This Pulled Pork recipe is made at least once a month in our house. It turns out perfect every single time! Your friends and family will swear you had it catered from the local barbecue restaurant. And, your house will smell SO GOOD while it cooks in the oven!

This recipe is one my family requests frequently. It is one of those fool proof dishes I know everyone will eat, and the prep time is so very minimal. The blend of spices yields a deeply flavorful pork that your company will swear came from a restaurant! And your house….your house will smell amazing. Pulled Pork will serve a crowd easily, or your family for several days! Pro Tip: Serve it alongside our Perfect Potato Salad or Publix Copycat Macaroni Salad. 

Your Perfect Pulled Pork

My friends, I have a to share a secret with you. Until last summer, I had never made homemade pulled pork! As a southern girl, I am not proud of this fact. Every southern cook should be able to whip up sweet tea, pimento cheese, and pulled pork faster than you can say “we’re fixin’ to go sit on the porch”. 

LET’S HUDDLE UP

One afternoon last June, my mother-in-law mentioned seeing a Ree Drummond Pioneer Woman episode featuring Pulled Pork. Shamefully, I shared my secret with her, and vowed to try Ree’s recipe real soon!

Copa and I made it once, and then again and again! This recipe is just perfect to have on hand when company is heading your way!

We served it on the Fourth of July when my father was visiting from Alabama. We made it more times than I count on football game days last fall! Our house smelled SO GOOD as the meat lingered in the oven. Our Saturdays in the fall went something like this: rise, make Pumpkin Spice Muffins (they only require three ingredients!), pull those out of the oven and throw the pork shoulder in the warmed oven! The pork would roast all day while we relaxed, watched football, and enjoyed our Saturday. Sometimes, we make Pulled Pork on a Sunday for supper, then enjoy leftovers during the week. The recipe will serve a crowd, or your family for several meals.

                            How to Make Your Perfect Pulled Pork

You guys, this recipe is almost too simple. It’s such a show stopper, you would think it would be complicated, but it’s not at all. You baste the pork with a dry rub, let it hang out in the fridge for a few hours, then park it in a warm oven and let it do it’s thang…

1. Make sure you purchase a bone-in pork shoulder. If you don’t see one, ask the butcher or go to a different grocery store. Seriously. Next, for convenient clean up, grab a large aluminum pan with deep sides. This will make your clean up a snap!
2. Now, let’s pull together the dry rub.

It’s almost a magical blend for pork. Don’t be tempted to alter the quantities or swap fresh garlic for the garlic powder.

     3. Get your spice team together, then rub that magical goodness all over your pork shoulder.

        4. Wrap your pork in plastic wrap, and let it chill in the fridge – the longer the better. I try to give mine a solid overnight performance in the refrigerator, but in a pinch have let it chill only 2-3 hours.         5. After your pork shoulder has been rubbed and chilled, chop your onion into halves. Remove the pork from the aluminum pan, spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray, and lay the onions in the bottom of the pan.

Unwrap the pork shoulder and place if fat side up on top of the onions. (Why fat side up? So the juices and flavors from the fat run allllllll the way down through your pork shoulder!). It is  sooooo good!      6. Cover your creation with tin foil, and let it roast in a 300 degree oven. I placed the entire pan on a cookie sheet for added stability. When the pork comes out of the oven, I usually shred the pork with bear claw meat shredders like these,  then I place the meat in a large, ceramic casserole dish.
I got this French White Corning Ware Oval Baker the second year we were married, and it has been dubbed our “pulled pork pan”.  Then, I simply toss the aluminum pan in the garbage!

We usually served Pulled Pork in hamburger buns or slider buns. If you want to keep carbs down, a bowl of Pulled Pork with fresh slaw on top is a delish alternative!

I know your family and friends will enjoy this one….you’ve GOT to make it soon! If you are having a football tailgate party, Football Cocoa Crispy Treats would be a great make-ahead dessert for your fans.

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SHOP THE TAILGATE:

Pulled Pork

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Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chile powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 pork shoulder
• 4 onions cut into fourths
• 1 bottle good barbecue sauce

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Stir together brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne in a small bowl.
• Rub spice mixture all over the pork shoulder. Wrap pork in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours or preferably overnight.
• Place the pork in a deep pan or pot on top of the onion slices. Roast until fork tender and falling apart, about 7 hours. Remove pork from the pot and set it on a cutting board or ceramic pan.
• Place a large pot on the stove over medium-high heat and add 1/2 to 1 cup hot water. Scrape the pork pan and place the bits in the pot. Cook for 5 minutes to reduce. Pour in barbecue sauce and stir to heat.
• Shred meat with two forks and toss into the barbecue sauce pot. Stir until mixed. Serve on hot rolls or hamburger buns.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.