This easy Pulled Pork recipe is made with pork shoulder (or butt), pantry spices and coke to tenderize the meat and add sweetness to the seasonings. The result if perfect, tender and juicy pork cooked in the oven, slow cooker or instant pot!
Serve pulled pork in a sandwich, with nachos, tamales, tacos, burritos, or quesadillas.
Whether you're planning food for a party, BBQ, or a simple weeknight dinner, this pulled pork recipe is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Serve it with BBQ sauce and your favorites side dishes, or serve it in sandwiches, tacos, nachos and more. If you're cooking for a larger gathering or party see my tips in the post for how to calculate how much pulled pork you'll need per person.
How to make Pulled Pork:
- Trim fat: To make pulled pork you will want to buy a pork shoulder (sometimes called pork butt or Boston butt) roast. I prefer boneless, but you could buy bone-in. Trim pork of excess fat and cut it into 4 pieces. Combine spices in a small bowl and rub all over the pork. (This can be done the night before).
- Sear (optional): Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat and sear for a few seconds on all sides.
- For Oven Pulled Pork: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Pour coke around the pork in the Dutch oven pot. Cover pot with lid and cook for 3 hours. Remove lid and cook for an additional 1-2 hours, until pork is tender and easily pulls apart with a fork.
- For Slow Cooker Pulled Pork: Place pork in slow cooker and pour coke around it. Cover and cook on LOW (recommended) 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours, until pork is tender and shreds easily with a fork.
- For Instant Pot Pulled Pork: Place pork in instant pot and pour coke around it. Cook on Manual/High pressure for 70 minutes. When timer beeps, allow the pot to naturally release pressure, about 15 minutes longer.
- Shred meat and add BBQ sauce, if desired.
How much pulled pork per person?
If you're wanting to estimate how much pulled pork you should make for a party or event you should keep these two general rules in mind:
- One pound of pulled pork will feed approximately 3 people (about 5 ounces per serving).
- Cooked pulled pork will loose about half of its weight as it cooks (so a 5 pound raw pork roast will cook down to 2.5 pounds of meat).
So, follow this simple calculation to figure out how much pork you'll need per person:
- # of guests multiplied by .33 (⅓ pounds of meat per serving) = amount of cooked pulled pork you will need.
- Times that number by 2, since the meat will cook down 50%.
For example, if you want enough pulled pork to feed 50 guests.
50 X .33 = 16.5 lbs cooked pulled pork needed
16.5 X 2 = 33 pounds raw pork butt needed
Other factors to keep in mind when calculating how much meat you'll need include:
- Ages of those eating (young children wont eat as much)
- How the pork is being served. If served as the main dish with lighter sides, you'll need more than if it's served in sandwiches or tacos, or if there are other heartier sides to go with it.
Storing and Freezing Instructions:
To Store: put leftover pulled pork in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
To freeze: Pulled pork can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheating Pulled Pork:
To reheat in the Oven (preferred): Preheat oven to 250°F. Add the pork and leftover juices to an oven safe container (add water, apple juice or broth to the meat if it's too dry). Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 20-30 minutes or until warmed through to 165°F.
To reheat in the Slow cooker: Add the pork and leftover juices to slow cooker (add additional liquid if needed–apple juice, broth or water– to keep is moist). Turn to warm setting or LOW and cook until warmed through to 165°F.
To reheat in the Microwave: Add the pork and leftover juices to a microwave safe bowl (add additional liquid if needed–apple juice, broth or water– to keep is moist). Place a damp paper towel over the meat and heat in one minute increments until warmed through to 165°F.
How to serve it:
- Pulled pork sandwiches
- Nachos
- In tamales, tacos, burritos, or quesadillas
- Stirred into baked beans
- Served with a green salad, fruit, baked beans, potato salad, chips, veggies and dip.
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Recipe
How to make Pulled Pork
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 lb pork shoulder , or butt
- 2 Tablespoons oil (optional if searing)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 12 ounces coke (not diet)
- bbq sauce for coating meat optional
Instructions
- Trim pork of excess fat and cut into 4 pieces.
- Combine spices in a small bowl and rub all over the pork. (This can be done the night before).
- Sear (optional): Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat and sear for a few seconds on all sides.
- Oven Method: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Pour coke around the pork in the Dutch oven pot. Cover pot with lid and cook for 3 hours. Remove lid and cook for an additional 1-2 hours, until pork is tender and easily pulls apart with a fork. Remove from pot then shred meat on a cutting board. Toss in barbecue sauce, if desired.
- Slow Cooker Method: Place pork in slow cooker and pour coke around it. Cover and cook on LOW (recommended) 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours, until pork is tender and shreds easily with a fork.
- Instant Pot Method: Place pork in instant pot and pour coke around it. Cook on Manual/High pressure for 70 minutes. When timer beeps, allow the pot to naturally release pressure, about 15 minutes longer. Remove lid and shred the meat.
Notes
Nutrition
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Originally published May, 22nd, 2020. Republished May 16th 2021.
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Best Pulled Pork I’ve Ever Had
I’ve tried other pulled pork recipes, and was never happy with any of them until making this one…in my instant pot…(the other ones were all in my slow cooker) and it’s a winner! This is the only recipe I’ll use from now on….my husband and son love it too, and I’m glad to be able to make it for them, glad this method is so easy and quick as well. I do add barbecue sauce when I make it.
Hi, in which setting do you do it and for about how long? I’d like to do it this way. Thank you!
Brilliant
Are any of the cooking methods preferred to the others?
Hi Kayla, slow and low is best for pulled pork. Cooking too hot/fast can make the meat tough.
I didn’t have cumin so i ommitted it. This was by far the best pulled pork I’ve ever had. With or without bbq sauce. Looking forward to making again soon.
Delicious! Do you stir the cooking liquid into the pulled pork after you shred it or should that be discarded?
I made part of the roast in a Crockpot on high for four hours, and part of it in my oven at four hours (my oven isn’t always accurate) . . . And both, while using every suggested ingredient, came out beautifully and DELICIOUS! Thank you!
Interesting question! The texture of my pork was so soft and moist it didn’t need any extra liquid. However, the fat was left untrimmed, which may have added more flavoring and did add some greasiness.
Perhaps you could splash a little bit in to let the inner meat soak up some extra flavor if you would prefer not to use any BBQ sauce. I fear submerging it in too much liquid may strip the outer meat of some of its seasoning or turn it all mushy, not that I’ve ever tried anything like that with cooked meat. Maybe it could be a nice enhancement!
Hi Lauren! This is delicious. Great recipe. Just wondering do you add the cooking liquid back into the shredded pork before freezing or do you discard the liquid and just add bbq sauce later?
Going to make this Pulled Pork recipe for our Corn Roast weekend at the cottage
Made this for a reunion in Ohio. We are from southwest so it was not spicy for us but my midwestern relatives thought it was really spicy. Still got rave reviews.
Spicy from what??
Made this for the first time for a party we were hosting. It was easy, the directions were clear and when finished was a HUGE hit.
Keeping this one for future use. Thank You!
Please keep me up to date on your great recipes!!
Love this recipe going to make for a party! Can I put all the meat in the Dutch oven at the same time would it take longer to cook? Or about the same time? I’m going to be using about 25 lbs of raw pork. Or is there a better method to cook it all at the same time?
Hello!
I’m thrilled to hear you’re using this recipe for a party! As for your question, it’s quite possible to cook all the meat at once in a Dutch oven, but there are a few things to consider.
First, the Dutch oven needs to be large enough to accommodate all the meat without crowding, allowing for good heat circulation. If it’s too crowded, the meat might cook unevenly.
Secondly, the cooking time may indeed be longer. Although it’s hard to estimate exactly without knowing the specifics of your oven and meat cuts, generally speaking, when you increase the volume of food being cooked, it tends to increase the overall cooking time.
You could consider dividing the pork into smaller portions and using multiple Dutch ovens or slow cookers, if available. This would ensure more even and predictable cooking.
A good indication that the pork is ready is when it is easily shreddable with a fork. Make sure to check the internal temperature to ensure it’s safe to eat (at least 145°F for whole cuts and 160°F for ground pork as per USDA recommendations).
Keep in mind that when you’re cooking such a large quantity of meat, it will generate a lot of juice, so you might need to adjust the amount of other liquids you add to avoid having overly soupy pulled pork.
Hope your party goes well and everyone enjoys the pulled pork! Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.