Today’s recipe is Pulled Pork!
Well, it’s less of a recipe and more of a how-to. Pulled pork is loved by most yet many people are afraid to make it. In actuality it’s a very simple process; it just takes time. We won’t focus too much on specific seasonings today as there are so many that can be used.
All you need is two things: A pork shoulder and heat. Most people think pulled pork needs to be smoked on a barbecue - that’s not true! If you have a crockpot or an oven (or even Sous Vide) you can make it too! The main concept with pulled pork is it’s cooked at a low heat over time and this allows all the meat to tenderize.
What cut should you use? The best cuts for pulled pork come from the shoulder. The two roasts from here are the Picnic Shoulder Roast and the Boston Butt Roast. We generally prefer to have the Boston Butt cut into Butt Chops as they are incredible grilling steaks. As such we usually favour the Picnic Roast for pulled pork, however both work exactly the same for preperation and are equally delicious for pulled pork. Before starting be sure the roast has been thawed properly. If your cut is frozen you can do this by placing it in the refrigerator for a day or two before you plan to cook it.
When you are ready to begin the process follow these simple steps:
Dry rubbing: Start by unpacking and patting the pork dry. Then use your preferred seasoning as a dry rub. Generously massage the rub all over the shoulder. Wrap in foil and let sit overnight (or a few hours if you’re short on time - ideally 12-24 hours) in the refrigerator so that the flavour can penetrate into the meat (and the foil to collect the juices). Your rub can be as simple as salt and pepper or as complex as your own home-made bbq seasoning.
Searing: Now before your sear take the time to set up your crockpot or preheat your oven or Bbq to 250° F. Once you’ve done that take your pork shoulder and in a pan (or Dutch oven if you have one), bring to a medium-high heat and sear all the side until it’s got a nice colour. Use just enough (of your preferred) oil, butter or lard to ensure the pork doesn’t stick to the pan/dutch oven.
Cooking: After the pork shoulder has been nicely seared it’s now ready to cook.
> Dutch Oven: Turn the shoulder to be skin up. Pour in any juices you may have collected from the previous two stages and add in your preferred BBQ sauce (or beer etc.), place a foil over the opening and place on the lid to keep in the moisture. Place in oven or bbq and let cook.
> Crockpot: If you are using a crockpot place your pork shoulder inside with the skin facing up. Add the juices from dry rub and searing stages along with your preferred BBQ sauce (or beer etc.). Place the lid on it and let it do it’s thing
> Oven & Bbq: If you are using an oven or Bbq and don’t have dutch oven we’ll be using good ol’ aluminium foil. Take you seared pork shoulder and cover it with your preferred bbq sauce (we don’t recommend beer or other liquids with this method because of leaking risk). Wrap it carefully in alternating layers of foil to ensure the best seal you can get. If you were careful about unwrapping after the dry rub stage you can re-use the same foil for this process and add a few more layers (at least 3 total). The goal is to make sure the least amount of moisture can escape while cooking so the pork doesn’t become dry. Remember which side is the skin so you can place it skin up for the cook. I like to start by making a little “boat” shaped piece that serves as the bottom and can collect all the juices without spilling and then add the additional layers from there on. But just to be safe place your foil wrapped shoulder into pan/tray so that if any juices do leak they will not end up on the bottom of your oven/bbq!
Waiting: The best part of pulled pork is that while it cooks you can do other things, but if you’re really hungry (and by this time you’ll be smelling those amazing aromas) it can be tempting to speed things up by cranking up the heat but don’t do this!!! This will only cause the pork to overcook and dry out! It’s important to let it cook at its own pace. The general rule is 1.5 hours per pound of meat at 250° F. It is essential that the pork cook at at least 205° F as this is the temperature at which the proteins start to break down and tenderize! So if you want to (or have to) cook at a lower temperature make sure it’s at least 205° F and give it longer to cook as well (at least 2 hours per pound or more).
Resting: When the waiting time is over make sure to check your pork to ensure it has cooked. Use a temperature probe in the thickest area to see if it’s been cooked all the way through. Reminder: pork should be cooked to 160° F for safe consumption but because we want this shoulder to be fall-apart tenderized we want to see temperatures of at least 205° F or higher! If you have a foil wrapped shoulder just stick the probe through the foil at this point as it will be too difficult to unwrap/rewrap at this temperature without burning yourself or making a big mess (not to mention loosing all that moisture). Just make sure you do it at the end of the cook so not too much moisture escapes from the hole you just made! If it’s reached the desired temperature pull it out of the oven, bbq or crockpot and let is rest for at least 10-20 minutes (depending on the size of the cut). This rest period is essential for the meat to re-absorb moisture that it gave off while cooking. DO NOT UNWRAP/REMOVE LID during the rest period - doing so will let all that moisture escape! Simply take your roast away from the heat and let it sit.
Pulling: Finally it’s time to pull the pork! When the pork shoulder has finished resting take it out of its cooking set up (dutch oven, foil wrap or crockpot) and place in a large bowl. The skin should easily slide off at this point (but don’t throw it away - save it to make delicious crackling!). Take two forks and using one to pin down the meat and the second to scrape and the meat will just pull apart with little effort! You’ll soon find a technique which works best and just continue on the entire shoulder ripping it to pieces (literally!). Remove any bones you may come across. Once you’ve got all the meat down to a desired size you can add in more bbq sauce to tase and voila! Your pulled pork is complete!
Additional information:
Should I leave the skin on?
It is better to leave the skin on but not necessary. The skin will help prevent the meat from drying out during the cook as the subcutaneous fat will keep the roast juicy. The skin also contains a lot of healthy collagen that will melt down and into your meat. Collagen is essential for healthy skin, joints, tendons, muscles and pretty much any organs in your body. However taking the skin off can reduce the total calories in the pulled pork - be warned that it is at much higher risk of being dry. Once the cook is done you do want to pull the skin off before going on but you can save it to make crackling!
Bone in or bone-out roast?
Generally most Boston Butts and Picnic Roasts come with a bone. There may be some that are de-boned or boneless but this is less typical. The bone will add additional flavour to the pulled pork and make it even more tasty!
Best seasoning?
Pulled pork is typically made with bbq rubs and sauce. Since there is such a huge variation in those out there I opted to leave that up to personal preference. If you have an amazing bbq rub / sauce you love to use - use that and you’ll probably be happier than some unfamiliar sauce I may recommend. It’s all about personal taste after all. Someone may be happy with a simple salt and pepper pulled pork while someone like my brother absolutely loves it drenched in the special bbq sauce he picked up at the local rib fest!
How much sauce should I add while cooking?
Again this is one that’s up to personal preference. Using more will help to keep the pork moist, but using too much might over power the flavour of the pork. A general rule is enough to cover the entire shoulder roast in a thin layer and also have a small puddle to sit in during the cook. You can always add more after it’s been pulled. If you are using a beer, soda or cider instead of a sauce ensure it’s sitting in at least 2cm of liquid (generally one can is enough - depends on the size of your pot too) but at least make sure 2/3rds of the roast is out of the liquid. It really all depends on how big your shoulder roast is and that is why I am not going with amounts.
Hopefully you will find this guide helpful and will try your own hand at making some delicious and yummy pulled pork!