BBQ has many iconic dishes. Brisket, ribs, sausage, and chicken are just some of the classic meats that fill grills every summer. Today, we are going to be covering another iconic BBQ entree as I cover how to cook pulled pork.
Ingredients
- pork shoulder
- mustard
- salt (1 tablespoon)
- pepper (1 tablespoon)
- brown sugar (1/2 cup)
- garlic powder (1 tablespoon)
- onion powder (1 tablespoon)
- paprika (1/4 cup)
- chili powder (1 tablespoon)
Prep
The first step in prep is making sure your pork shoulder is fully defrosted. With the protein secured, we can move on to the rub. This recipe uses my basic rib rub. This simple rub uses seasonings you probably already have in your kitchen. As the name implies, it is a very basic rub. You can modify it with additional seasonings like oregano, thyme, white pepper, you name it. Gather all of the spices and whisk them together in a bowl.
Once the rub is ready, lay your pork shoulder out on a cutting board. Apply approximately 1 tablespoon of mustard to the pork, and rub it in to cover the entire surface. Make sure you get it into every crack and crevice.
Next, liberally coat the pork with the rub. You want to make sure the entire surface of the pork is covered. And just like with the mustard, make sure you get into all the folds. Apply a lot of rub. This will create the bark on the pork shoulder.
Best Wood Chips For Pulled Pork
The choice of wood chips for pulled pork comes down to personal preference. The most popular choice, and my personal favorite, is hickory. It gives you the classic smoky flavor you probably associate with BBQ.
If you prefer a milder, sweeter flavor, apple or cherry is the way to go. Another benefit of these types of woods is that they have a light flavor profile that allows them to blend well with other types of wood. You can mix them with a hickory or oak and get both a strong smoky flavor along with a hint of sweetness.
How to Cook Pulled Pork
Pork must be cooked to 145 degrees to be safe to eat. However, a pork shoulder would be far to tough to eat if you only cooked it to 145. The internal temp to get fall apart pork is between 195 and 205 degrees. To reach this team, you need to set your smoker to between 225 and 250 degrees.
To reach the proper temperature and tenderness, you need to cook the pork approximately 1.5 hours per pound at 225 degrees, and 1 hour per pound at 250 degrees. These times and temperatures can vary depending on your smoker and the accuracy of your thermometer. You can use the probe test to see if your pork is ready: if your thermometer slices in and out of the thickest part of the pork like a hot knife through butter, its is ready.
If you are worried about your pork drying out over the long cook, you can create a mop sauce using apple cidar vineger, butter, and brown sugar to gently baste the meat while it cooks. This will also help firm up the bark.
Once the pork is done cooking, it needs to rest. This will allow the meat the reabsorb all the juices and stay moist and delicious. If you attempt to pull it too early, you will notice a lot of juice in the bottom of the pan. Cover the pork and let rest for 30 minutes to an hour. It should rest at room temperature.
When the pork has properly rested, its time to pull! There are all kinds of tools on the market you can get to help pull the pork apart, but your hands will work just fine if its cooked properly.
How to Eat Pulled Pork
Pulled pork can be eaten as is. A pulled pork plate is a staple of many BBQs. Paired with your favorite sauce and some toast or garlic bread, this will be a hit at your summer BBQ. Alternatively, you can serve it as a pulled pork sandwich. I prefer corn dusted kaiser rolls and a sweet BBQ sauce for my sandwiches.
Pulled pork can also be used in numerous other dishes. You can stuff it baked potatoes, sprinkle it onto nachos, and even stuff it into bao. This delicious meat is quite versatile.
Alternative Ways to Cook Pulled Pork
If you are lacking a smoker, you don’t have to miss out on pulled pork. It can also be cooked in a slow cooker, be it an Instant Pot or Crock Pot. You can even mimic the smoky flavor with liquid smoke. While I prefer the smoked version, a slow cooked pulled pork can also be delicious!
You can even cooked pulled pork in the oven. Simply drop the temperature down to 250 and cook the same way you would in a smoker. If you have a pan with a rack, you can even mimic the bark of smoked pork.
Give this BBQ pork dish a try this summer, you won’t be disappointed!
[…] you can probably surmise from that list, pork is very popular in the BBQ world. Ribs and pulled pork are iconic BBQ dishes. Both come in a variety of styles. For more details on all things […]