Pulled Pork

Cooked an 8-lb roast in the crockpot on high for 8 hrs, with a sliced sweet onion around the sides and 4 strips of hickory-smoked bacon on top. The cooked meat was pretty salty (probably from the bacon) so added a big handful of brown sugar after shredding. Also strained off all the juices, cooled and skimmed some fat, and then added about half the juices back in. Great! This is the recipe I'll use from now on.

I've tried at least 30 different recipes for pulled pork. I tried this one and the seasoning is right on. With other recipes I find I have to throw in some sauce at the end because the pork is bland. Not this one. I used boneless pork shoulder bought in bulk that was pre-cut in large pieces. I applied the rub, placed in the slow cooker (no water) for 3 hours on high/3 hours on low. The pork was so tender and omitting water allowed the edges to brown a bit and caramelize from the fat and sugar.

Oh those BBQ snobs. "It's only BBQ if you smoke your chunk of meat on the west facing slope of a mountain over a fire pit at dawn". This recipe is just called "Pulled Pork". No mention of BBQ anywhere. I personally prefer the Dutch oven method because I find most BBQ tastes - I can only imagine - like licking a dirty ashtray. Six hours in a Dutch oven with 8-10 large onions sliced over the top. The onions give you more than enough liquid. Bliss.

Folks, if you are cooking the pork in a crock pot, you are missing out. And it's like the difference between a tv show on thunderstorms and the real thing. You will get crock pot pork, not BBQ pork. You need to smoke it, so that you get the pink smoke ring around the outside. Use a grill, indirect smoking, or a smoker. If you don't, it's not BBQ. Try it. You will thank me, and Sam, of course.

Absolutely. I used a Dutch Oven and roasted it at 300. Came out great. Same concept as a slow cooker. Just a couple of changes. Rub the pork with 2-3 TBS of liquid smoke ahead of time since you're indoors. Ditto the spice rub. The more time you have the better. I browned it on the stove top too, but I'm sure you could skip that. Then just add enough water to keep your slow cooker from scorching. Good luck!

Don't use a crockpot if you want the real thing! Instead of the grille, try your oven. Place the pork on a rack in a pan. Add an inch of water to the pan. Bake at 220 degrees F for 12 to 15 hours. The crust (bark) is amazing and the center is still pink but cooked though. Its not smoky but I like it that way.

The basic recipe makes a lot of rub, more than you can probably use. I have to admit I did mine in a crock pot. Started with no extra liquid and dumped the extra rub into the crockpot with the meat. Liquid does come out of the meat. I added some liquid smoke small amounts on to the meat. I eventually added a little cider vinegar and ended up with a sauce in the crockpot which I added to the pork once I pulled it apart along with some barbecue sauce. Flavor was excellent!

This can be done with a gas grill. I have a Weber Genesis with a 3 burner system. Place a water pan under the grill grate on the butt side, and light the back burner. Place the butt over the pan near the front side on the grill. Remove grill grate on the opposite side. Make foil pouches and fill with 4-5 oz. of wood chips, and place over the lit burner. change pouches every 30 minutes for 2-4 hours, depending how smoky you like it. Cook at 225 for 10-12 hours. Pull it off at 195-203 degrees.

I made this for 4 adults and a nine-year-old boy; about half of everything was left over. Two days later, I made flour tortillas (a little on the thick side) and stuffed them with a little shredded jack cheese, the (heated) pork, a drizzle of barbecue sauce and some cole slaw. I had a little left over from that, which I turned into nachos for my lunch the day after. It was all good, especially when you calculate the cost of all those meals.

BBQ snob here: if your BBQ tastes like a dirty ashtray it's been smoked wrong; sorry, low and slow with fire is the only way to prepare pulled pork.

Used the 1/2 rub recipe for a 3 pound roast. Had plenty rub left over. Rubbed the roast and set it in the frig for 24 hours. Cooked it in the slow cooker with 1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar and 3/4 c water at low for 8 hours. Absolutely delicious!

I used a slow cooker, adding some water (as suggested) and the extra rub. It took about 9 hours. I did turn the pork once. The meat was perfect - pulled easily, good flavor. I also used the North Carolina sauce which was very hot! We loved it, but it might be a bit much for some people. The leftover liquid in the slow cooker we turned into chili - black beans, tomatoes, some of the pork.

In my opinion these things are missing from this recipe: Grill temperature. I shoot for around 200-225. I don't think you need 12-14 hours to cook a butt this size. After you hit 195 internal temp you should be golden. And what about smoke? A pork butt cries out for some apple and likes a touch (not too much!) of hickory smoke. It's mentioned in the intro--must have. After 14 hours of cooking(!) you can let this rest for more than 10 minutes. Cover it up and let it regain some balance.

This should not take 14 hours if you keep the temperature inside the grill between 225 and 250 degrees. The roast is done at around 200 degrees. It starts softening up at around 190 when connective tissue starts to dissolve, but taking it up to 200, or slightly higher, will pretty much eliminate the tendons, etc, and make it very easy to pull apart. I just did a seven-pound roast a couple of weeks ago and it took about 8 hours. I have a Weber with the Slow 'n Sear device, which is great.

I agree in principle. But though I live in Austin TEXAS, city law prohibits grills or smokers on apartment patio decks. So you do what you can. OK?