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.
FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!
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.
This post contains affiliate links.
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!
We only used 1/2 cumin and 1/2 chili powder for our tastes, but it was a great way to make MEXICAN pulled pork. This is not regular pulled pork.
Made this tonight with my daughter. Had a 5 1/2 pound butt, cut it into 1/4’s, used a dutch oven, cooked at 300. At three hours, when I went to take the top off, I took the temp of the meat, and it was done. It was probably done at 2 hours. Maybe 2 hours and 15 minutes.
I didn’t have Coke, so I put in some apple cider vinegar and chicken broth. It turned out really tender and juicy.
Can I use beef brisket instead?
This is a delicious recipe! I’ve made it 4-5 times and had so many compliments. Once I substituted Dr. Pepper for Coke and it wasn’t as good, so I recommend sticking with Coke! If you can find the pure cane sugar Coke, it’s even better! Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I love it!
We have never made pulled pork before, but other recipes from this site have been tasty, so we went for it with a 10 lb shoulder. We actually used the spice ratios for the 12 lb cut and baked in a 3″ rectangular pan with foil wrapped over it. Thank you for such a well-written recipe that made us proud to share it at a party!
Other than doubling the recipe because I had an 8 lb roast, I followed the recipe to the letter and it was perfect! I used a large cast iron dutch oven. The meat was so flavorful and tender. It literally fell apart when I took it out of the pan. I served it for a Super Bowl party and it was a hit. The recipe is a keeper.
Can I make this the day before and reheat?
Amazing! Took a chance for my son’s birthday dinner and I am amazed. A+++
Cooked in STAUB roaster, 8 lb bone in pork shoulder. I removed the thick fat, doubled the rub, seared and cooked whole in oven with Coke covered for 6 hours, then 2 hours uncovered at 300. Finished with Bachan’s Japanese BBQ sauce. Oh, so good … definitely a keeper.
Comments from teen son: “one of best things I’ve ever made. Tastes like restaurant pork. “
I went with the Dutch oven method with a quick sear as I felt like it had the best chance for crispy bits and fit my timeline the best while working from home. I forgot I had to cook this today, so the spices didn’t get a long time to absorb.