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
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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!
No coke in the house. Think I could
use ginger ale?
I haven’t tried that personally but it should work. Root beer is a great substitute too!
This was by far the best recipe I have tried for pulled pork- WELL IF YOU WANT IT TENDER! Thanks so much for this amazing recipe and it’s so simple.
Made it for a group of college kids. Super easy and makes great left overs!! Like that you can add bbq sauce as you wish later. Makes it easier to use in other dishes as leftover meat when it is not bbq in flavor.
Sooooo good and so easy! My super picky 8 year old: “this is heavenly!”
just tried this recipe. thank you! i loved it. really the best pulled pork i’ve had since leaving the SE. got rave reviews from my family too! a lot of work, but worth every minute!
Yummy- easiest pulled pork recipe ever and perfectly seasoned. Thanks!
So easy, absolutely LOVED it. We bought a pork rub we happen to love so it was super easy and awesome!
Can you add liquid smoke with this receipt?
Yes, that would be delicious! A little big will go a long way.
I’ve been cooking this recipe successfully 4 times already and it’s now my go-to recipe for pulled pork. Thank you for sharing this !
This is my second time making this recipe. I didn’t have a Dutch oven pot, so I used the roasting pan we usually cook Thanksgiving Turkey in.
The first time I made this, I didn’t sear the meat and it still was excellent and my family loved it. So I’m making it again today but I seared the meat this time around. I’m sure it will be just as good as last time. Thank you for sharing this recipe. 🙂