This Perfect Pulled Pork is so simple. It’s seasoned to perfection with a dry rub mix and slowly roasted in the oven. Perfect for tacos, burritos, sandwiches or hoagies, this dish is always a crowd pleaser.
This is a recipe for the worlds most Perfect Pulled Pork, at least in my opinion. I’ve been making it for years now and it’s always such a hit and a favorite at my house. It’s also extremely easy to make, but you need patience since it needs to cook low and slow and also smells absolutely amazing while it does. Once you’d tried my pulled pork recipe you’ll be tempted to make it every week, and whose to stop you?
Pulled Pork Made Perfect
This is such a wonderful way of preparing pulled pork, because you will always end up with a piece of meat that is full of flavor and it’s incredibly delicious. It’s a slow, long process, but in the end it’s worth it.
Today we’re going to be creating a dry rub to really get a crust of flavor on that pork and we’re also going to brine this pork. Never brined before? Well you’re about to be converted, for more information take a quick read of this article on brining.
Ingredients In Pulled Pork
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Pork
- Pork – We’re using 6 pound pork shoulder for our pulled pork today.
Dry rub
- Aromatics – Onion and garlic powder. We don’t want to use fresh as we want a flavor concentrate that can stand up to our long cook time.
- Spices – Cumin, chili powder, cayenne. These ingredients are a must for flavor and color!
- Sugar – We’re using brown sugar today as we want that deep molasses flavor.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper, you know the drill.
Brine solution
- Salt – Well we need salt to brine don’t we? We’re going to be using quite a bit but don’t worry, it won’t make the meat overly salty.
- Sugar – We’re using equal parts brown sugar and salt. We’re using brown sugar to carry the flavors from our dry rub through the pulled pork.
- Dry rub – After that salt has helped us penetrate the pulled pork, we want to make sure our dry rub flavor is what sinks its teeth in.
- Bay leaves – For flavor, be sure not to eat these leaves.
- Water – Cold water if you please.
How To Make Pulled Pork
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Brine the pork: The night before you want to serve the pulled pork, prepare the dry rub mix. In a big pot prepare the brine solution and add the pork shoulder to the brine, throw in a couple bay leaves, cover the pot and put in the fridge overnight. You can also place the brine solution and pork in a big ziploc bag.
- Rub that rub: In the morning, take the meat out and pat it dry. You’ll need a big deep roasting pan. Put the meat in the pan, and start rubbing in the dry rub all over the meat. Make sure you put plenty of rub, and massage real well. Place your meat thermometer in the thickest part of the pork, be sure it isn’t touching the bone if your piece is bone in.
- Cook the pork: Place uncovered in a 225 F degree oven on the middle rack. It will take about 12 hours, the meat needs to get to an internal temperature of 200 F degrees. Once this is achieved take the pork out of the oven and allow to rest for 1.5 – 2 hours.
- Finish the dish: Using two large forks shred the pulled pork. Serve it up hot on sandwiches, tacos, burritos, tamales, etc.
Other Ways You Can Make It
This is a versatile cut of meat that can be prepared in more than just the oven! Let’s show our other cooking methods some love.
Slow cooker
Follow the first 2 steps the same, then place the pork shoulder in your slow cooker. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the slow cooker, close the lid and cook the pulled pork on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 6 hours.
Pressure cooker
My recipe here will give you all the instructions you need to whip this pulled pork up easy peasy in your pressure cooker. For both of these recipes you’ll want to shred your pork just the same as instructed above.
Some Tips
- You may be tempted to snack on this delicious pork as soon as it’s out of the oven but trust me, it needs time to rest! Let it sit for a full 2 hours and you’ll ensure the pork stays moist and full of flavor!
- Why do we need to brine our meat? The pork will absorb the extra liquid and salt, locking in all that extra moisture and flavor. It’s necessary for leaner cuts of meat that tend to dry out when cooked low and slow.
- Look for a pork shoulder that has bone in for added flavor and a layer of fat on the bottom. Just be sure that your meat thermometer isn’t touching the bone when you place it in the shoulder.
How To Serve
There’s so many things you can do with pulled pork! From turning it into a sandwich topped with creamy coleslaw, to adding it into tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. You can spoon it over hearty salads, omelettes, and even substitute it in for some delicious breakfast dishes.
Some of my favorite sides to pair with this dish include:
Storing Leftovers
This pulled pork will keep fresh for 3 – 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. To freeze just wrap the whole shoulder, unpulled, in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before freezing for 3 – 4 months. Just be sure to thaw overnight in the fridge before warming in the oven and shredding.
Craving More Pork? Try These Recipes:
- Perfect Pork Tenderloin
- Pork Schnitzel
- Pan Seared Pork Chops With Gravy
- Pork Carnitas
- Korean Style Pork Chops
- Pork Loin Roast
- Easy Oven Baked Pork Chops
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Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 6 pound pork shoulder
Dry Rub
- 1 tablespoon cumin ground
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pepper ground
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
Brine Solution
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 8 cups water cold
- 3 tablespoon dry rub mix
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- The night before you want to serve the pork, prepare the dry rub mix. In a big pot prepare the brine solution and add the pork shoulder to the brine, throw in a couple bay leaves, cover the pot and put in the fridge overnight. You can also place the brine solution and pork in a big ziploc bag.
- In the morning, take the meat out and pat it dry. You’ll need a big deep roasting pan. Put the meat in the pan, and start rubbing in the dry rub all over the meat. Make sure you put plenty of rub, and massage real well. Now, you’ll need a thermometer and you need to stick it in the thickest part of the meat, not touching the bone.
- Place uncovered in a 225 F degree oven on the middle rack. It will take about 12 hours, the meat needs to get to an internal temperature of 200 F degrees.
- Once it reaches 200 F degrees, take it out of the oven and let it rest for another 1.5 to 2 hours.
- Using two large forks, begin pulling the meat apart. It will fall apart easily and it should not take you long at all to pull apart this whole roast.
- Serve on sandwiches with coleslaw, hoagies, tacos, burritos, tamales, etc.
Recipe Notes
- For the meat, you’ll need a 5 to 7 lb pork shoulder with bone in and a layer of fat on the bottom.Â
- This pulled pork will keep fresh for 3 – 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. To freeze just wrap the whole shoulder, unpulled, in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before freezing for 3 – 4 months. Just be sure to thaw overnight in the fridge before warming in the oven and shredding.
- INSTANT POT PULLED PORK: For instructions on how to make pulled pork in the instant pot check out my recipe and video here.
- CROCKPOT PULLED PORK: Follow the first 2 steps the same, then place the pork shoulder in your crockpot. Add about 1/2 cup of water to crockpot, close the lid and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 6 hours.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
This looks amazing, we love pulled pork. If we do the crockpot version, should we use plain water or can we use the brine water mixture?
I wouldn’t use the brine water mixture, might end up too salty.
I would love to try this! I have a pork tenderloin in the freezer…would this work, or is it not fatty enough?
You can definitely make pork tenderloin work. I would recommend adding more sauce to get the right texture!
Thanks Jo! Just one more question if I may…what do you mean by “sauce”? Is that the brine solution or something else, because I just looked over the recipe again and it doesn’t mention “sauce” specifically.
There will be lots of sauce in the roasting pan after the meat is done cooking. Since tenderloin is much more lean than shoulder, you can scoop some of the sauce out of the pan and mix it with your shredded meat to keep it from being dry.
Do you let it rest covered or uncovered when it’s taken out of the oven?
You can cover it with aluminum foil.
Hi Joanne, love all your recipes, bought your book and gave it as a gift also. Now my question…..for pulled pork………….followed your recipe to a T, but halved everything as meat was only 3 lbs. Does it still need 12 hours in the oven or less? Just put it in the oven.
I half all your recipes as I am a one person household and they always turn out well. You are one great cook, spot on with your measurements and ingredients, love everything you post. Thank you, keep it up so we can enjoy!
6-7 hours should be perfect! A meat thermometer is a great tool as well. Once the internal temp reaches 200F, your pork is all done.
Thanks for the quick reply, starting to smell good already, 3 hours in.
Wanted to let you know…………..Your Pulled Pork recipe turned out wonderful, spiced to perfection, but it did take 10 1/2 hrs. to bring it to 200 F for a 3 lb. roast. Will make it again. Thank you for your great site.
It looks like from the picture that you sliced the pork but it doesn’t comment on that in the recipe. Do you feel like slicing it works better?
We shredded it with 2 forks! Some of the pieces will pull off bigger. You can shred them down smaller if you want.
Jo,
I love you’re site and have learned many new and exciting recipes from it. By all means if folks can find a way to smoke their pork shoulder they should, it adds an exciting level of flavor and crust.
in addition, the bone simply does not add any flavor, although it is a tell tale sign that the pork is done when it pulls cleanly from the shoulder.
Thanks for all you do!
Steve
Hi Jo! I just want to ask if this can also be cooked using instant pot?
Yes, here’s a similar recipe for pulled pork in the instant pot: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/instant-pot-bbq-pulled-pork/
My husband and I want you to know that we tried your pulled pork recipe and it was fantastic. We both love pulled pork. We have had it at many restaurants, and we have made it several times but this recipe makes the most juicy, flavorful, tender, and enjoyable pork we have ever had. Thank you for sharing you recipe.
I’m so happy you guys like this recipe! 🙂
There seems to be a lot of heat spices in the rub. How spicy is it in the end. My husband and I love flavour hitting spices but are sooks when it comes the ones that pack a punch as well.
The two spices that pack heat in this are the chili powder and cayenne pepper. Try using a mild chili powder, and substitute the cayenne with some smoked paprika. Enjoy!
I need to make sure I am reading the nutrition value correctly. It says one serving has
8,169 mg of sodium and that doesn’t count the bun or coleslaw. That would be almost 3 to 4 days worth of sodium in the average diet.
Thanks
I recalculated, but it was because of the brine solution, you are throwing that away but some of it might go in the meat, so in the end the sodium might be a bit higher than stated.
Can you use this specific recipe in an Instant Pot? I have used your Instant Pot Recipe, which is good, but it isn’t brined. Plus, this one makes its own finishing sauce.
Yes you can! There’s a section in this recipe that explains it 🙂
Can you convert this to a slow cooker recipe?
Yes, there are instructions in the recipe notes.
If using a crock pot, do you still need to cook it with the thermometer in? Or just check it with an instant read thermometer when it’s getting close to completion?
You don’t need to cook it with the thermometer in at all, just use it after. 🙂
Oh my goodness! I made pulled pork this week also. Could never get tired of eating it. I love that you chose to roast in the oven also!
Great recipe! I have made pulled pork for carnitas for the first time last month, two completely different recipes in 2 days. While I cannot say I didn’t like it, it was really good, I was left with the feeling that there is definitely room for improvement, I have never had it before, but I just thought it should be better than that. Does it make any sense? 🙂 I would love to try your version as well the next time, it is again different from the two versions I have tried, the meat was not brined in the recipes I used.
Let me know if you try it, I’m sure you’ll love it!
Can you do this in a crock pot after you take it out of the brine
Absolutely!
thanks very much will make this today it is cold and rainy maybe put it in the oven have a great day
Delicious… so easy in a crock pot as well. But in a smoker, fantastic!
The dish has it’s roots in American and Caribbean slave history. They would get the worst parts of a pig (too fatty), so they learned to cook it where all that fat renders out and tenderizes the meat. It is incredible. great spot on recipe!
Thanks Dave, I had no idea, see you do learn something every day. 🙂