Oven Pulled Pork

Ideally, this would be smoked on a outdoor cooker, but a dutch oven allows a very tender replica to be made in the kitchen. Set aside at least 5 hours for this low and slow recipe. 

Ingredients

Cooked ingredients:

• 1 large pork shoulder/butt

• 1 diced onion

Dry rub:

• 5 tbsp brown sugar

• 5 tbsp white sugar

• 5 tbsp paprika

• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

• 1 tbsp ground mustard

• 1 tbsp garlic powder

• 1 tbsp onion powder

• 1 tsp ginger powder

• 1 tbsp dried oregano/italian herbs

• 1 tbsp salt

• 1 tbsp black pepper

Dry rub:

• 12 tbsp ketchup

• 6 tsbp brown sugar

• 60 ml apple cider vinegar

• 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

• 1 tbsp liquid smoke

• 1 tbsp mustard

• 2 tsp hot sauce

• 2 tbsp of the dry rub mix

Directions

Making the rubs and sauce:

1. Mix together all of the dry rub ingredients and apply generously to a room temperature pork shoulder/butt. 

2. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Searing the meat:

3. The meat may have a large fat cap - this can be partially sliced off to reduce the fattiness slightly. 

4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a dutch oven on the hob, and sear the pork joint on all sides until brown. Add the pork into the pot cold, so it even renders out fat as it heats up. The joint may stick to the pot, but this helps with browning and is expected. It will easily lift up once sufficiently browned. 

5. The pork will brown quickly because of the sugar in the rub, so be cautious not to be burn it. Once almost fully browned, add a diced onion and scrape the bottom of the pot to release the fond. 

6. Make sure the fatty side of the meat is facing up and add half of the sauce and 120ml of chicken stock. Remove from the heat.

Slow cooking the meat:

7. Cover the dutch oven and place in a 120°C oven for about 4 hours. This is quite a forgiving recipe, so exact cooking times are not necessary. The meat just needs to be cooked until a tender, pull apart texture is reached.

8. After about 4 hours, remove the lid of the dutch oven and cook uncovered for a further hour. This exposes the meat to some dry heat and allows further browning. 

9. Remove the meat once the desired tenderness is reached and it offers no resistance. 

Pulling and preparing the meat:

10. Transfer the pork to a separate bowl or chopping board, reserving the liquid in the pot.

11. Skim off any excess fat from the pot, and add the remained of the sauce and a further 60ml of cider vinegar. Whisk to combine.

12. Shred the pork (it should fall apart very easily) and remove the bone if present. Remove any excess fat that may also be present.

13. Add the pork back to the pot of sauce and combine together. Serve with white rolls and coleslaw.