Juicy Oven Pulled Pork
My pulled pork recipe guarantees perfectly seasoned, melt-in-your-mouth tender pork. You’ll love our simple seasoning blend and easy oven method! This recipe is a keeper! This easy pulled pork is happy food. It’s perfect for crowds, parties, and making ahead of time. I love it piled onto soft rolls, served as sliders, in tacos, and scattered on top of salads. This recipe calls for cooking the pork in a low temperature oven, similar to how we bake ribs. The lower oven temperature and longer cooking time guarantee super tender meat. For more like this, I also love our slow cooker pulled pork, pulled chicken sandwiches, and if you love Tex-Mex, I highly recommend our carnitas recipe. Key Ingredients Pork: Use boneless or bone-in pork shoulder for this recipe (sometimes called Boston butt or pork butt). It’s a tough cut and does well when cooked over an extended period. It’s also well-marbled with fat, preventing the pork from drying out. As the pork cooks, the fat melts and sort of self-bastes during cooking. Brown Sugar and Spices: You’ll rub the pork with our simple spice rub made with brown sugar, salt, black pepper, chili powder, and cumin. Garlic and Tomato paste: The garlic infuses the pork as it slowly cooks, and the tomato paste adds color, richness, and umami to the cooking liquid. Apple cider vinegar: Adds a slight tanginess and helps to tenderize the pork. Without it, the pork tastes flat. Adding the vinegar wakes everything up. Fish sauce or Worcestershire: Choose one or the other. They season the cooking liquid and add a nice burst of umami, which makes the pulled pork even more delicious. Pork: Use boneless or bone-in pork shoulder for this recipe (sometimes called Boston butt or pork butt). It’s a tough cut and does well when cooked over an extended period. It’s also well-marbled with fat, preventing the pork from drying out. As the pork cooks, the fat melts and sort of self-bastes during cooking. Brown Sugar and Spices: You’ll rub the pork with our simple spice rub made with brown sugar, salt, black pepper, chili powder, and cumin. Garlic and Tomato paste: The garlic infuses the pork as it slowly cooks, and the tomato paste adds color, richness, and umami to the cooking liquid. Apple cider vinegar: Adds a slight tanginess and helps to tenderize the pork. Without it, the pork tastes flat. Adding the vinegar wakes everything up. Fish sauce or Worcestershire: Choose one or the other. They season the cooking liquid and add a nice burst of umami, which makes the pulled pork even more delicious. How to Make Pulled Pork Cooking the pork low and slow is the secret to tender pulled pork (the same goes for pot roast and beef stew). When we use more marbled cuts of meat, like pork shoulder, cooking at a lower temperature for an extended period ensures that the tough cut of meat transforms to be tender and fall-apart-tender. The gelatin in the shoulder breaks down as it slowly cooks, which is why slowly cooked pork shoulder is so good. To make oven pulled pork, you’ll rub it all over with our homemade spice rub, then sear it on all sides in a large Dutch oven on the stove. Then add some water and all the other ingredients to the pot, being careful to scrape up as much of the stuck bits on the bottom of the pot as you can (hello, flavor!). Then, you’ll add the lid and bake until fork tender. Pulled pork takes 2 to 4 hours in a low temperature oven (about 300°F). You are cooking it until fork tender, so the cooking time might vary depending on how many pounds of meat you have. As the pork cooks, the fat melts down. Before serving, we skim some of this fat from the cooking liquid. How much fat you skim from the cooking liquid is entirely up to you. I like to leave a little behind. Then, you can shred or pull the pork into chunks and serve however you like! I love it on soft buns with creamy coleslaw or sliced dill pickles. Juicy Oven Pulled Pork PREP 15 mins COOK 3 hr 30 mins TOTAL 3 hr 45 mins PREP 15 mins COOK 3 hr 30 mins TOTAL 3 hr 45 mins You’ll love this easy pulled pork spiced with a simple rub, garlic, tomato paste, and apple cider vinegar. It turns out perfectly seasoned, melt-in-your-mouth tender, and is excellent served in sandwiches, wraps, tacos, and salads. Makes 8 Cups You Will Need 4 pounds boneless or bone-in pork shoulder with any twine removed 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder or use a mild chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 4 cloves garlic, peeled 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 cup water 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon fish sauce or 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce Directions 1Adjust an oven rack towards the lower third of the oven so that a large Dutch oven will fit, and heat the oven to 300°F (148°C). 2Make the spice rub by stirring 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon chili powder, and 2 teaspoons cumin. Then, rub it over all sides of the pork so it is well coated. 3Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the pork. Cook for about two minutes per side until browned on all sides. Be careful the sugar in the spice mix does not burn. (See tips for making this without a Dutch oven). 4Transfer the pork to a plate. Then, add the garlic and 2 tablespoons tomato paste to the pot. Stir them around until the tomato paste turns from bright red to a dull orange, about 1 minute. 5Pour in 1 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and a tablespoon of fish sauce (or Worcestershire). Scrape the bottom of the pan to release any stuck bits. 6Position the pork back into the pan with the fattiest side facing up. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid, and slide into the oven. Cook until the pork is fork tender, about 3 hours. 7Transfer the pork to a cutting board and cool until you can handle it. Pull the pork with forks or your fingers. Discard the bone (if there is one), any connective tissue, and large clumps of fat. 8Remove the cooking liquid and skim most of the fat from its surface. Discard the fat, then set the cooking liquid aside. 9Return the pulled pork to the pot and add some or all reserved cooking liquid. Taste and season with salt, vinegar, or fish sauce. If using, stir in barbecue sauce. 1Adjust an oven rack towards the lower third of the oven so that a large Dutch oven will fit, and heat the oven to 300°F (148°C). 2Make the spice rub by stirring 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon chili powder, and 2 teaspoons cumin. Then, rub it over all sides of the pork so it is well coated. 3Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the pork. Cook for about two minutes per side until browned on all sides. Be careful the sugar in the spice mix does not burn. (See tips for making this without a Dutch oven). 4Transfer the pork to a plate. Then, add the garlic and 2 tablespoons tomato paste to the pot. Stir them around until the tomato paste turns from bright red to a dull orange, about 1 minute. 5Pour in 1 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and a tablespoon of fish sauce (or Worcestershire). Scrape the bottom of the pan to release any stuck bits. 6Position the pork back into the pan with the fattiest side facing up. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid, and slide into the oven. Cook until the pork is fork tender, about 3 hours. 7Transfer the pork to a cutting board and cool until you can handle it. Pull the pork with forks or your fingers. Discard the bone (if there is one), any connective tissue, and large clumps of fat. 8Remove the cooking liquid and skim most of the fat from its surface. Discard the fat, then set the cooking liquid aside. 9Return the pulled pork to the pot and add some or all reserved cooking liquid. Taste and season with salt, vinegar, or fish sauce. If using, stir in barbecue sauce. Adam and Joanne's Tips Bone-in vs. boneless pork: We have used both boneless and bone-in pork shoulder with this recipe and have not found much difference in flavor or cooking time. So use what you have available to you. What matters is fat, so buy the fattiest cut of pork shoulder you can find since that keeps the pork from drying out as it cooks. No Dutch oven: If you do not have a Dutch oven, sear the pork and make the cooking liquid in a high-sided saucepan or cast iron pan. Transfer the pork and the liquid to a roasting pan and cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fish sauce: Find fish sauce in the international aisle of most grocery stores, in international markets, or online. It has a salty-sour flavor and is something we use to elevate flavors in savory dishes or dishes with long cooking times. For example, you see us using it in our homemade pho recipe. If you do not have any, Worcestershire sauce is a good substitute. Why won’t my pulled pork pull apart? You may need to cook the pork for a bit longer. If you used a learner cut of pork, consider using a fattier, more marbled cut of meat like pork butt or pork shoulder, as leaner cuts like pork loin will not break down the same way and will be tough compared to the shoulder in this recipe. Storing: Keep pulled pork in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and up to 3 months in the freezer. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Bone-in vs. boneless pork: We have used both boneless and bone-in pork shoulder with this recipe and have not found much difference in flavor or cooking time. So use what you have available to you. What matters is fat, so buy the fattiest cut of pork shoulder you can find since that keeps the pork from drying out as it cooks. No Dutch oven: If you do not have a Dutch oven, sear the pork and make the cooking liquid in a high-sided saucepan or cast iron pan. Transfer the pork and the liquid to a roasting pan and cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fish sauce: Find fish sauce in the international aisle of most grocery stores, in international markets, or online. It has a salty-sour flavor and is something we use to elevate flavors in savory dishes or dishes with long cooking times. For example, you see us using it in our homemade pho recipe. If you do not have any, Worcestershire sauce is a good substitute. Why won’t my pulled pork pull apart? You may need to cook the pork for a bit longer. If you used a learner cut of pork, consider using a fattier, more marbled cut of meat like pork butt or pork shoulder, as leaner cuts like pork loin will not break down the same way and will be tough compared to the shoulder in this recipe. Storing: Keep pulled pork in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and up to 3 months in the freezer. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Nutrition Per Serving Serving Size 1/2 cup / Calories 154 / Total Fat 7.1g / Saturated Fat 2.8g / Cholesterol 66.9mg / Sodium 510.6mg / Carbohydrate 1.9g / Dietary Fiber 0.3g / Total Sugars 0.9g / Protein 21.1g AUTHOR: Joanne Gallagher We’re Adam and Joanne, a couple passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? To inspire you to get in the kitchen and confidently cook fresh and flavorful meals.More About Us