Asian Oven Pulled Pork Recipe Pork Shoulder Butt | White On Rice (2024)

FAQs

What is the best liquid to cook pulled pork in? ›

Transfer everything to a large slow cooker and add a splash of liquid — water is great, but so is broth, apple juice, or beer if you have them handy. Cover and cook on low until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily.

Slow cook for 6-8 hours if you split the meat in half, and about 8-10 hours if you left the pork butt whole. The trick to good pulled pork is cooking low and slow! We want all the collagen and connective tissues to break down and give us that tender, delicious texture.

A Step-by-Step Guide to the 3-2-1 Process

Apply the rib rub, coating the surface generously. Place ribs bone-side down in smoker at 225 F /110 C and cook for three hours. Remove ribs from the smoker and wrap tightly in aluminum foil to form an airtight seal. Return to the smoker bone-side up and smoke for two hours.

Try brine: Choose a wet marinade rather than a dry one. Dry rubs may work fine but brine or a wet rub will add that extra moisture along with the flavor that will penetrate deep inside the meat. Keep a spray bottle handy: Keep spraying the meat during smoking or reheating to replace the lost moisture.

The acid from the apple cider and apple cider vinegar help to tenderize the meat while also keeping it juicy and flavorful. The low and slow cooking method makes it fall apart as soon as your fork touches it and shreds beautifully.

After you've pulled your pork butt, drizzle over the meat and combine. The vinegar adds contrast to the smoky flavor and cuts through the fat in the meat. It also helps mellow out the darker, gamier-tasting parts of the butt. This makes enough for a 8 pound pork butt/shoulder.

How do you tenderise pork for stir fry? Velveting is a Chinese technique that helps keep meat tender during stir frying. Adding cornstarch and bicarb to your meat during the marinating process helps to coat your meat, giving it a velvety feel that makes the meat feel extra soft.

Pork butt is an ideal choice for barbecue pulled pork, but it also lends itself to braising and stewing, which tenderizes the meat and melts the fat. Use pork butt in any recipe where you're looking for fall-apart-tender meat and a rich, porky flavor, such as pulled pork, carnitas or stew.

We use brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, a good amount of salt & pepper, and a pinch of cayenne! Make sure you use all of the seasoning! Also, really rub it into the pulled pork, get all of the nooks and crannies!

The USDA recommends that pork is cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F (62.8°C) for food safety. But every griller worth their salt knows that cuts rich in collagen, like pork butt, need to be brought to much higher temperatures (195-205°F [91-96°C]) to properly break down the connective tissues.

Do you cut the fat off pulled pork before cooking? ›

It's a good idea to cut away this excess fat prior to cooking, but do leave a small amount as it adds to the flavour.

Return pork to the grill (or smoker) The pork is finished cooking when it pulls apart easily and reaches an internal temperature of 190 to 195 degrees F, about another 1 to 2 hours. Let rest for 1 hour, then unwrap the pork butt and pull the bone out.

What Do You Spray on It When It's In the Smoker? I like to personally use a combination of apple juice, apple cider vinegar, and water to spray onto the pork shoulder. This process is also known as spritzing.

With your smoker running steady at 225 degrees F, you can typically plan about 2 hours of cook time per pound of pork. For example, an 8-pound pork shoulder will take about 16 hours from start to finish. Quick note! Every cut of meat is a little bit different, so plan ahead for variations in cook time!

Allow pork butt to rest for as little as 30 minutes to as long as 5 hours; however, the ideal resting period to rest pork butt is between 1 and 2 hours.

While I highly recommend using apple cider for this pulled pork, if you can't find any you could substitute with apple juice.

Moisture: If the pulled pork is on the dry side, adding sauce can help to add moisture and make it more tender and juicy.

The best substitute for apple cider vinegar? Red wine or white wine vinegar! These vinegars are made from fermented wine, and you might have one or the other in your cupboard already. Red wine vinegar is a little stronger than white wine with a bolder flavor.