World’s Finest Carolina Pulled Pork Recipe [+VIDEO]

Make the right Carolina pulled pork with this straightforward and scrumptious recipe. Impress your family and friends with this mouth-watering dish, full with a step-by-step video tutorial.

Need to make the greatest pulled pork from your personal kitchen? The important thing to creating this Carolina pulled pork recipe is the brine. You’re really going to start out this recipe two days forward of time with the brine, and it takes time to make tender, juicy pulled pork within the oven. So plan your schedule accordingly, and prepare for the greatest pulled pork of your life!

Make a batch of our best macaroni salad and toss collectively a recent fruit salad, and it’s occasion time!!

Watch How This Pulled Pork Recipe is Made…

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Creating the Finest Pulled Pork Recipe

Once I consider BBQ, I can’t assist however consider gradual and low type, the Carolina means. In an effort to cook dinner the most effective pulled pork, it’s important that you simply plan forward and spend a while prepping and cooking that scrumptious meat at these decrease temperatures. This helps deliver out all these flavors that soften in your mouth and permits that pork to actually crumble. I do know, we’re all lazy and don’t wish to, however belief me, this Carolina pulled pork recipe is really easy your canine might do it.

This recipe might appear to be a course of, however right here’s the deal: you actually simply plop the pork within the fridge to marinate, after which switch it to the oven. Though it takes a very long time, you’re simply going about your on a regular basis life so it’s actually not additional work in your half. 

These concept for this pulled pork recipe come from watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Shout out to Man, who will get to eat for a dwelling! We sometimes watch his present on Netflix at night time, and initially, it makes us so hungry, however we additionally really feel like we will completely guess when he doesn’t actually take pleasure in one thing. We want we might discover out what he actually thinks are the most effective and the worst of the locations he has tried.

Anyway, I received a little bit off subject. Listed here are the secrets and techniques to the world’s greatest Carolina pulled pork.

Carolina Pulled Pork Components

There are three principal elements to this pulled pork recipe: the brine, pulled pork rub, and the home made BBQ sauce. Here’s what you will have for every element:

• 5-8 Pound Pork Shoulder (or Butt)

Pulled Pork Brine

• Water
• Apple Cider
  • Observe that you simply’ll be utilizing apple cider, NOT cider vinegar, within the pork shoulder brine. However lots of our readers have missed that and added pure vinegar and so we had no selection however to attempt it since so lots of you liked the outcomes. Certain sufficient, it was nice! So we desire the juice however hey, vinegar is enjoyable too! Apple cider provides a little bit extra taste with out ever tasting like apple, and all it’s a must to do is dump it in.
• Kosher Salt
• Darkish Brown Sugar
• Dry Rub (see under)
• Bay Leaves
• Crimson Pepper Flakes

Pulled Pork Dry Rub

• Onion Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• Okosher Salt
• Black Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• Dry Mustard
• Cumin
• Brown Sugar

Selfmade BBQ Sauce

After all, you’re welcome to make use of a store-bought sauce, however in case you’re searching for the most effective pulled pork recipe ever, nicely, it’s good to use home made barbecue sauce. 

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• White Vinegar
• Brown Sugar
• Chili Powder
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt

The measurements for all of the substances might be discovered within the recipe card on the finish of the put up.

What’s the Finest Pork for Pulled Pork?  

To make the most effective pulled pork, you’ve received to start out with the most effective minimize of meat. Most barbecue eating places use entire bone-in pork shoulders, however they’re hardly ever obtainable in grocery shops. In the event you discover a entire shoulder, use it. In any other case, we advocate a Boston butt, which is half of the shoulder, the opposite half being the picnic shoulder.

The best way to Make Pulled Pork within the Oven

This pulled pork recipe appears prolonged, however every step of this recipe is extremely straightforward. Right here’s a fast overview of how you can make pulled pork within the oven: 

1. Combine all of the substances for the dry rub in a small bowl.
2. Stir collectively the pork shoulder brine and let the pork soak in it for 12 to 24 hours. 
3. Take away the pork from the brine and place it in a big baking dish, then pat it dry with paper towels. 
4. Rub the pulled pork seasoning all around the meat, saving just a bit of the dry rub for later. 
5. With the fats going through up, bake the pork at a low temperature till it registers 200ºF on the thickest half. 
6. Flip off the oven and let the pork relaxation for a pair hours. 
7. Take the pork out of the oven and take away the fats from the highest. Then, shred the meat with two forks. 
8. Drain half the juices from the pork, then add the remaining dry rub and toss within the home made bbq sauce.  
9. Serve with buns or hoagies to make pork sandwiches or simply serve the meat plain with some coleslaw and all of your favourite sides.

How Lengthy to Cook dinner Pulled Pork

In the event you’re southern, you realize this isn’t only a secret however virtually a legislation within the south — LOW AND SLOW. I at all times chortle when individuals inform me they will’t make bbq, “I let it cook dinner for over an hour and it was dry and arduous as a rock!” 

BBQ could be very relaxed, identical to southerners. It needs to hang around all day, and whilst you might imagine you’re overcooking it, you’re not! Our pork cooks for at the very least 12 hours, generally extra if it’s a much bigger butt (I really feel like there must be a joke in there). Don’t rush it.

Can I Make Pulled Pork on a Smoker? 

In the event you’d fairly make smoked pulled pork as a substitute of oven pulled pork, we advocate following our Smoked Pulled Pork Recipe. It provides step-by-step directions on smoking pulled pork on a Traeger. 

Can I Make This Pulled Pork Recipe within the Sluggish Cooker?

Sure this may be executed within the gradual cooker, however we’ve discovered that it doesn’t do it justice. It is usually arduous to suit the scale of pork butt you want right into a crock pot. In the event you resolve to attempt it, it is going to cook dinner for a similar period of time on low. Observe the brining directions as written, and no want so as to add any liquid to the gradual cooker. There’s sufficient juice within the pork to maintain cooking correctly.

The best way to Prep Carolina Pulled Pork in Advance

Reader Kate says:

“I’m heading as much as my cabin and wish a dinner for a big crowd a couple of hours after we arrive, questioning if I can cook dinner the pork after which end it off within the grill after we arrive? Or if it’s higher to do all steps after which reheat it on arrival? Appears delish.”

Nice query! We do that ALLLLLLL the time. Go forward and make this pulled pork recipe, after which you could have two selections. Pull it out of the oven and put it straight into the automobile and it’ll relaxation on the best way to the cabin and be able to eat two hours later. 

Or make it, relaxation it, cool it and place in freezer luggage, or to be trustworthy, we use this Foodsaver and simply suck the air out and freeze pork to be used over the subsequent three months. It’s tremendous straightforward, and tastes completely recent after we reheat. We simply place it within the fridge to defrost after which reheat in a big pan with foil in a low oven or range high with a little bit oil within the pan and a lid to maintain the steam in so it’s juicy. 

Tricks to Making the Finest Pulled Pork

The important thing factor to recollect when making this pulled pork recipe is to let the meat relaxation after it’s completed cooking. I instructed you, it’s lazy. Letting it relaxation redistributes the juices, and since it’s massive and cooked for a very long time you’re going to wish to let it relaxation longer — like an hour and even two — earlier than shredding.

Maybe the most important secret of all, and one which I can not declare as my very own as that is the place Triple D (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) is available in, is to sprinkle a little bit extra of the rub onto the meat earlier than serving. We seen many bbq joints weren’t simply slathering on the sauce, however really sprinkling that dry rub all around the shredded meat and tossing to let it sink it. You received’t consider what a distinction it makes! 

You can too use one other sort of bbq sauce on this pulled pork recipe! Carrian likes a thick, candy sauce or a Carolina vinegar bbq, and I really like this Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce on my home made pulled pork.

What to Serve with Carolina Pulled Pork

We advocate firing up the grill and making grilled corn to go together with this Carolina pulled pork. It’s so dang good each time! And only for pure consolation, add a aspect of Southern mac and cheese. Just a few different pulled pork sides we love are: 

Storing and Reheating

Leftover pulled pork must be saved in an hermetic container within the fridge. It should hold for as much as 3-4 days. This meat additionally shops nice within the freezer. Let it cool fully after which place in ziploc luggage (or higher but, use a Meals Saver!). It should hold within the freezer for as much as 3 months.

Use leftovers in pulled pork pizza or pulled pork nachos! If you wish to simply reheat it, flip in your oven and set the temperature to 250°F. Then, cowl your meat with foil and put it into the oven when it’s prepared. After you set it into your oven, let it warmth for half-hour or till reaching an inside temperature of 165 °F.

Prepare for the juiciest and most flavorful pulled pork you’ll ever attempt! This recipe for Carolina pulled pork is a crowd-pleaser!

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