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Dutch Oven Pulled Pork

Dutch oven pulled pork.
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5 from 1 review

Time and patience will lead to the most succulent pork you’ll ever cook indoors. Enjoy it as is or add your favorite BBQ sauce.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 bone-in Boston butt pork roast (about 8–10 lbs)
  • 1 tablespoon liquid smoke

For the rub:

  • 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder

Instructions

Optional: Rub the roast the day before. It acts as a dry brine. Didn’t plan ahead? Don’t worry. Apply the rub before cooking, and it will turn out great!

Preheat oven to 300℉

Prep the roast

  1. Pat the pork butt dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.
  2. Use a sharp paring knife to score the top layer of fat. Slice a grid through the fat to help it render.
  3. Rub the entire roast. Make sure to get into any nooks and crannies.

If applying the rub the day before cooking, stop here. Place the roast on a sheet pan and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

When ready to cook

  1. Place the roast into the Dutch oven, fat side up. Drizzle the liquid smoke over it.
  2. Cover it and cook for about 4 hours.
  3. Remove the lid and cook for about 1 hour to develop a crust/bark. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. Aim for between 199-205℉. If you don’t have a thermometer, you need to buy one! In the meantime, insert a fork and twist to see if the meat readily pulls apart. If not, it needs to cook longer. 
  4. Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle. 
  5. Pull the bone out. It should pull right out with little to no resistance. If the bone does not pull out, return it to the oven.

Pull the pork

  1. Remove the roast from the Dutch oven and place it on a large cutting board.
  2. Remove the roast and place it on a large sheet pan. Allow it to rest until cool enough to handle. Shred the meat and Discard any bits of gristle or large pieces of fat.
  3. Then, stir the pulled pork back into the juices in the Dutch oven.
  4. Taste, and add salt if needed.
  5. Cover the Dutch oven and place in a warm oven at 170℉ until ready to serve.

Notes

This does not make a barbeque sauce. Cooking a pork butt this way is the best way I’ve found to get close to the experience of smoked pulled pork in the oven. Once it’s ready, you can add your favorite BBQ sauce. I love it with Carolina Vinegar Sauce or Lowcountry Mustard BBQ Sauce.

You can also use it like carnitas or serve it like country style pork roast. See the full post for more tips and serving ideas. 

A note on salt: The rub intentionally keeps salt to a minimum. Every pork butt varies in size and if you add too much salt at the beginning, you can’t remove it. Taste the pork before serving and add salt if needed to make sure that it is seasoned to your liking.

Tips for pulling pork: I always use clean hands. You can use two forks to shred it apart to keep your hands clean. Or try barbeque claws. I do not recommend the hand mixer method. It mixes the pork up too much and makes it mushy. Pick through it and discard any pieces of tough fat or gristle.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://mandiofthemountains.com/dutch-oven-pulled-pork-bbq/