Oven Pulled Pork (12 Servings)
Ingredients
Scale
- about 4 pounds Pork Butt – aka Boston Butt
- the rub of your choice – good quality
- 2 tablespoons of Wright’s Liquid Smoke – optional but recommended
Recipe rub
- 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt – 2 tablespoons if using Morton
- 1 tablespoon of chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of pepper
Instructions
- Use your favorite rub and some Liquid Smoke. If using the recipe rub, combine ½ cup of dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of kosher salt, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- If wrapping, place a 4 pound (plus or minus a pound) bone-in (or boneless) pork butt on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Rub in roughly 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke, although this is an optional inclusion.
- Use roughly a cup of rub to coat the pork butt on all sides with a thick coating.
- Wrap the meat in plastic wrap if you have time. It’s possible that you’ll require a second piece. Refrigerate for many hours, or overnight. If you don’t have time, simply rub the meat and bake it.
- When ready to cook, line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and a rack.
- Place the meat on a rack in a 250° oven (not convection). It’s not necessary to preheat the oven. You can cut the cooking time in half by raising the oven temperature to 275°, but we recommend 250°.
- Bake until the internal temperature reaches 195°F or more (ideally 200°-205°F). Approximately 8-9 hours. This will vary depending on the thickness of the meat, whether it is bone-in or boneless, and the temperature of the oven. In the next phase, you’ll have some leeway to fine-tune your timing.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it directly on a large sheet of heavy-duty foil. Wrap the foil tightly, then many towels around it. If you have a small cooler, place the wrapped meat in it and leave it to rest for 1-2 hours, or until you need it. When properly wrapped in a cooler, it can stay warm for up to 4 hours. This can assist you in getting the time of your dish just correct.
- Using forks, shred the meat. It’s going to break apart easily.
Notes
The entire cooking duration for this recipe is 9 hours and 40 minutes, including a prep time of 10 minutes and a cook time of 9 hours. This recipe for cooking a Boston butt produces fork-tender, amazingly delicious pulled pork that your family will be talking about for days. Feel free to explore this recipe.
If you’d like more ideas on how to cook a Boston butt, then you should check out this video recipe.