Pulled pork is a method of slowly cooking pork butt shoulder cuts using low heat, for extended intervals of time. This way of barbecuing softens the connective tissues and tenderizes the meat so well, that it becomes very easy to break into pieces, or to be “pulled”. Then, the pulled meat can be served as a pile on hamburger buns or on a plate, rubbed or seasoned with various sauces and spices. Adding vegetables to the pulled pork dish is also a very common practice. In some areas on the US, the typical pulled pork is smoked. For better taste and added flavors, the pork shoulder is marinated in spices overnight, so we definitely can’t say that pulled pork recipes are among the quickest ones. Yet, once you’ve gone through preparative stages like marinating and smoking the meat, the rest of the process is not different than cooking any other main dish. Like in all slow cooking methods, one thing to take care of is food safety. The minimum cooking temperature inside the meat needs to be 165 F – 170 F for trichinae and harmful bacteria like Salmonella or E. coli to be destroyed. The best method to check if you cook at the safe temperature is to use a special kitchen thermometer with a probe that goes inside the food for measuring the temperature. It’s a cheap purchase that could save your health and even your life.
How To Prepare Pulled Pork
How to choose the meat cut Choosing the best cut is essential when cooking pulled pork, because not all cuts become as tender as to easily be shredded. For instance, one can cook a decent pulled pork recipe from a pork loin cut, but it will turn out to be relatively expensive and not as nice as other cuts such as a Boston cut shoulder or a pork butt roast. A boneless shoulder cut or pork is one of the best choices, because it is leaner. You don’t want too much fat in your pulled pork dish, although some of it is nice while smoking, because it helps keeping the meat moist. This cut is also cheaper than others, so why not make some savings, since the end result is of the same quality?
How To Make The Barbecue Rub
Best pulled pork recipes use a marinade or a rub for the meat to become more tender and flavored. The difference between a marinade and a rub is that the rub is dry, as opposed to the marinade, which is liquid. Basically, what you need to do for preparing the barbecue rub is to combine all spices you’d like to have in your food with some salt or some sugar. The sugar quantity may vary depending on how sweet you’d like your meal to turn out. It would be a good idea to refrain from sugar as much as you can, because it’s not healthy. The average American is already eating way too much sugar, thus resulting in an overweight population, even at younger ages.
Spices that go well with pork meat are garlic, onion, oregano, thyme, black pepper, Cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, chili, or mustard. Each cook knows how to make the rub, but this knowledge is most of the times based on trials and errors. You can taste the rub while you are making it, so you know if you like it or not before spoiling the whole food. The rub needs to have a sticky base, so it stays better on the pork shoulder. Mustard is your best friend at this stage: either mix it with the other ingredients in the rub or apply it in a thin layer before coating the shoulder with rub. Refrigerate it overnight or at least for a few hours.
How To Smoke The Pork Shoulder
When smoking meat, quantity matters, because it is possible that the outer layer gets cooked and starts drying long before the interior gets done. A general guideline is to smoke the pork one hour for each pound, so if you get a 6 pound shoulder, you need to smoke it for 6 hours. Other cooks advise to smoke it until the internal temperature reaches 180F or even 200F, measured in the thicker segment of the meat. Maybe their method is better, because temperature is the one that matters, because it makes the meat pull apart when ready.
As you probably figured out already, you do need a smoking pit for this operation. There are people who claim they smoke pork shoulder in the oven or on range top smokers, but honestly, it may not be such a great idea to do such things inside the kitchen if you don’t want to feel that smoke smell three more months after you’re done cooking. We are not going into the details of preparing and using the smoking pit, as this is not the purpose of this website. However, if you are interested, just let us know and we may add a special section for this topic.
Braising the pork shoulder in a heavy pot or in a slow cooker is a better alternative to smoking, if you wish to cook pulled pork indoors. Smoky BBQ sauce is your friend, as it can help you give your meal the same savor as original pulled pork recipes have. You can either buy ready-made smoky barbecue sauce or prepare it in house.
Pulled Pork Recipes
Pulled pork recipes are mainly slow-cooking dishes, suitable for regular family meals, snacks or parties. Excellent for picnic or for backyard barbecue parties, they make a delicious meal your guests will surely appreciate. This website aims at offering you a wide variety of pulled pork cooking choices, with sweet or spicy sauces, with typical pork rubs or with exotic spices, served on plate or on a hamburger bun. All recipes assume that you already know the basics of cooking pulled pork and they are meant to provide you with creative ideas of pulled pork dishes that look good and taste even better.
Your input is valuable to us, so if you have a tweak for any of our pulled pork recipes, please feel free to tell us about it in the comments section.
