| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 4 hr |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 2 hr 40 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 4-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 7 hamburger buns or potato rolls
- Coleslaw and pickle slices, for serving
Instructions
- Mix the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, mustard powder, allspice, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in a bowl. Rub half of the mixture all over the pork; transfer to a large resealable plastic bag and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes; remove to a plate.
- Add the onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper to the pot; cook, stirring, until the onion is softened, 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and the remaining spice mixture; cook, stirring, 2 more minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, ketchup, vinegar and 2 cups water. Tear 1 bun into pieces and add to the pot. Return the pork to the pot and bring to a simmer.
- Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the pork is very tender, about 2 hours. Uncover and continue cooking until the sauce thickens slightly, about 20 more minutes. Shred the pork with 2 forks, tossing to coat in the sauce. Serve on buns with coleslaw and pickles.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 856 |
| Total Fat | 58 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 25 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 16 g |
| Protein | 56 g |
| Cholesterol | 215 mg |
| Sodium | 1087 mg |
Reviews
Fantastic! I had never made pulled pork before and this was terrific! My supermarket only had an 8 lb. pork shoulder on the bone so I cut off as much of the meat as I could, trimmed it up, and followed the rest of the recipe exactly as written. I made in my Le Creuset dutch oven and it tasted amazing! Moist, flavorful, not too soggy. I read the other reviews and I questioned the smell in the house as it was cooking, too. But if you wait it out, it tastes really great! Served it up on potato rolls and made some green beans because my husband bought some weird coleslaw that we didn’t like!
Loved This Sandwich
I made this today, and the mere smell of it is still nauseating me. I followed the recipe exactly as written. No substitutions or omissions, and I made it in the slow cooker. This didn’t taste at all like the pulled pork that I’m used to having here. The cumin and chili powder were overwhelming, and when combined with the smell of the vinegar, it ended up smelling like sour chili with mushy, stringy meat. I don’t know the purpose for tearing up one of the buns and adding it to the pot, but it just ended up as gross, soggy bread floating on top. I had high hopes for the recipe, but this was just terrible. I can’t believe I wasted all those ingredients.
We did settle in to watch the Pats and Baltimore with a big batch of pulled pork! This recipe was spot on. I did the slow cooker method, prepared the pork the night before. My go to recipe is Alton Brown’s, sorry Alton! Served with Dinosaur BBQ baked beans and cole slaw, a home run!