Rubbed with spices and slow roasted until fork tender, this pulled pork is one of my favorites and my go-to when cooking for a crowd. It's simple to prepare and only takes a few minutes to prepare; the hardest part of the recipe is waiting for it to be done and trying not to eat it all when you're pulling it apart!
My absolute favorite part of this dish is the sauce. Hear me out- the pork is FANTASTIC, but I worked a long time to perfect my sauce and get it to what I think is the perfect level of tangy. This isn't your traditional sweet barbecue sauce, whereas it more closely mimics that of a Carolina-style vinegar-based sauce. With that being said, I strongly encourage you to give it a shot and trust me on this but if you aren't a lover of vinegary/tangy sauces on your meat feel free to top this delicious pork with your choice of BBQ sauce.
This recipe calls for 10 pounds of pork butt which can feed anywhere from 12-18 people. It can easily be cut in half to accommodate a smaller crowd or doubled to feed twice as many people. Serve the pulled pork as is or as sliders with my Pickled Red Onions.
Let's get to it!
PULLED PORK WITH TANGY BARBECUE SAUCE
PREP: 10 min. COOK: 4-5 hrs. YIELD: 12-18 servings
INGREDIENTS:
10 lb. Boston Butt
6 tbsp. packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. paprika
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
24 oz. beer
for the tangy barbecue sauce:
1 1/2 c. ketchup (I like to use the H-E-B Organic Ketchup, as it is more tangy)
1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
INSTRUCTIONS:
for the pork:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Cut the pork down into smaller pieces so that it will fit into a large Dutch oven. You can remove the bone if necessary.
In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and then season with freshly cracked black pepper. Rub this mixture all over the pork.
In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Working in batches, add in the pork and sear it on all sides, but only for about 30-45 seconds per side as the spices can burn.
Pour the beer around the pork and cover it with a lid. Transfer it to an oven and cook the pork until it is beginning to turn tender, about 3 hours. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the pork is extremely tender and can be easily pulled apart with a fork, about 1 to 2 hours more.
Remove the pork from the Dutch oven and let it rest while you prepare the sauce.
for the sauce:
Remove a paddle full of drippings from the Dutch oven and reserve it on the side. To the remaining drippings in the Dutch oven, whisk in the ketchup, apple cider vinegar Dijon mustard, brown sugar, and Worcestershire. Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Shred the pork using two forks. You can choose to add in about half of the sauce now, or leave all of it on the side for guests to apply.
Serve as is or as sliders topped with my Pickled Red Onions. Enjoy!
*Reserved drippings: I like to reserve the drippings if I am making this the night before or if I have leftovers, so that when you re-heat the meat you can add it in to keep the meat moist and tender. You can also add it to the sauce if you want an even thinner consistency or end up needing to make more of the sauce.
Thanks for the recipe! I made a sauce the other night and threw it out! Looking forward to giving this one a try!!!