Oven Pulled Pork
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This oven pulled pork recipe delivers pit-worthy flavor—no smoker required. Slow-cooked until fall-off-the-bone tender, it has a crusty bark and tangy-sweet sauce that rivals your favorite barbecue spot.
This easy oven pulled pork recipe yields plenty of juicy, fall-apart meat with smoky BBQ flavor. It’s simple to make: just rub the pork with barbecue spices, pop it in the oven, and let it cook low and slow. As the irresistible barbecue aroma fills your kitchen, the hardest part is waiting—and then trying not to eat all the pork as you shred it!
I roast the pork uncovered, which allows the spice rub to develop a dark, flavorful bark. But what really sets this recipe apart is the barbecue sauce: after roasting, I deglaze the pan to capture all those flavorful browned bits and juices, then stir them into a tangy-sweet sauce. Tossed with the shredded pork, it makes every bite extra flavorful.
Serve the pork piled onto buns with coleslaw for an easy, crowd-pleasing meal. It keeps and freezes well, making it great for meal prep or easy meals down the road.
“Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. Great flavor, beautiful bark, delicious sauce. The whole family enjoyed it!”
What You’ll Need To Make Pulled Pork
- Pork Butt: Despite the name, pork butt comes from the upper shoulder of the pig. It may also be labeled Boston butt. Its generous marbling and connective tissue make it ideal for pulled pork—the fat keeps the meat moist during the long cooking time, while the connective tissue breaks down until the pork is fall-apart tender.
- Spice Rub: A combination of brown sugar, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt, and pepper seasons the pork and forms a flavorful bark as it roasts. The brown sugar also helps the exterior caramelize.
- Ketchup: Forms the tomato-rich base of the barbecue sauce.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Gives the sauce its tang and cuts through the richness of the pork.
- Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness to the sauce and balances the acidity of the vinegar.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Adds savory depth and a subtle umami note to the barbecue sauce.
- Mustard: Adds a little sharpness and helps round out the sweet and tangy flavors in the sauce.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Oven Pulled Pork
Season the pork: Pat the pork dry with paper towels. This helps the spice rub stick better and ensures a nice crust as it roasts. Combine the spices for the rub, then coat the pork generously on all sides. Don’t be shy with the seasoning—the pork is a large cut of meat, and the rub will eventually become the flavorful bark on the outside.
Slow cook the pork: Cook the pork uncovered until the exterior is deeply browned and crusty and the meat is tender enough to pull apart easily with a fork. Cooking it uncovered is key: it allows the spice rub to develop into a flavorful bark rather than softening in trapped steam. For truly tender pulled pork, don’t go by time alone—the internal temperature should reach about 195°F, when the connective tissue has broken down and the meat is ready to shred.
Make the BBQ sauce: While the pork roasts, make the barbecue sauce. It should have a tangy-sweet flavor with enough acidity to balance the richness of the pork. Keep in mind that the sauce isn’t quite finished yet—the flavorful juices from the roasting pan will be added later.
Deglaze the pan: Once the pork is done, transfer it to a cutting board to rest and pour off the excess fat. Deglaze the roasting pan, scraping up all the deeply browned bits stuck to the bottom—there’s a tremendous amount of concentrated flavor there. Reduce the liquid until it intensifies, then stir it into the barbecue sauce.
Shred and sauce the pork: When the pork is cool enough to handle, pull it into bite-size pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Toss the meat with enough barbecue sauce to coat it generously without overwhelming it. The pork should stay juicy and flavorful, with bits of the dark bark mixed throughout. Serve with extra sauce on the side.
What to Serve with Pulled Pork
For a classic pulled pork dinner, serve the pork piled onto buns with coleslaw, along with sides like cornbread, baked beans, potato salad, or mac and cheese. For something lighter, pair it with a simple green salad or corn on the cob.
My starting point for this recipe was Tyler Florence’s pulled pork barbecue recipe. I used my own spice rub and barbecue sauce, but the cooking method is identical to the original recipe.
Video Tutorial
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Oven Pulled Pork
Ingredients
For the Pork
- 1 (5 to 6-lb) bone-in pork butt (sometimes called Boston butt; see note)
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Tangy Barbecue Sauce
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons ketchup
- ¾ cup cider vinegar
- ¾ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¾ cup water, for deglazing the roasting pan
For Serving
- 12 hamburger buns, lightly toasted and buttered, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and set an oven rack in the lower-middle position.
- Pat the pork dry with paper towels.
- Mix the salt, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, dry mustard, brown sugar, and pepper in a small bowl. Place the pork in a roasting pan. Rub the spice blend all over the pork, turning to coat evenly (don't leave any of the spice blend in the bottom of the pan; keep turning the meat until it all adheres).
- Roast, uncovered, for 6 to 6½ hours, or until the meat is fork-tender and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork registers 195°F (95°C).
- While the pork roasts, make the barbecue sauce. Combine the ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, garlic, and cayenne pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about ten minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit until the pork is done.
- When the pork is done, take it out of the oven and set it on a cutting board or platter; tent with aluminum foil and let rest for about 10 minutes.
- Pour off and discard the fat from the roasting pan (remember the handles are hot). Add ¾ cup (180 ml) water to the roasting pan and set it over a single burner on medium heat; scrape with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the liquid is reduced by about half. (The liquid will be very dark; that's okay.) Pour into the saucepan with the barbecue sauce and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- While the pork is still warm, use two forks to pull the meat away from the bone into large shreds. Remove and discard any large pieces of fat or sinew. Put the shredded pork in a large bowl or dish and pour about two-thirds of the barbecue sauce over it. Toss so that the pork is evenly coated with the sauce. Taste and add more sauce, little by little, if desired.
- To serve, spoon the pulled pork onto the bottom half of each bun. Pass the remaining barbecue sauce on the side.
Notes
- Pork butt (which is also sometimes called Boston butt) is misleadingly named; it does not come from the rear end of the pig. Rather, it comes from the thicker, well-marbled upper shoulder. It is not to be confused with a picnic roast, which comes from the lower end of the shoulder and is a bit leaner. The bone adds extra moisture and flavor, but if you can only find boneless, no worries—just use a 4 to 5-pound roast and expect a slightly shorter cook time.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: The pork can be made entirely ahead of time and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat just a few servings of pulled pork, toss the pork in a microwave-safe bowl. Add a bit more sauce if the pork seems dry, and cover the dish with a plate or lid. Microwave the pork for one to two minutes, or until hot. To reheat a larger quantity, place the pork in a baking dish and add a bit more sauce if the pork seems dry. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place in a 250°F (120°C) oven for about 30 minutes, or until hot. To freeze, place the pulled pork in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn,
I have one more question, I just looked at my Boston Butt and it is boneless and weighs about 3-4 lbs. What changes do I need to make about how long I cook it?
Hi Deborah, I’d guesstimate it would need 4+ hours in the oven but to be sure, use a thermometer and insert it the thickest part of the pork. When it registers 195°F, you’re good to go. Please LMK how it turns out!
Hi Jenn,
Could I use a slow cooker for this instead of the oven?
Unfortunately, this one won’t work in a slow cooker — sorry!
If I reduce the cider vinegar, do I substitute another liquid?
Hi Anna, You could use water in place of some of the cider vinegar but I wouldn’t omit too much or the sauce will be too sweet. Hope that helps!
I loved it! Thank you.
👍
I’m making this soon. What do you recommend I serve along with this? Cole slaw?
Hi Anna, I think coleslaw would be the perfect accompaniment to this. Hope you enjoy!
Tried this recipe with a pork shoulder that was about 8 pounds. Cooked it 7 hours and used all the sauce. At first when I tasted the reduced brown bits from the roasting pan, I thought it was just too salty, but added it little by little to the bbq sauce and it was perfect. Normally I only like the real vinegary Carolina style bbq, but I am so glad I tried it. It is a total winner. The best of this type bbq I have ever eaten. Hands down. Ever. It made a huge pot, and tonight we are having pork nachos. With a new grand baby on the way, my daughter in law has already requested this in her freezer when the new baby arrives. Another winner from Jenn. Boy, she makes us look good.
So glad you enjoyed (and congrats on the soon to be new addition to your family)! ❤️
Hi, Jenn, Well, it’s interesting as to what one can or can’t find in the grocery stores now a days. Even in Iowa where one would think we could find all sorts of meat, there is a significant decrease in overall availability and in the available cuts. So, that being said, what I found today was a pork shoulder butt. I hauled that 10# baby home from the store, unwrapped it and realized that it actually still had the skin on it. Then, looking at the recipe I realized I had the wrong cut (not that the right cut was available), but went ahead using this recipe with this old boy anyway. We are about to have it for supper. My goodness – that rub on there gave it a great flavor and I don’t know if this thing could get any more tender. So, if all someone can find is the shoulder butt, go for it! Tastes great! Thanks for another great recipe.
Meanwhile, I now have a 15+# brisket in the oven. We’ll see how that does with your onion brisket recipe (which I’ve used before, but not with the whole brisket). I am starting to feel like I should take a butchering class. 😂
Thanks for the great recipes. What I like is that 99% of the time they work out great (and I could be the problem the other 1%, I suppose).
Blessings…
Love all your recipes that I’ve attempted. Can I use this method with a pork shoulder picnic?
So glad you like the recipes! A picnic shoulder will work but the pork won’t be quite as tender (it’s a slightly leaner cut). Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi Jenn. When I made this, I put my roast right in the pan per directions. I made sure I did not have excess rub in the bottom of the pan. After about 10 minutes, it started really smoking in the oven. What can I do to prevent this? Thanks!
That’s really odd as this cooks at a pretty low temperature. Might there have been something on the bottom of your oven that was burning?
What type of paprika do you use?
Just McCormick’s basic paprika. 🙂
I’ve done pulled pork quite a few ways and this recipe was not only one of the most delicious ways, but the easiest! I love that there is nothing that needs to be done in advance – no overnight spice rub or marinade.
What came out of the oven was absolutely PERFECT. There was a nice crust to the pork and the spices were perfectly balanced. Unfortunately, when I added the BBQ sauce, the crust lost it’s crispiness. What a bummer – this was the best part of the meat! When I make it again, I will let the meat rest for 30-60 min, pull it apart a bit, and then serve with the BBQ sauce drizzled on top as opposed to mixed in. I used the amount of sauce suggested and found the finished product to be a little too saucy for me, but perhaps this is a matter of personal taste. Drizzling a bit of sauce on the top of the meat and then serving more BBQ sauce on the side fixes this issue and keeps the crust crisp. DELICIOUS.