I spent years of my life with the wrong pulled pork recipes. Some were difficult to chew and regret-inducing. Some required far more time and labor than a man could bear. Others looked amazing, but left me unfulfilled.
Then I found my pulled pork recipe. It was uncomplicated. It required nothing of me except tenderness and patience. It was satisfying, with an undernote of persistent sweetness.
I love this recipe and I don’t care who knows it.
You don’t even need a slow-cooker to make it. Most Crock-Pot zealots (oh, they exist) would throw up their plastic serving spoons, retort “NAY!” (yeah, they really say that), and burn every copy of A Man, A Pan, A Plan they could find (I don’t care as long as you buy the copies and you stay safe).
Look, if you own a large pan with a corresponding large lid and have a functioning oven, you basically own a slow-cooker. And if you basically own a slow-cooker, you have no longer have any reason to stumble through your existence in search of the right pulled pork recipe.
Life is too short to spend your days with sub-par pulled pork. And when you find your right pulled pork recipe, enjoy it for everything that it’s worth.
Pulled Pork Recipe from A Man, A Pan, A Plan:
What You’ll Need:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp Kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard seed
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 (4 lb) pork butt, cut into fist-size pieces
- 1 cup apple juice
How to Make It:
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and all the spices. Add the pork and mix well, massaging the rub into the meat. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour; ideally 8.
- Preheat your oven to 300°F. In a large cast-iron pan, add the apple juice and the pork. Cover loosely with foil and place in the oven. Roast until the meat is fork-tender, 3 to 4 hours.
- Using oven mitts, carefully remove the pan. Using 2 forks, pull the meat apart, discarding any large piece of fat. Toss the meat in the juices and serve. Feeds 6.
Nutrition per serving: 354 calories, 43g protein, 13g carbohydrates (1g fiber), 14g fat
For more incredible one-pan recipes, check out A Man, A Pan, A Plan.