It’s been a while since I made pulled pork, so I think it’s about time. Forty-five minutes ago I put a 4.3 pound bone-in pork roast, liberally coated with a dry rub I mixed up, into a 230ºF oven.
Hah! Beat you to it. I did a small pulled pork (2.5 lbs, boneless) last week. We had sandwiches for two days, and then I made pulled pork hash with what was left (pork, potatoes, onion) and topped it with a couple of fried eggs.
Do you have a go-to dry rub? I always tend to just wing it, with carrying results.
Pork Rub
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
I triple or quadruple the recipe so I always have some on-hand.
That sounds good. I’ve saved that to try next time I make some. Thanks.
Nice. I usually do it in a slow cooker. The pork pulls itself.
mmm
I’ve been using the following, which works well:
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole coriander seed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cumin seed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 2 1/4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Toast the three whole spices briefly until fragrant, about 30 seconds on medium. Grind in a spice grinder or mortar/pestle. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. You could probably just use pre-ground spices if you don’t have a grinder. This makes enough to coat a 3 pound pork shoulder.
Ah. A food thread. Nevermind.
Only you, Gato, only you.
i have never tried pulled pork in the oven. i do mine in my off set smoker using hickory and oak splits.
last time i served it on sliced baguettes with garlic Parmesan mashed potatoes covered with country gravy.
my rub recipe:Equal parts kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, ground ancho chili, smoked paprika, granulated garlic, granulated onion and cayenne pepper
It actually works out nicely in the oven. No smoky flavor, of course, but you get a nice crust. Slow cooker is the easiest set-it-and-forget-it method, but you don’t get a crust using that method. (Not that doing it in the oven requires much more maintenance.)
My rub is even more straightforward these days. About two to three parts salt, one part black pepper, one part paprika, and one part ground chile peppers (I may alter paprika and chlle pepper ratios, depending on the heat of the chiles.) If I want an “accent” spice, I’ll add a bit of clove or allspice to taste, or a full part ground fennel.
Mrs. FtG does this once in a while. Goes thru the whole deal. Then packages them up into single serve amounts and throws them into the freezer. Once in a while I get a yet for a pulled pork sandwich and it’s ready in no time. Also handy when a kid is in town and needs a quick meal.
We’re still eating the pulled pork I made recently. Years ago I learned from an old Carolina woman to slow bake it in an oven bag. I rub cayenne, smoked paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper into it first. I like that the oven bag makes it come out with the crust, but overall more moist and tender.
I have discovered I have a lot of luck starting to smoke a butt on my Weber kettle in early-mid afternoon. It tends to hit a stall right around bedtime and has had plenty of time to get smoky, so I pull it off, wrap it, and put it in a 205 degree oven until morning. Then I pull it and put it in the crock pot with the juices and keep it warm until lunch.
Damn. I wish it wasn’t so cold, I’d knock one out today.
I am a indirect heat Weber fan too. Last time I did pulled pork, I let it get a good bark on it then wrapped it, squeezed two limes on it and left it on the grill for a couple of hours. Heavenly. Fell apart, moist and with a nice bark.
I personally find the smokiness necessary for good pulled pork. I will totally finish it in the oven and enjoy the results, though. Sometimes it’s fun fooling with a fire for that long, sometimes I just want to sit on the couch after about 3-4 hours of it. It’s a little more tasty to me when I keep the smoker going for the full time, but it’s delicious either way.
What woods do the folks who smoke use? I’ve been using apple, hickory and sometimes pecan for my recent ones, and I’m pretty happy with the results these days.
Oooh!, and anyone got a good mustard sauce recipe? I can’t seem to find one I like in a bottle around here.