This easy pulled pork recipe is made right in the oven — no smoker or grill required! This recipe is especially great in the winter when grilling and outdoor smokers may not be feasible. This recipe has the same great taste of pulled pork right from the oven.
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Can I make pulled pork in the oven?
Absolutely! As the name suggests, this Oven Pulled Pork is slowly roasted right in your oven! It’s so easy, too!
Obviously, not everyone has the luxury of owning a gas grill or smoker, some apartment communities even ban them from the home cook. Maybe your BBQ grill is stored away for winter or are burried under a foot of snow, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy delicious pulled pork!
You can also repare one in your crockpot, but I prefer the flavor of the pork butt (shoulder) when it’s slow roasted in the oven when I can’t use my electric smoker.
Just look at that bark (crust)! Yum.
What is the best cut of meat for pulled pork?
A pulled pork can be made from any fatty pork roast. For me, the best roast is the shoulder since it’s high in fat and connective tissue making it the most flavorful part of the pig. The pork shoulder is typically cut into two parts, the Boston butt and the picnic roast.
You will most often find it labeled as pork shoulder, pork butt, or pork picnic shoulder roast.
How do I get the Smoky flavor when I cook pulled pork in the oven?
Since this pulled pork is prepared the oven, wood chips just are not feasible, instead, we incorporate some smoky spices to give a smoky flavor.
How Do I cook a Smoked Pork Butt in the Oven?
After blending the spices together and massaging them into the meat, place the pork butt with the fat cap side up. Placing the fat cap on keeps the meat juicy and creates an outer bark (crust). The finished meat will not have a pink smoke ring just under the bark like a traditionally smoked pork butt. However, the flavors are comparable.
I like to use a roasting pan with a roasting rack. The rack keeps the meat up out of the pan and allows the heat to circulate around the entire pork butt just like in a regular smoker or BBQ grill.
About halfway through the process, I start lightly basting the pork butt with a vinegar-based sauce popular in the Eastern Carolina’s – Carolina Mopping Sauce. I received many compliments on how juicy our pulled pork came out; everyone was very happy with it, and I was certainly proud.
How long does it take to cook a pork butt to 180-195 degrees F?
- As an estimate, figure about 1.5 – 2 hours per pound based on the trimmed weight of an individual roast. For example, when cooking two individual roasts weighing 8 pounds each after trimming, the total cooking time for both roasts should be 12 – 16 hours.
- Remember, this is only an estimate—it may take more or even less time, depending on the thickness of the pork butt, the amount of connective tissue that needs to be converted to gelatin, the temperature of the oven, and the several times you open the oven for checking and basting.
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