Best Pulled Pork Recipes

SLOW-COOKER PULLED PORK

Steps:

• In small bowl, stir together paprika, salt, garlic powder and brown sugar.
• Spray 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Rub paprika mixture on pork to cover completely. Place pork in slow cooker. Pour water around pork.
• Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or High heat setting 3 to 4 hours, until extremely tender.
• Transfer pork to cutting board. Let rest until cool enough to handle. Use 2 forks to shred pork.
• Discard liquid in slow cooker. Wipe out slow cooker. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Return shredded pork to slow cooker; stir in barbecue sauce until well mixed. Cover; cook on High heat setting 10 to 15 minutes or until hot.

SLOW COOKER PULLED PORK BARBEQUE

Steps:

• Stir celery, onion, barbeque sauce, ketchup, water, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper together in a slow cooker. Place roast into the mixture.
• Cook on Low for 7 hours (or High for 5 hours). Shred the meat with two forks and stir into the liquid; cook for 1 hour more.

PULLED PORK SANDWICH WITH BBQ SAUCE AND COLESLAW

Steps:

• For the BBQ sauce: Combine the ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, garlic, cider vinegar, Worcestershire, Cajun seasoning and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until ingredients are completely incorporated. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the flavors have melded and sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. If not using right away, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
• For the pulled pork: Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Spread out the onions and garlic in an even layer in a roasting pan and pour in the chicken stock. Combine the Cajun seasoning and brown sugar in a small bowl. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels and then rub all over with the spice mixture. Set the pork on top of the onions and garlic and cover the roasting pan with foil. Transfer to the oven and cook until the pork is fork tender, 6 to 8 hours.
• Remove the pork to a cutting board to cool. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve.
• If the pork has a bone, remove and discard it. With two forks, shred the meat into bite-size pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the roasting pan. Add 2 cups of the BBQ sauce and a bit of the reserved cooking liquid if too dry.
• For the coleslaw: Combine the red and green cabbage, carrots and red onions in a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise, cider vinegar, sugar, and some salt and pepper in a medium bowl, and then add to the cabbage mixture. Mix well to combine. Taste for seasoning; adjust with more salt, pepper or sugar as needed.
• Serve the pulled pork on buns topped with coleslaw.

PULLED PORK BARBECUE

Steps:

• Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the pork in a roasting pan and roast it for about 6 hours. An instant-read thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the pork should register 170 degrees F, but basically, what you want to do is to roast it until it's falling apart.
• While the pork is roasting, make the barbecue sauce. Combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Take it off the heat and let it sit until you're ready for it.
• When the pork is done, take it out of the oven and put it on a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While it's resting, deglaze the pan over medium heat with 3/4 cup water, scraping with a wooden spoon to pick up all of the browned bits. Reduce by about half. Pour that into the saucepan with the sauce and cook 5 minutes.
• While the pork is still warm, you want to "pull" the meat: Grab 2 forks. Using 1 to steady the meat, use the other to "pull" shreds of meat off the roast. Put the shredded pork in a bowl and pour half of the sauce over. Stir it all up well so that the pork is coated with the sauce.
• To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom half of each hamburger bun, and top with some slaw. Serve with pickle spears and the remaining sauce on the side.
• Combine the cabbage, carrots, red onion, green onions, and chile in a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix. Season the cole slaw with the celery seed, hot sauce, salt, and black pepper. Chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

PULLED PORK

Steps:

• Mix together 2 tsp each smoked paprika, ground cumin, pepper, and brown sugar, plus 1 tsp salt. Rub over the 2.5kg boneless shoulder of pork.
• Put the pork in a big casserole dish, skin-side up, and pour in 2 medium mugfuls of cider.
• Cover with a lid and cook in the oven at 150C/130C fan/gas 2 for anywhere between 4 and 8 hrs until falling apart. Check every few hours in case it gets dry - if it does, add another mugful of cider.
• Take it out of the oven and put the meat in a big dish, leaving the liquid in the casserole.
• Cut the skin off, then shred the meat using two forks. Ditch any fatty bits, and skim any excess fat off the surface of the sauce.
• Add a mugful of a good smoky BBQ sauce to the casserole, mix it in, then ladle some into a bowl for dipping.
• Put the pulled pork back in the casserole with the juices so it stays moist. Season to taste. Can be made one day ahead.
• Serve in soft white rolls with coleslaw and the bowl of juices on the side for 'French dipping' the sandwich while you're eating.

SLOW-COOKER PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Combine 1 tablespoon brown sugar, the paprika, mustard powder, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet; add the pork and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, 5 minutes. Remove the pork and transfer to a plate; whisk 3/4 cup water into the drippings in the skillet. Transfer the liquid to a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker.
• Add the vinegar, tomato paste, the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 cups water to the slow cooker and whisk to combine. Add the pork, cover and cook on low, 8 hours.
• Remove the pork and transfer to a cutting board. Strain the liquid into a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Roughly chop the pork and mix in a bowl with 1 cup of the reduced cooking liquid, and salt and vinegar to taste. Serve on buns with barbecue sauce and coleslaw.

NORTH CAROLINA-STYLE PULLED PORK

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix mild paprika, light brown sugar, hot paprika, celery salt, garlic salt, dry mustard, ground black pepper, onion powder, and salt. Rub spice mixture into the roast on all sides. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
• Prepare a grill for indirect heat.
• Sprinkle a handful of soaked wood over coals, or place in the smoker box of a gas grill. Place pork butt roast on the grate over a drip pan. Cover grill, and cook pork until pork is tender and shreds easily, about 6 hours. Check hourly, adding fresh coals and hickory chips as necessary to maintain heat and smoke.
• Remove pork from heat and place on a cutting board. Allow the meat to cool approximately 15 minutes, then shred into bite-sized pieces using two forks. This requires patience.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together cider vinegar, water, ketchup, brown sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and white pepper. Continue whisking until brown sugar and salt have dissolved. Place shredded pork and vinegar sauce in a large roasting pan, and stir to coat pork. Serve immediately, or cover and keep warm on the grill for up to one hour until serving.

NORTH CAROLINA PULLED-PORK BARBECUE

Steps:

• Bring vinegar to a boil with sugar, red-pepper flakes, 2 tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp pepper in a small nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then cool. Set aside 2 cups vinegar sauce to serve with sandwiches.
• While sauce cools, score pork skin in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife (forming 1-inch diamonds), cutting through skin and fat but not into meat. Pat meat dry and rub all over with 1 Tbsp each of salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before grilling.
• Prepare grill for indirect-heat cooking over low heat, leaving space in middle for disposable roasting pan.
• When coals have cooled to about 300°F (45 minutes to 1 hour; when most coals will have burned out), put disposable roasting pan on bottom rack of grill between the 2 remaining mounds of coals, then fill pan halfway with water. Add a couple of handfuls of unlit charcoal to each charcoal mound, then put grill rack on so hinges are over coals.
• Oil grill rack, then put pork, skin side up, on rack above roasting pan. Grill pork, with lid ajar (for air, so coals remain lit), basting meat with sauce and turning over every 30 minutes (to maintain a temperature of 250 to 275°F, add a couple of handfuls of coals to each side about every 30 minutes), until fork-tender (a meat fork should insert easily) and an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into center of meat (avoid bone) registers 190°F, 7 to 8 hours total.
• Transfer pork to a cutting board. If skin is not crisp, cut it off with at least 1/4 inch fat attached (cut any large pieces into bite-size ones) and roast, fat side down, in a 4-sided sheet pan in a 350°F oven until crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.
• When meat is cool enough to handle, shred it using 2 forks. Transfer to a bowl.
• Serve pork, cracklings, and coleslaw together on buns. Serve reserved vinegar sauce on the side.

AWESOME PULLED PORK BBQ

Steps:

• Place pork in a slow cooker and season to taste with garlic powder, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Add quartered onion, apple, and 3 celery stalks. Pour chicken broth into slow cooker.
• Cook on Low until very tender, about 8 hours. Transfer pork to a large platter and discard juice and vegetables. Shred pork with a fork and return to the slow cooker.
• Prepare barbecue sauce while pork is cooking. Melt butter in a large saucepan or small Dutch oven over medium heat; cook and stir 2 cups celery and 1 1/2 cups onion until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add ketchup, water, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, liquid smoke, and 1 tablespoon garlic powder; mix. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Pour barbecue sauce over shredded pork.
• Continue cooking pork on Low heat until flavors combine, about 2 hours.

OVEN-ROASTED PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F.
• To make the barbecue sauce: combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds. Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other. Put the shredded pork in a bowl. Pour 1/2 of the sauce on the shredded pork and mix well to coat.
• To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom 1/2 of the hamburger bun, and top with the spicy slaw. Serve with pickle spears and the remaining sauce on the side.
• Combine the cabbage, carrot, red onion, green onions, and chile in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar; stirring to incorporate. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix. Season the cole slaw with celery seed, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Chill for 2 hours in refrigerator before serving.

PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Assemble the spice rub for the pork: In a dry, small skillet over medium-low heat, toast coriander, cumin and peppercorns until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind toasted spices into a fine powder. Transfer to a bowl and mix with salt, mustard powder, chile powder and sugar.
• If your roast is tied up, untie it. Massage meat generously with spice rub. If you have time, let meat rest for an hour or two at room temperature, or refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place pork in a baking pan and roast for 3 to 4 hours or until meat is pull-apart tender and internal temperature reads 200 degrees on a meat thermometer. Let meat cool for at least 30 minutes before pulling it apart and shredding with your hands or two forks. (This works best when the meat is warm but not hot.)
• Prepare the barbecue sauce: Combine ingredients in a medium pot. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce has deepened in color. Season with more hot sauce if you like. Add two-thirds of the sauce to meat and toss to coat, adding more sauce as needed. (Any leftover sauce will keep for at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator.)
• Make the slaw: Combine cabbage, onion and jalapeño in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add dressing to cabbage and toss well.
• Serve pulled pork with slaw, buns and hot sauce on the side, letting people assemble their own sandwiches.

TANGY COLESLAW FOR PULLED PORK

Steps:

• Combine cabbage and red onion in a large bowl.
• Stir sugar, vinegar, vegetable oil, salt, dry mustard, and celery seed together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; remove from heat.
• Pour sugar and vinegar mixture over the cabbage and red onion. Toss mixture. Let cool, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

SUPER-EASY PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Mix brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt in a bowl. Spread mustard over pork roast and sprinkle with brown sugar mixture, using the entire amount. Line a shallow baking dish with aluminum foil. Place a rack in the prepared baking dish and arrange pork roast on rack.
• Bake in the preheated oven until very tender, 9 to 11 hours. Let pork cool, then shred into bite-size pieces. Stir barbeque sauce into pork to moisten; serve with hamburger buns.

SLOW COOKER PULLED PORK WITH ROOT BEER

Steps:

• Pat pork shoulder dry and place in a slow cooker. Pour root beer over pork.
• Mix together brown sugar, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Sprinkle on top of pork and rub lightly until entire surface of pork is coated.
• Cook on Low for 5 hours. Switch to High and cook until meat is tender and can easily be pulled apart with a fork, about 3 hours more. Carefully remove pork and shred with 2 forks. Drizzle some liquid from the slow cooker over pork to moisten.

CROCK POT COCA-COLA PULLED PORK

Steps:

• Place roast in a 5 quart crock pot. Season with garlic, onion, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Add liquid smoke and pour in Coca-Cola until it reaches nearly the top of the roast (or covers it depending on the cut of meat).
• Set Crock Pot on low heat and cook for 8-10 hours.
• When ready to serve, remove roast from Crock Pot to a platter. Remove any bones and trim all fat. With a fork, begin "pulling" pork apart into thin shreds. Add barbecue sauce and fold into meat.
• Serve pulled pork on a burger bun or on its own.
• Note: If preparing this dish for a potluck, pour 1 cup of Crock Pot liquid into a measuring cup and discard the remainder. Then return pulled pork to Crock Pot, set on warm or low heat setting, add 1/2 cup of reserved liquid (to keep the meat from drying out) and cover until ready to serve. If the meat is in the Crock Pot for more than one hour, add more liquid as needed for moisture.

NORTH CAROLINA PULLED PORK

Steps:

• 1. If using the rub, combine the mild paprika, brown sugar, hot paprika, celery salt, garlic salt, dry mustard, pepper, onion powder, and salt in a bowl and toss with your fingers to mix. Wearing rubber or plastic gloves if desired, rub the spice mixture onto the pork shoulder on all sides, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, preferably 8.
• If not using the rub, generously season the pork all over with coarse (kosher or sea) salt and freshly ground black pepper; you can start cooking immediately.
• 2. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and place a drip pan in the center.
• If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat the grill to high; when smoke appears, reduce the heat to medium.
• If using a charcoal grill, preheat the grill to medium-low and adjust the vents to obtain a temperature of 300°F.
• 3. When ready to cook, if using charcoal, toss 1 cup of the wood chips on the coals. Place the pork shoulder, fat side up, on the hot grate over the drip pan. Cover the grill and smoke cook the pork shoulder until fall-off-the-bone tender and the internal temperature on an instant-read meat thermometer reaches 195°F, 4 to 6 hours (the cooking time will depend on the size of the pork roast and the heat of the grill). If using charcoal, you'll need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side every hour and toss more wood chips on the fresh coals; add about 1/2 cup per side every time you replenish the coals. With gas, all you need to do is be sure that you start with a full tank of gas. If the pork begins to brown too much, drape a piece of aluminum foil loosely over it or lower the heat.
• 4. Transfer the pork roast to a cutting board, loosely tent it with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes.
• 5. Wearing heavy-duty rubber gloves if desired, pull off and discard any skin from the meat, then pull the pork into pieces, discarding any bones or fat. Using your fingertips or a fork, pull each piece of pork into shreds 1 to 2 inches long and 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide. This requires time and patience, but a human touch is needed to achieve the perfect texture. If patience isn't one of your virtues, you can finely chop the pork with a cleaver (many respected North Carolina barbecue joints serve chopped 'cue). Transfer the shredded pork to a nonreactive roasting pan. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the vinegar sauce, enough to keep the pork moist, then cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it on the grill for up to 30 minutes to keep warm.
• 6. To serve, mound the pulled pork on the hamburger buns and top with coleslaw. Let each person add more vinegar sauce to taste.

SLOW COOKER BARBECUE PULLED PORK

Steps:

• Mix paprika, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, oregano, sugar, white pepper, and cayenne together in a small bowl.
• Massage spice rub into the pork roast. Wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
• Unwrap the roast and place in the bottom of a lined slow cooker. Add water and liquid smoke. Cover and cook on Low until pork is fork-tender, 8 to 10 hours.
• Transfer roast to a cutting board; discard liquid in the cooker. "Pull" by tearing meat into thin shreds with 2 forks or your fingers. Discard fat.
• Place shredded meat back in the slow cooker; toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce, and heat on Low until hot, 30 to 60 minutes. Serve with remaining barbecue sauce.

ROOT BEER PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Place roast in a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker. Add root beer; cook, covered, on low until meat is tender, 8-10 hours., Remove roast; cool slightly. Discard cooking juices. Shred pork with two forks; return to slow cooker. Stir in barbecue sauce. Cook, covered, until heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve on rolls. Freeze option: Freeze cooled meat mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if necessary.

CUBAN ROAST PULLED PORK

Steps:

• Directions (Oven Version with Crackling):.
• Puree the garlic, onion, orange juice, lime juice, rum, olive oil, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender, place 2/3 of the mixture into a large sealable bag with the pork and marinate in the fridge overnight.
• Pull the pork out of the fridge 1 hour before roasting, take it out of the bag, set it with its skin side up, wipe the skin dry and let sit for 1 hour.
• Score the skin in 1/2 inch intervals and rub salt generously into the skin.
• Place the pork in a roasting pan, skin side up, roast in a preheated 450F oven for 20 minutes or until the skin has become crackling, ie it has become golden, hardened and crispy.
• Reduce the heat to 325F and roast until the pork reaches 170F for slicing or 195F for shredding, about 2-3 hours or 4-6 hours respectively. If the skin starts to get too dark tent it loosely with foil without folding the edges over to prevent steaming.
• Let the pork rest for 15 minutes, remove crackling and cut into small pieces, discard any extra fat and then slice or shred the pork. Remove the fat from the juices and serve with sliced pork or mix into shredded pork.
• Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoons of the juices from the roasting pan in a pan over medium-high heat, add the onion and saute until tender and caramelized, about 7-10 minutes.
• Serve the pork with the caramelized onions and remaining mojo.
• Directions (Slow Cooker Version):.
• Puree the garlic, onion, orange juice, lime juice, rum, olive oil, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender, place 2/3 of the mixture into a large sealable bag with the pork and marinate in the fridge overnight.
• Place the pork in a slow cooker/crock-pot with the skin side up along with the marinade and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
• Let the pork rest for 15 minutes, discard the fat layer and then shred the pork.
• Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoons of the juices from the slow cooker/crock-pot in a pan over medium-high heat, add the onion and saute until tender and caramelized, about 7-10 minutes.
• Serve the pork with the caramelized onions and remaining mojo.
• Tip: Mix some mojo into the pork after pulling it; man is that mojo ever good! Make sure to make enough pork to make Cuban Sandwiches with leftovers!

SLOW-COOKER PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• In small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons brown sugar, the chili powder, 2 teaspoons salt and the pepper. Rub mixture all over pork. Place in 4 1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker.
• Pour broth and 1/4 cup of the vinegar over pork. Cover and cook on High heat setting 4 hours.
• In medium bowl, beat mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in coleslaw mix. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes but no longer than 4 hours.
• Remove pork to cutting board, and shred using 2 forks. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Discard remaining cooking liquid. In medium bowl, mix reserved cooking liquid with barbecue sauce and remaining 1/4 cup vinegar; return to slow cooker with shredded pork. Cover and cook on Low heat setting about 20 minutes or until warmed.
• Using slotted spoon, spoon about 1/2 cup pork mixture on bottom half of each bun. Top each with about 1/4 cup coleslaw. Cover with top halves of buns. Pork mixture can be kept warm on Low heat setting up to 2 hours; stir occasionally.