200-225* for 8 hours minimum...

two_cents_kent brockman.jpg
 
Ooops... forgot salt. Make sure there is salt in the rub. Sodium Chloride is designed to be permeable with muscle tissue, and "opens the door" for other flavors to get into the meat.
 
Mar par is correct, different names for the same cut...only real requirement is get as low as a temp as you can with your grill....low n' slow! Anything with sugar will help get you that nice bark on the outside, and don't trim off any fat..keep a foil pan full of some liquid in there to to keep the surrounding air moist. Beer, apple juice/cider vinegar etc..(I like to use plain old water when I don't want it affecting the flavor) yum yum enjoy!
 
AAAWEWWWW come on here!!!! Pork Fat Rules!!!! 69a100 is the Grill Mister around here when we do one of them. I ain't so bad either but he has a midus touch when it comes to grillin' and smokin' meats We both prefer the indirect method though and keep it between 220 and 320 degrees with lots of soaked chips to create a lot of smoke flavor. The one thing I use before I put the rub on the meat is I apply just plain old yellow mustard and then lather the meat with the rub. The mustard actually cooks off and the crust from the rub acts as a cap to keep the meat moist. The link above from 69a100 Kiwi, that we both use, will help with just about anything you want to grill or smoke. Enjoy my Friend...cr8crshr/Tuck:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::usflag::usflag::usflag:
 
Last edited:
Thanks very much guys. I'm going to see my Butcher on the weekend, and I'll report back how things go.
I really appreciate the effort you guys have put in to contributing here. :thumbsup:
 
I'll tell you what the best rub ever is. Sadly, you likely won't be able to get it. :(

When Kentucky Fried Chicken makes it's breading, it takes a big container of flour and a 1-pound package of the "secret herbs and spices". The cook mixes the herb and spice mix into the flour, breads the chicken in it, and fries it. The restaurants use control measures to make sure those spice bags don't walk away, but I had a guy live with us for a while who worked at a KFC, and as a thank you he snuck a couple of spice bags out.

The first time I used that as a rub, the folks I did the smoking for went bananas, and they should have as that meat was awesome. Sadly, all this was about six years ago and my supply of spices is about deleted now, and it's unlikely I'll ever be able to replace it.
 
mmmmmmm.....pork is out of the crock pot, gravy on the way, crackling is awesome.....pictures soon....I know it didn't happen without pictures. :D
homer-simpson-feature1.png


mmmm pulled pork...mmmmmmm :lol:
 
Here we go...
The recipe I settled on for the rub.....

2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Dessert spoon garlic powder
1 Dessert spoon onion salt
1 Dessert spoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Rubbed in all over the meat, and laid down on the open cut side. In the fridge overnight to marinate.
Next morning, into the Crock Pot with 3 teaspoons of mild mustard slathered all over the top. Poured in 1/2 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar and 1 cup of Apple juice. Set on High for around 6 hours, then down to Low for a further 2 hours to keep warm.
Honestly, it just fell apart when I removed it from the Crock Pot.

upload_2017-5-20_19-4-45.png


After a night in the fridge....
upload_2017-5-20_19-5-9.png


With the Mustard...
upload_2017-5-20_19-5-35.png


Later that same day :)
Crackling
upload_2017-5-20_18-54-52.png


Fell apart while transferring to a serving dish....I call that a good start
upload_2017-5-20_18-55-30.png


Shredded or pulled...
upload_2017-5-20_18-55-48.png


upload_2017-5-20_18-56-8.png


Time to taste it....mmmmmmmmmmmm......
upload_2017-5-20_18-56-33.png


Verdict = awesome. :thumbsup:
Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to figure out how to offset BBQ the best way for the next attempt. Meanwhile, this was so good, flavour was spot on, and the whole family enjoyed it.

Note - all pictures were taken in portrait for optimum viewing pleasure...crackling was rotated. :D
 
Butt... should always use a butt roast. :) The biggest problem I see with people cooking pork is they overcook the crap out of it and it becomes dry. Really tough cuts of beef require long cooking times, but pork generally cooks pretty fast.

I always coat mine with a good bit of dry rub, which varies depending on who you talk to. Most folks use brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika in varying amounts, but you can find a couple dozen rub recipes on the net. When you cook it, make sure you use an offset method, where all your charcoal is on the side opposite the vent and put the meat under the vent. That way the meat isn't exposed to direct heat but instead gets the heat rising up to get to the vent. Also, get a couple of wood chunks like Hickory, Apple, Cherry, etc., soak them in water for a few hours, and toss them on the charcoal before you put the grill lid down. That'll give you some smoke.

And the topper is you have to use a mustard/vinegar-based, AKA North Carolina, BBQ sauce. That's a must for pulled pork.
All good advice, but you have committed a cardinal sin, Mustard baste is from South Carolina, Tomato baste is from Western North Carolina, and Vinegar baste is from Eastern North Carolina. Thems is fighten words round here!

I am from Eastern NC so I'll let you figure out which one I am partial to. (Don't ever tell anyone from around here, but they are all good!)

Today I am actually going to a huge BBQ contest, The Kings of Q. Some of the best in the country will be there. We had dinner there last night with all the contestants. We work with a great local guy, Ed's Shape Shack, who custom make cutting boards and butcher blocks and we laser etched them as the prizes. That's how we get to go. The grand prize gets a huge custom made laser etched chopping block and two laser etched meat cleavers. If you have a sec check out the pics of the prizes: https://www.instagram.com/edsshapeshack/
 
All good advice, but you have committed a cardinal sin, Mustard baste is from South Carolina, Tomato baste is from Western North Carolina, and Vinegar baste is from Eastern North Carolina. Thems is fighten words round here!

I am from Eastern NC so I'll let you figure out which one I am partial to. (Don't ever tell anyone from around here, but they are all good!)
First timer here....I'll take notes as I go. :D
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top