Oven Pulled Pork from pork butt is cooked in the oven low and slow. Our best-pulled pork recipe is tender and moist with delicious bark. Super easy, with almost no work—you rub, bake at 250°, shred, and eat.
🐖Ingredients
Pork butt, AKA Boston butt—boneless or bone-in
Dry rub—brown sugar, kosher salt, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper
Liquid smoke—optional but suggested
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Featured comment from Lisa B.:
"5 stars. I was beyond amazed at the end product of this recipe. The cooking method is foolproof. People thought the pork was cooked on a smoker or grill. It was perfectly moist but with the crunchy texture of the bark mixed in. So easy! Outstanding results."
I make this recipe almost monthly—we love pulled BBQ pork. Everybody deserves great pulled pork, but most don't have smokers. You can make perfect moist and tender pulled pork with fantastic bark in your oven.
This recipe simulates a smoker's or grill's cooking environment as much as possible. Some liquid smoke to replace the smoke, dry rub, and then bake low and slow in the oven—no all-day supervising a smoker or grill, but with fantastic bark that you don't get in the crock pot
For other pork butt recipes, see Pulled Pork on a Gas Grill and Crock Pot Pulled Pork. Or for carnitas see Oven Baked Carnitas and Crock Pot Pork Carnitas.
👨🍳How to Cook Pulled Pork in the Oven with Pork Butt—Step-by-Step
1. Use a bone-in or boneless pork butt, AKA Boston butt.
2. Pat dry and coat with liquid smoke (optional). Coat with a dry rub of your choice, or make mine.
3. You can wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight. Place on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. Roast in a 250° oven until an internal temp of 200° to 205°—about 8-9 hours.
5. Remove from the oven, wrap with heavy-duty aluminum foil, and then wrap with several towels.
6. You can shred in as little as 15 minutes, but better in 1-2 hours.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰How long to cook pork butt in the oven
In a 250° oven, a 4-pound pork butt will take 8 to 9 hours. Bone-in will take a bit longer. Two hours per pound at 250° is a good starting point for timing. This time will vary from 1 ½ hours to 2 ½ hours per pound by the weight and thickness of the meat.
The best oven temperature is 250°, but you can use oven temperatures of 225° to 275° and adjust the cooking time. I do not suggest 300° or above since the outside will dry more before the collagen in the center is fully melted. I also do not recommend using convection for the same reason.
Much bigger pork butts will take much longer into the 12+ hour range. I suggest cutting huge pork butts into smaller pieces to speed up cooking and help predict timing better.
A quick warning: Many ovens will shut off at 8 to 12 hours for safety if people leave the stove on accidentally. So watch for that problem with your oven.
🌡️When is pork butt done?
Pork butt is done at an internal temperature of 200° to 205°, which will produce the most tender results. The collagen connective tissue will start melting in the 175° range but is not complete until about 200°.
The only way to tell if your Boston butt is done is by checking the internal temperature of the thickest part with a meat thermometer. You can not cook by time or color of the meat.
✔️Tips and variation
- Use a dry rub: There are many dry rubs available, and if you have one you like, use it. I have provided the dry rub I use for pork butt recipes. It is simple and uses common pantry ingredients. It is a version of 8:3:1:1 BBQ Dry Rub or use Memphis Dry Rub. A touch of cayenne pepper can be added if you want a bit of heat.
- Elevate the Pork Butt: Use a rack or crumbled-up foil to elevate the pork out of the fatty drainage. You don't have to do this, but the results will be nicer.
- Liquid Smoke: A good quality liquid smoke will add a nice smokiness. But skip it if you want. You can rub the pork roast with a light coat of yellow mustard before adding the dry rub.
🍽️Serving Pulled Pork
We prefer pulled pork sandwiches on a great bun or bread and topped with Memphis BBQ Sauce. But others like to pile on coleslaw or other condiments on their pork sandwich.
You can never go wrong with a nice pile of pulled pork with sauce and sides on your plate. But you can use pulled pork to make great nachos, pork tacos, or quesadillas.
Suggested side dishes
The standards are cold side dishes like coleslaw, potato salad, Caprese Pasta Salad, or Macaroni Salad. Cornbread and cheesy potato casserole, French Fries, or Mac and Cheese are also great sides.
♨️Storing pulled pork butt
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for 4 days, but I prefer two days since the texture suffers.
Pulled pork will freeze well for 3 to 4 months. Many will freeze pulled pork in reheatable sealed bags; then, they will reheat them in boiling water.
Reheating pulled pork butt.
Reheat on a sheet pan sprinkled 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 crock pot on low to keep warm.
Never reheat or store with sauce applied -the acid will destroy the texture of pulled pork.
❓FAQs
No, but it will add some smoky taste.
There are many "bad" versions of liquid smoke on the market. And the chemical-filled versions will ruin your pork.
I stick to Wright's brand only. If not available to you, the ingredient list on the bottle should only have smoke and water—nothing else.
Bone-in pork butt will take a bit longer to cook, but not much. Some will argue a taste difference one way or the other. Nope, no difference to me (or most people) in the taste. So use what you have.
Absolutely. The rest before the shred could be as short as 15 minutes, but longer is better. Shred just before serving. It will stay warm with my method for up to 4 hours, giving you ample time to serve freshly shredded pork.
Special tools are made for shredding, but you don't need them—just a couple of good forks work well.
Any bone will pull out easily and then attack with the forks. There may be some non-eatable parts that should be discarded.
No. Please keep it open to the dry oven environment to develop the fantastic bark of pulled pork.
The moistness of pulled pork butt comes from the melting of connective tissue, and the bark firming up blocks most moisture loss. Smokers and grillers don't need foil, and we don't.
🐖What is pork butt and why use it?
The best cut of meat to use for pulled pork is pork butt which has a large amount of connective tissue that, when melted, makes for the absolute best pull pork that is moist, tender, and flavorful.
Like many cuts of meat, there are several names for the same thing. Pork butt and Boston butt are the same cut. It is behind the neck and is part of a larger (primal) cut called the pork shoulder. The pork shoulder is divided into two smaller cuts, the pork butt (Boston butt) and the picnic shoulder.
The picnic shoulder is a thinner area below the pork butt. The picnic is frequently smoked to make the picnic ham. Large restaurants and BBQ experts will low and slow-cook the whole pork shoulder primal cut for masses of pulled pork.
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📖 Recipe
Oven Pulled Pork Butt—Low and Slow
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- about 4 pounds Pork Butt - aka Boston Butt
- rub of your choice - good quality
- 2 tablespoons Wright's Liquid Smoke - optional but recommended
Suggested dry rub if you don't have one
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt - 2 tablespoons if using Morton
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Use a rub of your choice. If using my rub, mix ½ cup dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
- Place a 4-pound (give or take a little) bone-in (or boneless) pork butt on a large piece of plastic wrap if wrapping for later. Rub with about 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke (optional).
- Use about one cup of rub and coat the meat on all sides of the pork butt with a heavy coat. If you have time, wrap the meat with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours, but overnight is fine. If you don't have time, apply the rub and pop it in the oven—which I usually do.
- When ready to cook, prepare a large-rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and a rack. Give it a heavy spray of PAM.
- Place meat on the rack and place it in a 250 ° oven (not convection). Don't bother to preheat. Fat cap up or down does not matter. You can shorten the time by increasing the oven's temperature to 275°, but I suggest 250°.
- Bake until internal temp of 200°-205°—about 8-9 hours. This will vary with the meat's thickness, bone-in vs. boneless, and the oven. You have some flex time to get your timing right in the next step.
- Remove from the oven directly onto a large sheet of heavy-duty foil. Wrap tight with the foil, then wrap with several towels. Place wrapped meat in a small cooler if available and rest for 1-2 hours until needed. It can stay warm for up to 4 hours if well-wrapped in a cooler. This can help you get your timing right for serving.
- Shred with forks. It will fall apart.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Cooking time can vary, but you can use the wrap time at the end to adjust the shredding time by a few hours.
- If you don't have a rack, you can elevate the meat on balls of rolled-up foil. Please do not leave it to cook in the muck.
- The liquid smoke is nice, but some will object, so skip it if you wish. If you use it, quality matters a lot. I use only Wright's™.
- My rub is provided for you, but use the rub of your choice.
- If you use my rub, the salt is calculated on Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. 1 teaspoon table salt = 1 ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- I find my rub still is good with half the salt if that is a concern for you.
- 195° is the absolute minimum internal temperature, but I much prefer 200° to 205° and 210° max.
- Good refrigerated for 4 days, but I prefer 2 days since the texture suffers. It will freeze well for 4 months.
- Bone-in or boneless does not matter. But bone-in may take a bit longer.
- Fat pad up or down does not matter.
- I frequently just wet it with the liquid smoke and apply the rub. And then directly into the oven. It is still great. Or use yellow mustard and then rub.
- DO NOT cover with anything like foil or a lid in the oven.
- Nutrition is hard to calculate. The fat drains, the rub forms bark, and also drains some. So many things are included in the nutrition numbers that may not be there.
Reheating
I like to reheat it on a sheet pan. I sprinkle with a bit of water on my 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 to keep warm if serving. Never reheat or store with sauce applied -the acid will destroy the texture.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
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Editor's note: Originally Published November 2, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
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