Pulled Pork

Article by Layla Khoury-Hanold

Pulled pork is a staple at barbecue joints, backyard BBQs and game-day parties, where the succulent shredded meat stars on meat-and-three plates, in sandwiches and atop nachos. Ree Drummond loves making her family-favorite pulled pork recipe, especially since it’s a budget-friendly way to feed a crowd. And making barbecue restaurant-worthy pulled pork at home is easier than you think. With Ree Drummond’s oven-baked, slow cooked pulled pork recipe, you’ll learn the best cut of pork to use, how to make a flavorful barbecue rub, the secret ingredient that adds loads of flavor, how to evenly shred the pork and her smart shortcut for making a tasty barbecue sauce.

How to Make Pulled Pork Like a Pro

Choose your cut of pork. Ree uses a pork butt roast (also known as pork shoulder roast) which is a relatively inexpensive cut of meat that has a lot of connective tissue and marbling, making it well suited to low-and-slow cooking applications like barbecuing and oven-roasting.

Make a flavorful barbecue rub for the pork. Ree makes a flavorful, well-balanced spice rub with brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne, then rubs the mixture all over the pork butt.

Marinate the pork overnight. Wrap the pork in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to ensure the pork is well-flavored and seasoned throughout.

Cook the pork low and slow over aromatics in a foil-covered pan. Ree adds halved onions to a disposable roasting pan (easy clean-up!) and places the pork directly on top. She covers the pan with foil, which helps to ensure even cooking and keeps the pork moist. Roast the pork until fork-tender and falling apart, about 7 hours at 350 degrees F.

Make a flavorful barbecue sauce from the pan drippings. Ree drains the fat off from the cooking liquid, then adds hot water to deglaze the pan and scrape up the pan drippings. Then she adds a bottle of good quality barbecue sauce and cooks it with the cooking liquid to make a flavorful, tangy barbecue sauce.

Shred the pork and don’t rush the process. Remove the cap of fat from the pork and use two forks to break up the pork and completely shred it by pulling the fibers (not tearing them). As Ree says, it’s important to have patience as it’s a process that can’t be rushed.

Add onions and barbecue sauce for extra flavor. The tender, fall-apart cooked onions are sliced and added to the pork for a burst of extra flavor, and the shredded pork and onions are tossed in the tangy-savory barbecue sauce until well-coated.

Best Pork for BBQ Pulled Pork: Pork Butt vs Pork Shoulder

The best cuts of meat for pulled pork come from the shoulder of the pig because it’s got a lot of marbling and connective tissue, ensuring fall-apart-tender, juicy and moist shredded pork. Pork butt and pork shoulder are also relatively inexpensive, making it a great budget-friendly option for feeding a crowd. Ree’s pulled pork recipe calls for either pork shoulder or pork butt roast, but because pork butt has more connective tissue, fat and marbling, it has a richer pork flavor. For more information, check out our primer Pork Butt vs. Pork Shoulder: What’s the Difference?

Dry Rubs for Pulled Pork

Dry rubs for pulled pork should have a well-balanced flavor profile of savory, sweet and spicy. To make her pulled pork spice rub, Ree uses brown sugar for a warming sweetness and to help tenderize the meat, garlic powder and paprika for savory, earthy depth, chili powder and cayenne pepper for heat and salt and pepper. It all adds up to a savory, lightly sweet barbecue spice rub with a touch of heat.

Sides to Serve with Pulled Pork

Serve pulled pork with mac and cheese, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, cornbread, potato rolls or slider rolls. Try making some of Ree’s best barbecue pulled pork sides, including her fan-favorite Macaroni and Cheese, Classic Coleslaw, Perfect Potato Salad and Quick and Easy Baked Beans.

Recipes Using Leftover Pulled Pork

Some leftover ideas for pulled pork include pulled pork nachos, sliders, tacos, tostadas, soup, sandwiches and salads. Try using leftovers to make some of Ree’s best pulled pork recipes, including Spicy Pulled Pork Sliders, Sheet Pan Nachos or Pulled Pork with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cheese Grits. For a hearty helping of comfort food, use leftover barbecue pulled pork to make Pulled Pork Enchilada Casserole, Cajun Pulled Pork and Grits or Kansas City-Style Pulled Pork Chili.