Pulled Pork

[8ntruck 6,991]

We tried cooking some pulled pork today.  Turned out ok, but we've had better.   Was kind of bland and really needed the commercial BBQ sauce to perk it up. 

 

We started with a small pork loin, made a rub using brown sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and cyanne.  Cooked for hours in a crock pot set on low with cider vimeager and water mixed 1 to 3.

 

Now, it seems everybody has an opinion about pulled pork, and everyone has the 'best in the world' recipe.  

 

Let's hear you brag about your 'best in the world' recipe.

[Mickwhitt 4,593]

Not something I've ever tried to cook, but if a nice recipe pops up here I will give it a spin.

Mick

[Herder 2,354]

Nothing over the top here: Slow cooker, pork loin, apple juice.  Use a natural juice or a cider and cook until meat falls apart, drain and add a BBQ sauce.  Shred meat and allow to recook for 20 min's.  We have been using Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, theirs one with honey that go's well with pulled pork.        

[953 nut 55,099]

9 hours ago, 8ntruck said:

tried cooking some pulled pork today.

          When I saw the title of this thread I thought it would open up to see a  pulling a pig.          

[Ed Kennell 38,028]

       Just for you Richard. @953 nut

Edited April 25, 2021 by Ed Kennell

[JoeM 7,871]

The old patch Italian guys made it a little different.

Used bone in pork butt

cut slits down to the bone and pressed fresh garlic cloves about 6 in to touch the bone, 

pushed fresh parsley into the slits

rubbed the outside with salt and pepper 2/1 about one tablespoon per pound. 

sprinkled / rub rosemary over the top and into the slits. 

Bake to 165 internal. 

Served on a fresh Italian Roll hot or cold. 

I like it with hot pepper rings.

[rmaynard 15,428]

Around here, pulled pork is served two ways. Vinegar style and sauced. I prefer sauced.

 

I slow cook my pork in a crockpot. I start with a finely chopped sweet onion in the bottom of the pot. Then I put in a 5 pound boneless pork shoulder trimmed of excess fat and rubbed with a generous amount of kosher salt, and add about 2 tablespoons of minced garlic. Let it cook on low 8 to 12 hours. I remove the juice that has accumulated in the pot from cooking and set it aside. I start pulling the meat apart with a couple of forks, removing any large pieces of fat. I then put in another finely chopped onion. Take the juice set aside earlier, remove the fat, and add about 1/2 cup of it to 1 cup of Sweet Baby Ray's original BBQ sauce. Stir into the pork an let it cook for another 3-4 hours. 

 

Serve on a soft Kaiser roll, and top with creamy cole slaw.  Enjoy.

 

[haydendavid380 759]

You do yours about the same way I do mine. 

 

Pork loan in the crock. I put Mt Dew usually in with mine. An orange soda isn't bad either. Cover the top of the meat with a dry bbq pork seasoning.  Drain after cooking all day, shred, and add your favorite sauce.

[Skwerl58 702]

I use  apple juice instead of vinegar and rub the pork with mustard and other basic seasonings.  The mustard is a simple addition that most don't add but really works in the slow cookers.

[WHX?? 48,795]

@Achto... I won't even try to make it anymore.  A plow day staple.

[Achto 27,509]

I have an injection that I inject my bone in pork butt with on the night before. Then it gets a mustard & spice rub down before going in the smoker. I keep the smoker temp at 225f. Meat cooks until the core temp is 165f. About 1hr per pound of meat. Then the meat gets wrapped tight in foil & goes back in the smoker until the meat reaches 203f. After this the meat gets removed from the smoker, foil is left on and it is wrapped in towels. Then it is placed in an empty cooler and left to rest for 2 to 4 hrs. You can pull the meat apart with a plastic fork.😀 Sauce can be added at the table, but not really necessary.

Edited April 25, 2021 by Achto

[rmaynard 15,428]

It doesn't matter how it's cooked, I love pulled pork. 

[8ntruck 6,991]

Well, at least we used the correct BBQ sauce - Sweet Baby Ray's.  I figured that the pork loin might not be the best starting point, as it is a very lean cut.  It is what we had in stock, though.

[clueless 2,976]

Been pulling pork for over 55 years. First of all, a pork loin, tenderloin, or a ham cooked in a slow cooker for along time is dry and tasteless. The only thing you're really tasting is the spices and the sauce, they're just to lean to take that kind of cooking. Now lets move to the front of the pig, whole pork shoulder, pork shoulder, and Boston butt. They have plenty of connective tissue and fat to be able to be cooked up to 200 degrees, the best temp for pulling pork. Next time, find a 4 to 5 lb Boston butt (bone in) trim off the layer of fat on the bottom, rub it down good with plenty of BBQ rub, there are different ones at you local store. Stay away from the ones that have some heat to them the first time. Put the rubbed butt in the fridge overnight. Next day put it in the slow cooker, add about a cup of water or apple juice to it, nothing else, cook it on low. The butt has a bone in it that looks kind of like a lower case cursive f. When you can pull that out clean and easily it ready. Take the butt out of the pot, but leave the pot on. Let the butt rest on a plate or cutting board until it cools down to where you can pull it apart for about 20 second at a time before your fingers get too hot. In the pot there will be some liquid if there is more the 2 inches (second knuckle on your index finger) pour some out. Put the pulled pork back in the pot, you may want to add a little more of the rub to it, you know you already tasted it when you were pulling it. Now add the BBQ sauce, whatever you like, I like the tangier vinegar based ones over the sweet. Turn the pot up to high, cover for about 30 minutes, enjoy.  As a southern boy and butcher for 30 years this is how I told my customers to do it when asked about pulled pork. It's just too hard to mess it up. Also, never put BBQ sauce in a slow cooker when cooking meat a long time, the sugar and tomato sauce starts to burn and break down and when mixed with the rendered fat it is not that tasty. Now I think I'm gonna put a big pot of red beans and rice on .

Edited April 25, 2021 by clueless

[8ntruck 6,991]

 @clueless - we will give your recipe a try.  In the meantime, we've still got 3 little (1 lb) tenderloins in the freezer.  What butcher's advice do you have to cook them? 

 

I've thought about slitting them and inserting cloves of garlic and maybe some clove, wrapping them in beacon, then cooking them in a dutch oven on a bed of apples at 300 for a couple hours.

[rmaynard 15,428]

I have a way of cooking pork tenderloins that is a hit with everyone that tries it. 

I take a 4 x 8 foil loaf pan and place the tenderloin in the bottom. I get a can of crushed pineapple and pour the juice off into a bowl.

I salt and pepper the tenderloin, then dump the crushed pineapple over it.

I mix the pineapple juice with 1/2 cup of brown sugar and pour that over the meat.

Heat the gas grill to 375 degrees, cover the pan with foil, and put it into the grill and cook for about 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork is 145. I turn off the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Slice into 1/4" thick pieces and serve with the pineapple on the side.

 

The other way is substitute apple slices and apple juice for the pineapple.

[clueless 2,976]

3 hours ago, 8ntruck said:

 @clueless - we will give your recipe a try.  In the meantime, we've still got 3 little (1 lb) tenderloins in the freezer.  What butcher's advice do you have to cook them? 

 

I've thought about slitting them and inserting cloves of garlic and maybe some clove, wrapping them in beacon, then cooking them in a dutch oven on a bed of apples at 300 for a couple hours.

Think of pork tenderloin as of a fast cooking top of the line 1.5 to 2.0 inch steak, and cook it that way. If it's cooked past 20 to 30 minutes at 325 to 375 degrees, it's not going to be that good. If you want to cook it longer than that, wrapped in bacon, bed of apples, or other ways then buy a boneless pork loin.

[WHX?? 48,795]

Sounds Like Clueless is not exactly clueless... One thing I noticed is you guys are all doing crockpots are ther no smokers or pellet grillers out ther? To me it has to have the bark flavor  that only a such a weapon  can bring to the table. 

@ronwhclaims to be a authentic KC barby cooker but this is heresay as he has never produced for us when it comes to a show. Hey Ron WH rally at Portage this year wanna have a throw down?!?!?

 

Dan wrapping it for Christmas! He does them in one of those aluminum one time pans then dumps the juice back into the nesco.      Pork fat rules! 

Edited April 26, 2021 by WHX24

[ronwh 186]

@WHX24, 

how can I turn down a offer like that.  I have a local market cut a few pork butts into 1.25" pork steaks, I trim off excess fat and dry brine over night with Kosher salt. Next day I season and smoke for about two hours at 250-275 then wrap with a shot of apple juice and honey in aluminum foil and put back on smoker until they reach a temp of 203-205 degrees.  I then rest them for a couple of hours until they are cool enough to cut into bite size pieces. Always save au jus to pour back over meat.  Put me down for Thursday night.  

[WHX?? 48,795]

It's a date Ron ...our smokers are all yours!  Cindy is an absolute fanatic for a pork steak! She's gonna tell you not to trim tho! 

[clueless 2,976]

12 hours ago, ronwh said:

@WHX24, 

how can I turn down a offer like that.  I have a local market cut a few pork butts into 1.25" pork steaks, I trim off excess fat and dry brine over night with Kosher salt. Next day I season and smoke for about two hours at 250-275 then wrap with a shot of apple juice and honey in aluminum foil and put back on smoker until they reach a temp of 203-205 degrees.  I then rest them for a couple of hours until they are cool enough to cut into bite size pieces. Always save au jus to pour back over meat.  Put me down for Thursday night.  

That's about how I do pork belly except a little longer on the smoking, then cut it into 1 inch squares put them in a disposable alum pan with some apple juice, honey, yellow mustered, splash of wosterxxx sauce, more rub, a little brown sugar and some bbq sauce. Back on the grill till it cooks down to this thick sticky sauce then eat, pig candy. I've been BBQing for over 50 years, this is what everybody wants some of when they come over.

I forgot I also add a 1/2 to a whole stick of butter to the sauce depending on how big the belly is because it just makes it better and death waits for no one.    

Edited April 26, 2021 by clueless

[ronwh 186]

Sounds great clueless, can we put you down for Friday's night?