I have made this at least a dozen times since the video was published on youtube several years ago. As written it is 5 stars. I have since done a few things to add to the flavor and learn from my mistakes. I do not have a Dutch oven but a large roasting pan with lid works fine. The first time I made it I had 2 pork butts weighing in at 15 lbs total (cooks in twelve hours no matter what size butts you have). Just remember that the more you make the more fat will leak to the bottom of your vessel. I had so much fat that first time that it flooded the ramekins. I now set the butt and ramekins on a mesh stand that sits perfectly inside my roaster – about an inch high (you can easily make one with heavy duty chicken wire). I cut the top off of a small to medium sized onion and the tops off of a small bulb of garlic and sit them on the stand which permeates the meat and adds a nice pungency to the flavor and aroma. Several people have told me that this is the best pulled pork they have ever had, without knowing that it had not been properly 'smoked'. I chop it very rough and remove most of the fat so that the pork speaks for itself. This pork is so juicy and tender it is surreal.
Oh my gosh. The absolute bomb! I can't believe I set my alarm on a Saturday morning to put this in the oven. I am so glad I did. This meat is to die for. I mean really! It isn't about the rub or the sauce. It is about how the meat comes out. I didn't have a bbq dry rub so I used one I found on the Food Network...Bobbie Flay I think. 1 tablespoon each of cumin, paprika, granulated garlic, granulated onion, chili powder and brown sugar; 2 tablespoons kosher salt; and 1 teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, white pepper and black pepper. I used about a 1/4 of the batch. I used Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce. I can't rave enough about how good this was.
Okay - so is this the best I've ever had? No. Is it WAY up there? Yes!!! Much better than any in a slow cooker I've ever done. I made this and popped some in the crockpot anyway, just in case, as my husband was returning from a long trip & requested my pulled pork, as he was overseas & no pork products for a month. I decided to step it up a little & try this. Let it suffice to say the other is still in the crockpot in the fridge. I made it EXACTLY as outlined. He was happy, and grateful that I tried this new and better incarnation. I used a rub from Sandfly BBQ in Savannah and Johnny Harris BBQ sauce, on homemade bread. Wonderful.
So easy and a big hit with my guest. Highly recommend this recipes, you can always rely on Chief John for fabulous results especially if you are like me who loves to try new recipes on her guest at parties ha ha.
This was my first time making pulled pork and I won't ever bother looking for a different recipe. This is one of those wonderful recipes that you don't forget. Our next door neighbor is a smokehouse bbq restaurant whose bbq is some of the best in the state and we liked this pulled pork better than his! I followed Chef John's directions closely. I used the same ingredients for the rub and sauce that "poshlynne" listed in her review (review #4) - thank you poshlynne!!! I think Chef John's technique with the smoke flavor and poshlynne's spice rub were both key to the success of the recipe. Try it! You'll LOVE it!
This is a great recipe. I have made pulled pork in my crock pot and it has never been as tender as this method. I purchased a 4.5lb pork shoulder, seasoned the meat (mustard covered by a dry rub)for 5 hours, sliced 2 medium onions, lined my dutch oven with the onions, added 1 ramekin with water and then put it in the oven for 12 hours at 225F.
I had a 7 lb bone-in pork butt. I followed the recipe above, adding the onion to the bottom of the dutch oven after reading the reviews. The rub I used was BBQ 3000 from Penzeys. I put this in the oven at 9:00pm and it was done at 8:00am. Yes, we woke up to the aroma of cooked pork. I'm serving this at our July 4th party. Having the meat made ahead of time was perfect for my sanity! I will definitely make this again. Thanks Chef John!
Oh my goodness!! You will never go back to crock-pot pulled pork after this! We used "Butt Rub" that we picked up in a specialty shop, but I think it is the liquid smoke that makes the difference. So, so simple but it tastes delicious. I served it with sauteed cabbage instead of the traditional slaw. Used a gigantic pork butt so we have plenty to freeze for another time.
This was the hit of our Super Bowl party! Took the advice of other reviewers and laid down a bed of sliced Vidalia onion and a head of garlic cloves.. After the meat was cooked I drained the liquid into a bowl and then skimmed the top fat layer off after it had solidified. I then added the liquid along with the cooked onions and garlic back in with the meat (which I had pulled the fat from). Added the barbecue sauce (to taste). Liquid smoke really made a difference! Will definitely make this one again!
Followed recipe to the tee. I was waiting to smell at some point a smoky scent. Fast forward the 12 hrs. It's a tender moist pork roast. There is nothing that resembles a smoked pulled pork. The BBQ sauce in my opinion is the only thing that takes this to something other than a roasted pork dish. I will stick to the smoker should I desire pulled pork. Basically same ingredients & same amount of time. End results are galaxies away.
