Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Pulled pork sandwiches recipe

Ok I tried a couple of recipes using slow cookers, and always end up with a soggy and tasteless meat. What is a good pulled pork recipe?

It may not be the recipe your lacking, but your choice of cooker,

You don't have a weber grill?

Nope. Camp Chef.

Just a side note: always remember that those are "pulled" pork sandwiches - not cubed.

Your slow cooker is a camp chef smoker? I first took your original post that you’re using a slow cooker like a crock pot or something on the counter.

For pork shoulders I smear with cheap yellow mustard, then sprinkle with whatever rub I happen to have on hand, usually Head Country (but honestly about any commercial or concocted mix works just as well). 225 degrees until the meat falls apart (around 200 degrees internal)

Never what I would call soggy. Cooking on everything from a ugly drum smoker to a stick burning offset to a propane fired vertical with wood chunks for smoke to a PitBoss vertical pellet smoker. Pellet smoker doesn’t make it as smoky. But still good.

You gotta have smoke.
I use my pellet grill and it turns out great.

I use a rub recipe that I got from Alton Brown years ago. It’s similar to this one:
https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/alton-brown/barbecue-st-louis-pork-ribs-2047251

Put the rub on the day before and refrigerate overnight. I like to cut the butt up into smaller portions for more bark. I put them in my smoker or on a Weber kettle grill with the coals off to one side. I add wood chips for smoke. After getting a good bark (~4 hours) I move it to a slow cooker or instant pot. I slow cook it until it pulls apart with forks (~2 hours). I’ve tried just the smoker but it drys it out too much but is still good. When I’m somewhere without a grill or smoker I’ve broiled the meat in an oven for somewhat of a bark but less smoke flavor or a gas grill.

I actually smoked one today and we had it for dinner. It was delicious.

Put on a rub, smoke at 225 for 10 hours or so until the meat is 190F. You should have a nice bark by then, and the fat should be rendered out.
If I transfer it to a crock pot to take to a party, I usually add some Coke to keep it from drying out.

cooking pork in a slow cooker is not a good idea. you need a smoker or at the very least a wood chip tray for your gas grill, but thats a pain. i recommend the weber smokey mountain. my buddy has one of these and it works really well too:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pit-Boss...w-Flame-Broiler-and-Meat-Probe/160692525

I start by putting rub on my pork butts the morning I am going to cook. I get my smoker up to temp (225-250) range and I run water pans in my smoker. I feel them with a 50/50 fix of Apple juice and water. I put the meat on and smoke it for about 4 hours, then I wrap it in aluminum foil. I continue cooking til the meat hits 195 internal temp. I take it and let it rest in a cooler (hot box) for at least 1 hour, longer is better.
I cooked 32 pork butts last year for about 400 people and cooked again this year for about 350. All the meat came out nice and moist and tender.

I am not smart enough to attach pictures but have some of the cooking. Also did 72 racks of ribs for the same cook

The smoke at 225 until 200-205 internal temp is a great method, as many stated above.

If in a hurry, can do "turbo butt" at 325 - 350. I've done several this way and they turn out great. Cut the time down to 6-7 hrs, usually.

I didn't realize camp chef made a smoker.

It is all about the smoke and rub. I use Meat Church Honey Hog for the rub. For the wood, I use either Apple or Cherry. A smoker is best and smoke at 225-250 for the first two hours. After that point is it just about maintaining temperature. I generally wrap in foil at the point and if you want to "cheat" use the oven until it is finished. In the oven, I use a roasting pan with a rack and water in the bottom. I use this one from Amazon. The rack keeps the meat out of the rendered fat drippings and the water in the bottom keeps everything moist. Cover the whole pan TIGHT with foil. I use 2 temp probes and it is done when both are over 200-205 degrees.

If it is done early, wrap just the roast in foil and place it in a cooler with old towels above and below it. It will last for hours and will be hot when you remove it.

Look up Dr Pepper pulled pork in adobo sauce. It won’t be bland.

I do pulled pork in a crack pot a lot. It works fine with a few caveats.

1) Find a rub you like - use generously
2) I put it on my gas grill with a few cans of mesquite chips smoking furiously.
3) Put a scorch on all sides
4) Place on sliced onions in the crack pot
5) Place onion chunks around it.
6) cook til it is falling apart
7) take out of the crack pot and set aside
8) pour the juice into a bowl
9) Put pork back into the crack pot and fork apart
10) add back juices to the consistency that you like
11) eat!

This

Thanks guys. Ill give it a try on the camp chef

I can't stand stringy pulled pork.
It's F'n nasty.

So, I used to let it cool, and slice it.

But, if you cook to around 202, the fibers break down.
Then you get nice soft meat that doesn't wind around your
molars and try to choke you.


Screw the cut meat haters.
Throw them in with the bean haters.

Good food is good food.
Changes in presentation mean little.

The stringy meat thing is tangible.

Cover a Boston Butt with Tony Chacheres and pepper.

Leave it on the smoker for at least 12 hours.

Lots and lots of smoke the first three hours @ 225. Bring it to 275 and leave until it’s done. Fork test tells you when it’s done. Not temp. Not time.

Serve on a bun with BBQ sauce and a spoonful of coleslaw on top.

If it’s not good you don’t know what good is.

Thanks guys. Look forward to making some good pulled pork!

that's a good one

Root beer pulled deer(venison)

Sounds interesting. I'm gonna have to try that. I have 2 or 3 15# butts in the freezer.

I usually use a method similar to "Flaves and they turn out excellent as well but I usually pull it before just before it gets to the shredding stage as I liked it sliced better.

The last few years every confirmation, graduation, wedding etc., people had pulled meat weather it be turkey or pork, it just got old.

I prefer chopped to pulled but it’s all good to me.

As mentioned, season well, get plenty of smoke on it, and let it rest a bit. Trim it up pretty well before you put it on the smoker. It still will likely have plenty of fat.

Cook it the same just chop it up?

Would think maybe cook for less time.

You can do it the same amount of time.

You just need a sharp knife and know how to cut up a roast.

It's strictly a texture thing.

You know how you alleviate that?

You stop going to confirmations, graduations, and weddings.

If you want to cut it, and you are going to let it cool.
Cut it after it gets cold. Fridge temps are good.
It gets solid and slices nice.

Yes sir. It's definitely a texture thing. I like to get a pretty good dry bark on it and when you chop it, it gets a good mix of crispy and somewhat dry bits with the fatty meat all mixed together.

Pulled is fine. Mushy pulled pork ain't so good.

Spicy Dr Pepper Pulled Pork

2 whole Large Sweet Onions
1 whole Pork Shoulder (Butt) about 5 To 7 Pounds
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 cans (7 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
2 cans Dr. Pepper (I used 20 ounces from a large bottle)
1/2 tsp Cumin
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Peel the onions and cut them into wedges. Place them in the bottom of a large dutch oven, sprinkle cumin across the top of the onion wedges.

Salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.

Pour the cans of chipotle peppers over the pork (including the sauce.) Now pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar, stir in. (After 4 hours of cooking I tasted the sauce for the balance of heat against sweet, which led to me using an extra tablespoon of brown sugar).


Put the lid tightly on pot, then place pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turn the roast two or three times during the cooking time. After 6 hours check the meat, it should be falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it�s not, return to the oven for another hour.

Take the meat out of the pot and place on a cutting board. Use two forks to shred meat, pick out any large pieces of fat and discard. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve (I placed it in the oven, covered at 200 degrees).

Thats the only way to make pulled pork. Gotta have smoke. Pick up a pork should and slow cook it, makes my mouth water just typing this.

Like this

I still smoke a pork butt occasionally and vac pac to portions for Cubano's, but to this day I can't get a straight pulled pork sandwich down. I ate so much of that crap from our competitions and catering jobs I almost even struggle with the smell when I pull it. Ribs, chicken, brisket, no problem. As far as what process to use, see flave's post.

I cooked one a couple days ago.


8 pounds.

No binder. Bbq rub.

Weber Smokey Mountain. Pecan smoke wood.


No spritz. No wrap.

12 hours.


It was very good.

Sounds great. I stop when internal temp gets to 202'ish, then wrap it in foil and put in a cooler for a couple of hours or so, then shred it.

y'all got me ready to do some smoking.....

WTH is a confirmation?

In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief.

Grew up baptist. Submersion as a teenager. Bathtub behind the pulpit, not muddy River consensual pseudo drowning ala oh brother where art thou type thing.

Please don’t say in Christian denominations infant baptism is practiced. That is just as incorrect as all the men calling everything they heat on a gas grill as bbq.

Every time I smoke a pork butt, it seems there’s 5 people with forks in hand pounding the table when it gets to temp so never wrapped one and let it rest. How big of a difference does it make to flavor/texture?
More of just an ease of shredding?

We rested this one for about 3 mins....while the table was being set.



It was 2030 hours!

Just trying to give Jackmountian an answer, pulled it off the intanet

Pulled pork is my favorite thing to cook on my traeger. Use whatever wood/seasoning you’d like, but I really like adding a fair amount of apple cider vinegar and a little bbq sauce to the meat once shredded.


I also prefer to let the pork or brisket rest wrapped in a towel in a ice chest for an hour or so. Seems to make the meat more moist… but maybe not.

I try and let mine rest an hour or more. I think it makes them more tender

I have a Boston butt fat side up going now. Sitting in a throw away aluminum pan off the fire covered with Tony Chachere's and wickers marinade in the pan. Apple limbs for smoke.
When the bone gets loose it will be ready. It will be better than any I ever had at a barbeque place. I cook a butt or shoulder every couple of months this way. About to go out and baste the roast with the pan liquid and add sticks.