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Our Very Best Pulled Pork Recipe
Succulent, juicy, and bursting with flavor, pulled pork is a lot easier to make than you might expect. It can be made in a Dutch oven, slow-cooker or an Instant Pot. All you’ll need is a bit of time—even if you’re making Instant Pot pulled pork, you’ll need at least 90 minutes. You can round out your pulled pork meal into a total feast with some classic pulled pork side dishes. Try serving it with Classic Potato Salad, Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Cornbread with Creamed Corn and Jalapeño Infused Honey, or Red Cabbage and Apple Slaw.
What Is the Best Cut of Meat for Pulled Pork?
The best pork for pulled pork is boneless pork shoulder. Pork shoulder is a term that can be vague, because it refers to a “primal cut” of pork, meaning a large piece of the pig that is cut off during butchering and then typically broken down into smaller, “sub-primal” cuts, each with a different name (though all coming from the shoulder). All of which is to say that, while you do want meat from the pork shoulder, the best piece of the shoulder meat for making pulled pork is the “pork butt.” Ask your butcher for pork butt, which is a cut of pork that comes from the shoulder of a pig. Sometimes pork butt is labeled “Boston butt” or even “pork shoulder roast.”
Ingredients For Pulled Pork Seasoning
Brown sugar
Mustard powder
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Chili powder
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
How To Make Pulled Pork from Scratch
Combine stock and cider vinegar in your vessel of choice. The cider vinegar will help to break down the pork and ensure that it’s really tender.
Put the pork butt pieces into the Dutch oven, slow-cooker or Instant Pot. Speaking of pieces, we’re asking you to cut the pork butt into quarters (or you can very nicely ask your butcher to do it for you). Why? We think it cooks better that way, especially in a slow-cooker or Instant Pot. You’ll get more crispy edges—thanks, surface area!—and it’s just one of those little things that makes our recipe the very best pulled pork recipe ever.
Time for the seasonings! Rub that pulled pork with a whole mess of slightly smoky, spicy, sharp and sweet spices.
Cover and cook! Depending on what vessel you’re using—and if you really want to know, cooking pulled pork in the oven is our preference—your cook time will vary. In the oven, it’ll take about four hours. In an Instant Pot, pulled pork will take a little over an hour. In a Crock-Pot, it’ll take 8-10 hours on low, or 4-6 hours on high.
Now, watch for doneness! The official pulled pork done temp is 205°F on an instant read thermometer, and you’ll know that it’s done when the pulled pork is fork-tender, meaning just a hint of pressure from the tines of a fork causes it to absolutely fall apart.
Serve! Get some really good-quality buns. You can douse the pulled pork with either Barbeque Sauce or Teriyaki Sauce, depending on your mood, and squish all that goodness between the buns.
How to Store Leftovers + Tips
This makes a lot of meat and you’ll likely have leftovers! Here are a few ideas to get you started: Make tacos! Just warm some tortillas, and top the pulled pork with whatever fixings you love. Make our Pulled Pork Hash, pulled pork Roasted Poblano and Carnitas Quesadilla, or this Pineapple Pulled Pork Sandwich!
You can freeze pulled pork for 3-4 months. It’s best to store the meat in portion sizes that work for your household, and to make sure that they are as airtight as possible so the meat stays as fresh as possible in deep freeze mode.
More Great Pork Recipes From The Modern Proper
The Best Pulled Pork And More Recipes
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