21+ Delicious Pulled Pork Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to tender pulled pork? ›

Slow cook for 6-8 hours if you split the meat in half, and about 8-10 hours if you left the pork butt whole. The trick to good pulled pork is cooking low and slow! We want all the collagen and connective tissues to break down and give us that tender, delicious texture.

Transfer everything to a large slow cooker and add a splash of liquid — water is great, but so is broth, apple juice, or beer if you have them handy. Cover and cook on low until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily.

The vinegar adds contrast to the smoky flavor and cuts through the fat in the meat.

To achieve tender and flavorful pulled pork, it's best to cook it slowly for a long time until it's easy to shred. This makes it a great dish to prepare in advance and serve for dinner later.

Wet rubs are fantastic when you are cooking low and slow – again, brisket and pulled pork. This allows your food to develop a unique bark and allows the sugars to caramelize instead of burn.

How do you tenderise pork for stir fry? Velveting is a Chinese technique that helps keep meat tender during stir frying. Adding cornstarch and bicarb to your meat during the marinating process helps to coat your meat, giving it a velvety feel that makes the meat feel extra soft.

We use brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, a good amount of salt & pepper, and a pinch of cayenne! Make sure you use all of the seasoning! Also, really rub it into the pulled pork, get all of the nooks and crannies!

Whether you use a slow cooker or oven, adding soda creates sweet and savory flavors while also helping the pork keep its moisture and become more tender.

Namely, if you accidentally incorporate too much sauce, the flavor and texture of the pork are going to be completely overwhelmed by the sauce — meaning you'll have a soggy mess, including buns that are potentially too soaked to hold, that is also missing the complex flavors of the slow-roasted pork.

It's good to add a binder, which helps the rub stick to it. This can be olive oil, yellow mustard, or a spray oil like duck fat. For pork butt I usually go with mustard. It doesn't add any flavor to the finished product, but I like the way it holds the rub and the color it gives to the exterior early in the cook.

Do you put barbecue sauce on pulled pork before or after cooking? ›

Apply the sauce after the meat has been cooked. Depending on the cooking temperature and the type of sugar, a sweet sauce can get gummy or even burn. So, apply the sauce at the end, about 15-30 minutes before removing the pork to add rich flavor.

Cumin is a favourite in curries, but it also works incredibly well with pork. It is a go-to savoury spice for a reason: its distinct, earthy flavour. You wouldn't necessarily just season pork with cumin, but mixing it with other seasonings like ginger and lime can enhance the flavour significantly.

Typically, when you make pulled pork, you'll cook it in barbeque sauce or another acidic ingredient like vinegar, citrus, or Worcestershire sauce, which work to tenderize the pork. Now think about soda like any other marinade, working to help break down the meat for pull-apart results.

The kind of meat you're smoking will influence the texture of your shreds. Pork shoulder and butt contain tons of fat that keeps the meat juicy and soft when cooking. Your meat could not shred properly if you attempted to smoke a leaner cut, such as tenderloin. The issue of the meat bark is another issue.

Try brine: Choose a wet marinade rather than a dry one. Dry rubs may work fine but brine or a wet rub will add that extra moisture along with the flavor that will penetrate deep inside the meat. Keep a spray bottle handy: Keep spraying the meat during smoking or reheating to replace the lost moisture.

How do you make pork soft and tender? Soak your pork in a salt-based brine before cooking it using your desired method. Pork chops need to soak between 12–24 hours, an entire pork tenderloin needs to soak for 6–12 hours, and an entire pork loin requires 2–4 days of soaking.

Lemons are highly acidic, making them a great meat tenderizer. A thick coating of lemon juice applied one hour before cooking will draw water from the meat, thus, improving the meat's texture. Adding too much of this marinade could actually toughen the meat.