Help- recipe for pulled pork.

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

Maybe this has been covered- but I want to make this for the superbowl. It is going to be done in an oven- the night before. So what is the right cut to get(shoulder?), recipes, etc.

Thanks!!

2

Boston Butt or Pork Shoulder…they are the same thing basically. Costco has boneless and Sams has bone in for really cheap.

All it needs is a good rub, 225 deg F in the oven and shoot for an internal temp of 195 to 205 deg F.

3

Jay,
My only $.02 on this is rest the meat. Rest it a long time - several hours if you can.
When I have done this I’ve had my best luck resting the beast in foil in an empty ice cooler. I found that it was still warm, but well rested, up to 10 hours later.

4

To The Freak’s point, yes resting is a very good plan. Folks on the competetion circuit often times foil the critter and wrap in blankets and then put them in Igloo coolers and such.

5

Speaking from experience…when you think the shoulder’s done…give it a couple hours more in the oven. It will NOT dry out at that temp. (low 200s). I experimented with a picnic (if you picture the leg of a pig, it’ll be the lower part vs. the upper shoulder “Boston butt”) on the Weber last year. After 8 hours at an average of 225 (give or take) I still only got roast pork, not pulled pork. Just keep going at it.

Good luck and report back.

6

If you have a crock pot, you can try this: The Splendid Table" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just tried it yesterday. I used my own rub and far less liquid smoke, but it was actually way better than I expected it to be.

7

Coincidentially, bought a new 7 qt. Crock Pot on Saturday. Dying to try something like this.

8

Wait…I thought a ‘critter’ was a cow…

9

We’ve done pulled pork many many times and I can mostly echo what others had said here.

225 is a good temp to cook it at and it can easily take 8 or 9 hours to fully cook, depending on the size. Personally, I don’t mind the bone-in shoulder as the bone can give it some extra flavor and it’ll just fall out when you are done anyway. Resting for an extended period of time prior to doing the actual “pulling” is very important as well. At least an additional hour if you have that much time.

Rubs are great but also consider making a little basting sauce with some apple cider vinegar and a few of the same spices you use for the rub. Baste it every couple of hours while cooking.

10

One of my easy weekend standbys now is to throw a Costco shoulder into a crock pot and let it cook for about ten hours. You can season it however you want. It just falls apart at that point and you can put it on tacos or with bbq sauce or whatever. Very easy and delicious.

11

+1

Very easy prep that takes no time at all and you can leave the house and come back to a dinner that’s pretty much ready.

So versatile too i.e. BBq syle, Mexican (yucatan) style, Italian style, or clean out the fridge/pantry style. It’s all good.

12

Ok-

Thanks for all the tips…now who has a good rub recipe??

13

14

OK -

So got 2- 7 pound bone in shoulders/butts whatever. Made a rub with paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, sugar, cumin, onion and garlic powder. Rubbed and put it on - was on for about 12 hours. Put in the oven last night at about 1 am - 225. Looks and smells great. Figure a couple more hours- then out for that key resting period. Should be good to go for the game!

15

I am making two of them. Started by applying the rub about 7:00 last night. Around 11:00 spiked the oven to 425d and put the shoulders in, fat side up, for 25 minutes. Then I reduced it to 185d and went to bed. This morning the house smells amazing. I am going to make a mop of red pepper flakes and apple cider and grill slowly indirect on the Weber kettle for a couple hours to add some smoke. Going to let them rest for sure for maybe three hours wrapped in foil. Going to whip up some kind of sauce and serve on some nice rolls along with the obligatory wings and slaw for the game. Can’t wait.

16

LOL. Took me a minute! " It rubs the lotion on it;s skin."

17

Mark- sounds good. They are now out of the oven and wrapped in foil. Going to shred later, and the crock pot to keep warm. Slaw to be made in a bit.

18

Jay,
You should post the pictures on Facebook.

I’ll be going to Avatar later tomorrow and will look at them then.

19

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20

Feel free to substitute pork here in the place of Panda. I cooked 10 pounds of Panda using this recipe for the falltacular. (Use either the picnic or butt from the pork shoulder.)

Peter’s Pulled Panda recipe

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons non-iodized salt
1 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon white pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1⁄2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 3-pound panda butt
2 cups apple juice
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce.

  1. Place seasonings in a small bowl and mix well.

  2. Rub seasoning over the panda then cover and refrigerate overnight.

  3. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Place panda in a covered roasting pan on a rack with the apple juice and low sodium soy sauce, then put panda in the oven. Roast at 325° F. for 1 hour, then lower heat to 300° F. and roast for an additional 4 hours.

  4. Uncover roasting pan and roast panda for another 20-30 minutes until outside of panda browns.

  5. Remove the panda from the oven, let pand rest on a large platter for 15 minutes. Before it cools shred panda into small pieces using two forks or your fingers.

  6. Strain the juice from the pan, skim off the fat, then add enough back to the pulled meat so it is very moist.