How To Make Pulled Pork

Ingredients

The Pork

• Pork Butt: While you can totally use boneless pork shoulder instead, pork butt is my preferred cut for this recipe. Though both cuts come from the pig’s shoulder, pork butt has more fat, more marbling, and more connective tissue, so you get a juicier, more fall-apart-tender result with richer pork flavor.
• Brown Sugar: Brown sugar not only adds that necessary sweetness, but it helps to tenderize the pork.
• The Spices: Spices can vary when it comes to pulled pork, but my go-combination uses smoked paprika, garlic powder, ground cumin, onion powder, black pepper, and salt. This mixture hits all the right notes: smoky, earthy, bittersweet, hot, and pungent.
• Lager: Clean, crisp lager beer is my secret ingredient for ultra-flavorful pulled pork. No beer on hand? Try out this slow-cooker pulled pork instead.

The BBQ Sauce

• Ketchup: If you’re a ketchup lover, feel free to up the amount here. Prefer less tomato flavor? Add and adjust as you go!
• Dijon Mustard: While some recipes use ground mustard, Dijon adds a more complex flavor and gentler kick to BBQ sauce that I just can’t get enough of.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar not only thins out the BBQ sauce, but it adds that vinegary tang this sauce needs. If you prefer a stronger vinegar taste, throw in some more!
• Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is a must-have here. I usually go for dark brown sugar for a richer flavor, but you can use light brown in a pinch.
• Worcestershire Sauce: This adds a punch of umami to the BBQ sauce, creating a tangy, salty, slightly sweet taste.

Step-By-Step Instructions

The first step in creating the best pulled pork is to create your spice mixture rub it all over the pork, making sure you cover every inch. If you’d like to get ahead on prep (and ensure your pork is extra flavorful), rub the pork the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator until you’re ready to get cookin’.

Once the pork is perfectly seasoned, you’re ready to get to work. One of my favorite things about this recipe? The burnt ends. These blackened edges are a result of the fat and sauce caramelizing together. Searing the meat will give you those irresistible burnt ends, and if you’re using a Dutch oven, it’s a quick and easy step. But if you don’t want to sear the meat and don’t care about the burnt ends (can’t relate), feel free to skip.

After searing, pour in the beer, cover with a lid, and bake until the pork is just tender. Then remove the lid, and bake until the pork is very tender and can be pulled apart easily with a fork.

Now, it’s time to get started on the BBQ sauce. Add your ingredients to the pan drippings in the pot and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring often, until slightly thickened. This should only take 5 minutes or so, but keep an eye on it.

Once your sauce is ready to go, add the pork to a bowl and shred with 2 forks.

Add the shredded pork to the sauce and toss until every last shred is coated.

The final step? Serve it up! I love to pile it on toasted buns with dill pickles and coleslaw, but it’s also great in pulled pork nachos and on top of a simple baked potato.

Recipe Tips

• The best cuts of meat for pulled pork: The best cuts come for the shoulder of the pig, where there is a lot of marbling (internal fat) and collagen-rich connective tissue that respond well to low, slow cooking, yielding moist, juicy meat that is fall-apart tender. While pork shoulder roast, from the lower part of the shoulder, is one good option, even better is pork butt (aka Boston butt), which comes from the upper shoulder and is especially well endowed with marbling, connective tissue, and deep, porky flavor.
• How to “pull” barbecued pork: First make sure the pork is cooked until sufficiently tender that an inserted knife or fork meats minimal resistance, i.e., really tender. Once you’ve cleared that hurdle, give the pork a rest to allow the meat to reabsorb some of the juices, 20 t0 30 minutes is ideal. Now grab two forks and start separating (“pulling”) the muscle fibers; just how fine you want to shred is a matter of taste. Note: You are not tearing the meat (less juicy); you are just pulling the fibers apart (more juicy!).

Pulled Pork Variations

Storage

Put any leftover pulled pork in an airtight container and store in the fridge for around 3 days.

What To Serve With Pulled Pork

Made This?

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