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    🏠Home » Recipes » Pork Chop and Loin Recipes

    BBQ Shredded Pork Loin for Pulled Pork in the Oven

    Dec 29, 2022 · Modified: Jan 22, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 18 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.18 from 63 votes

    Lean, healthy, and tasty shredded pork loin makes excellent BBQ pork loin. Oven baked in a spicy braising fluid. Make it for a few or a hundred. Use this pulled pork loin like you would pulled pork butt to make great BBQ pork loin sandwiches or any other place you use pulled pork.

    shredded pork loin on bun
    Jump To:
    • 😊Why you will love this recipe
    • 🐖Ingredients
    • 👨‍🍳How to make pulled pork loin in the oven
    • ⏲️How long to cook pork loin in the oven for pulled pork
    • ✔️Pro Tips
    • ❓FAQs
    • ❄️How to Store and Reheating Leftovers
    • 📖Party Size Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📝Recipe
    • BBQ Shredded Pork Loin for Pulled Pork in the Oven
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    😊Why you will love this recipe

    • It uses healthier lean pork loin to make a healthier version of pulled pork—you will live longer this way.
    • Moist and smoky meat for great barbecue sandwiches.
    • Easy and cheap to scale up to feed a hundred or scale down to a smaller amount for the family.
    • Simple step-by-step photo instructions.
    • While this makes excellent BBQ pork loin, a simple change of spicing will make great Mexican shredded pork loin for tacos, nachos, or many other uses.
    • It will store and freeze well.
    • Perfect for a game-watch party or tailgating—feeding a large group has never been so easy.

    This is a modification of a recipe I had developed and used for years for shredded pork loin on the stovetop. Braised in a spiced-up broth, slices of pork loin become fall-apart tender and moist after a few hours. But the oven is just as easy and more versatile for scaling to larger amounts but still works for small amounts.

    🐖Ingredients

    • Pork loin—boneless center cut, trimmed, and cut into thick slices across the grain.
    • onion—chopped
    • beef broth—vegetable or chicken broth may be used, but I suggest beef
    • chili powder
    • salt
    • liquid smoke—use good quality only, optional but highly recommended to add smoky flavor

    👨‍🍳How to make pulled pork loin in the oven

    1. Trim a center-cut pork loin of extra fat and any silver skin.
    2. Braise in beef broth seasoned with chili powder, onion, and liquid smoke.
    3. Seal the pan with foil and bake at 300° for about 2 ½ hours until falling apart tender and the internal temperature reaches 185°+ to melt any connective tissue.
    4. Let cool a bit and shred by hand while still warm.
    5. Add some of the braising liquid back in to add moisture and a LOT of taste.
    6. Cover tight and refrigerate overnight if you have time. Add more braising fluid if needed.

    ⏲️How long to cook pork loin in the oven for pulled pork

    The cooking time in a 300° oven is 2 ½ to 3 hours. It will vary some by the thickness of the pork loin slices, the pan, and the oven.

    The pork loin is done and ready to shred when it is 185° or high and "fork tender," which means a fork can go in and out without moving the meat much.

    ✔️Pro Tips

    • Whole pork loins are usually 5 to 6 pounds, but you don't need to use it all in this recipe. Pork chops are cut from pork loin, so cut off some 1-inch thick pork chops for freezing.
    • There is a tough silver skin on the pork loin. Trim it off or discard it during shredding.
    • Some pork loins seem "tough" and don't shred well. If you get one of these, cut it with the grain in small pieces and let it set in the braising fluid overnight. While we don't usually reheat in BBQ sauce, it can tenderize some.
    • Don't discard the braising fluid; you will need 1 to 2 cups to hydrate the pork loin. If you did discard it or need more, use beef broth. Start with adding 1 cup per 5 pounds of loin. You will probably need more.
    • The pork loin is best after adding the fluid, then cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight. Add a bit more liquid the following day.
    • "Good quality liquid smoke" means only two ingredients, smoke and water—no chemicals. I only use Wright's brand.

    ❓FAQs

    How much to cook per person?

    If you use this for a large group, calculate ¼ pound per sandwich. If it is the lone main dish, then 1 ½ sandwiches per person.

    Should I add BBQ sauce to pulled pork to reheat?

    No, never do that to any pork. The tomato acid will break down the texture of the meat the longer it sets.

    Just let the people add their own sauce. I like to take a variety of choices, but my Memphis BBQ sauce is always the crowd favorite.

    I do have an exception to this rule. If your shredded pork comes out "tough" and doesn't rehydrate well, BBQ will tenderize it some.

    How to make shredded Mexican pork.

    Follow this recipe but remove the liquid smoke and add 2 teaspoons of cumin. Great for any Mexican cuisine.

    How to serve BBQ pork loin?

    Usually served on hamburger buns with homemade barbecue sauce. Side dishes recommendations are the standard BBQ dishes, baked beans, potato salad, and coleslaw.

    ❄️How to Store and Reheating Leftovers

    Storage—Leftovers should be stored in airtight containers and are good refrigerated for 3-4 days. It will also freeze well for four months. So a good cook-ahead dish for a large group.

    Reheating

    If frozen, thaw before reheating.

    Reheat on a sheet pan and sprinkles with a bit of water with your hand (don't overdo it). Cover tightly with foil and into the oven at 250°-300° until hot.

    The time varies by how you shredded it and the amount on the tray. Usually, I take about 45 minutes or so in the oven. I know that is not very exact, but you get the idea.

    You can then turn the oven down (keep it covered) or transfer it to a crockpot on low or the "keep warm" setting to keep warm.

    Microwave—will work on a medium setting but can change the texture.

    📖Party Size Recipes

    Chicken for a Hundred

    Crock Pot Pulled Pork Loin

    Pulled Pork Recipe Roundup

    Oven Pulled Pork from Pork Butt

    Memphis Barbecue Sauce; A Wonderful Thing

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    BBQ Recipes, Cooking for Groups Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Low Fat Recipes, Pork Chop and Loin Recipes, Pork Recipes
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    trimmed pork loin on a black board in slices

    Trim a whole center-cut pork loin of extra fat and silver skin. Cut into about 1 ½ inch slices across the grain.

    beef broth with seasoning for braising fluid

    You could use a dutch oven or any oven-safe pan that you can seal shut. A cake pan sealed with foil or a large roasting pan will work great.

    slices of pork loin in a cake pan with braising fluid

    Chop one large onion. Add to the pan along with the spices, broth, and liquid smoke. Add pork slices. It may not be entirely submerged. Add a little water, if needed, almost to cover the pork.

    cake pan covered with foil

    Seal with aluminum foil and place in a 300° oven (no need to preheat) for about 2 ½ hours, until 185°+ and fork tender.

    cooked pork loin in braising fluid

    Remove from over. Move pork to a plate to cool a bit before shredding.

    braising fluid in a measuring cup

    Reserve the braising liquid.

    hand shredding pork loin

    After the pork is cooled enough to handle but still warm, hand shred, disregarding anything you don't want to eat.

    pouring braising fluid into shredded pork loin

    Add back one cup of the braising liquid. Mix well and add more liquid if needed. Refrigerate overnight, tightly covered if possible. Save the rest of the braising liquid to add to future warmups.

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    📝Recipe

    shredded pork loin on bun

    BBQ Shredded Pork Loin for Pulled Pork in the Oven

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Lean, healthy, and tasty shredded pork loin makes excellent BBQ pork loin. Oven baked in a spicy braising fluid. Make it for a few or a hundred. Use this pulled pork loin like you would pulled pork butt to make great BBQ pork loin sandwiches or any other place you use pulled pork.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.18 from 63 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 20 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 5 pounds pork loin - Center cut
    • 1 onion - large chopped
    • 28 oz beef broth - two cans or one large box
    • 4 tablespoons chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon table salt
    • 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Trim a whole center-cut pork loin of extra fat and silver skin. Cut into about 1 ½ inch slices across the grain.
      trimmed pork loin on a black board in slices
    • You could use a Dutch oven or any oven-safe pan that you can seal shut. A cake pan sealed with foil or a large roasting pan will work great.
      beef broth with seasoning for braising fluid
    • Chop one large onion. Add to the pan along with the spices, broth, and liquid smoke. Add pork slices. It may not be entirely submerged. Add a little water, if needed, almost to cover the pork.
      slices of pork loin in a cake pan with braising fluid
    • Seal with aluminum foil and place in a 300° oven (no need to preheat) for about 2 ½ hours, until 185°+ and fork tender.
      cake pan covered with foil
    • Remove from over. Move pork to a plate to cool a bit before shredding.
      cooked pork loin in braising fluid
    • Reserve the braising liquid.
      braising fluid in a measuring cup
    • After the pork is cooled enough to handle but still warm, hand shred, disregarding anything you don't want to eat.
    • Add back one cup of the braising liquid. Mix well and add more liquid if needed. Refrigerate overnight, tightly covered if possible. Save the rest of the braising liquid to add to future warmups.
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. Easy to cut down or scale up as needed. If using less than a whole pork loin, cut the rest into 1-inch pork chops.
    2. This is a great cook ahead for a party recipe. It is actually better the day after cooking.
    3. You can change up the broth, but I find a good quality beef broth the best here.
    4. Add other seasonings, and you can make it hot with some cayenne pepper.
    5. Keep all the braising fluid.
    6. You can eat this the day of cooking but better the next day.
    7. For large groups, cook about ¼ pound per sandwich — good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 4 months.
    8. Reheating instructions in the recipe post.
    9. Add braising fluid or broth if needed for reheating.
    10. Make it Mexican: Remove the liquid smoke and add 2 teaspoons of cumin. Great for any Mexican cuisine. 

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    BBQ Shredded Pork Loin for Pulled Pork in the Oven
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 159 Calories from Fat 45
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 5g8%
    Saturated Fat 1g5%
    Cholesterol 71mg24%
    Sodium 272mg11%
    Potassium 543mg16%
    Carbohydrates 1g0%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 26g52%
    Vitamin A 475IU10%
    Vitamin C 0.4mg0%
    Calcium 12mg1%
    Iron 0.9mg5%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally Published August 18, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    More Pork Chop and Loin Recipes

    • Breaded Pork Chops in 30 Minutes
    • Pan Seared Oven Roasted Thick Pork Chops
    • How to Grill Pork Chops on a Gas Grill
    • Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Gravy

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    1. Jackie

      May 16, 2022 at 10:37 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe worked great! I had to modify just a bit because my roast was just under 2.5 pounds and my husband won't eat onions-so swapped that for onion powder. It took just 2 hours for it to reach recommended temp and after cooling a bit, it shredded beautifully! Hubby ate it with just the braising liquid but the kids and I added bbq sauce and ate on buns. It was so delicious and I'll definitely keep this recipe for repeats! Thanks!!

      Reply
    2. Ann

      September 07, 2019 at 10:37 am

      I made this as directed. Came out great!! Will use it to cook for 25 people for upcoming event. Great, economical dish to serve. Thank you!!

      Reply
    3. Terry Yarham

      July 21, 2019 at 6:49 pm

      4 stars
      Dr. Dan - love the blog - I've gotten many recipes from you that we now consider ""goto's".

      After about 2 1/2 hours, our pork (about 5 1/2 lbs) was at 192 degrees. I pulled it (recipe says 180 degrees plus), but it was pretty difficult to shred after it had cooled. If it were pork butt, I would say it needed cooked more to get the temp up, but wasn't sure with the pork loin being so much leaner if that would be the case. Does it react the same?

      I'm sure the flavor will be great, and we are looking forward to using this as a healthier alternative to pulled pork. Any idea if our loin was overcooked, undercooked, or was it fine and it's just a lot harder to shred than pork butt?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        July 21, 2019 at 6:58 pm

        Hi Terry,
        You seem to have gotten one of the "tough ones" I discussed in the post. And it may be a tad over cooked. Don't cook it more.

        Shredded/chop it up and get some bracing fluid on it for overnight. It will be better after that.

        Dan

    4. Reddee

      May 27, 2018 at 4:17 pm

      Made this it was very good. I added a few spices it this was a good start. Thank you so much.

      Reply
    5. Betty

      January 05, 2018 at 5:45 pm

      Hi Dan...yes, sorry a misprint on my part. Took it out after 1 hr.45 min. It's tender & smells great. Will be having it tomorrow,
      putting in fridge overnight in some braising liquid. (& a little bbq sauce)
      Will let you know how it turned out!

      Reply
    6. Betty

      January 05, 2018 at 3:47 pm

      I've got this in oven now but just have 2 lbs pork. Is 1/2 hrs.braising time still ok?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 05, 2018 at 3:55 pm

        The time should be a little shorter but the time is 2 1/2 hours not 1/2 hour. Check it at 2 hours.
        Dan

    7. MJ

      September 04, 2016 at 7:03 am

      thanks, am using pork loin for pulled pork for 300 guests. added 1/4 c beer & Canola. frig overnight. Thanks!!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        September 04, 2016 at 8:02 am

        I think this is the best use for those big chunks of pork loin. Good luck with the mass cooking.

        DrDan

    8. Jim

      September 16, 2014 at 2:57 pm

      This was delicious! I started with a bone-in pork sirloin (cheap) and carved off as much meat as I could while trimming off the fat, then cut it into 2 inch or so pieces as you suggested. Next time I will look for a boneless roast to make it easier. I also used 1 can of beef broth and 1 can of chicken broth because that was all that I had on hand--turned out just fine. Otherwise followed the cooking directions using a pyrex 9X13 dish covered with foil. 2 1/2 hours at 300 was perfect. Instead of returning the juice, I dumped a bottle of Stubb's smoky mesquite bbq sauce and let it set overnight.
      Just had it for lunch on hot dog buns (a tip from a sloppy joe recipe) and it was awesome. Thank you for sharing such an easy recipe since I am a complete newbie cook.

      Jim

      Reply
      • DrDan

        September 16, 2014 at 8:10 pm

        Thanks for the note Jim. All recipes are just guidelines anyways. I'm always for getting rid of solid fat. I think you could just leave the bone in and when you take it out to shred, it will probably just fall off the bone. I though the left overs were better the second day after they absorbed fluid back in.

        DrDan

    9. Dr Dan

      February 02, 2013 at 10:17 pm

      The cayenne was a great idea I may try next time. I found it surprising that pork loin can be so moist.

      Reply
    10. Sam Courtney

      February 02, 2013 at 9:59 pm

      Yes - wonderful recipe - simple and the results were awesome - thanks for sharing! I used a little cayenne pepper instead of chili powder and it gave it a nice little bite....even my girls like it! I also used 1/2 onion since we aren't much of an onion family....but it still tasted delicious! It could cook 3 hrs instead on 2.5 and it would be even more tender to tear up by hand.

      Reply
    11. Dr Dan

      August 20, 2011 at 11:50 am

      The mass feeding went great. They ate about twice as much as I expected so it was great hit. Or they will eat anything that's free.

      The 190 was so it would shred easy by melting any fibrous tissue that was present and have that pulled pork type feel. The key is adding moisture and taste back with the braising liquid. Otherwise it would be wood chips.

      Reply
    12. Chris

      August 20, 2011 at 5:50 am

      I would have told you that you are crazy to take a pork loin past 160 because it is so lean but then when I saw how you cooked it, it made sense. The liquid makes the difference.

      It looks like you have a solid plan now. I hope the mass feeding goes well.

      Reply
    13. Dr Dan

      August 19, 2011 at 9:54 pm

      I don't play so I cooked. This was just so dang easy to do.

      Reply
    14. Inspired by eRecipeCards

      August 19, 2011 at 7:00 am

      Great post... be careful drawing to an inside straight, it is only a small mistake to fold a winning hand and a charity game means incredibly loose players. Beware of draws.

      Oh and the pork looks incredible as well.

      Reply

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