Pulled Pork Recipe Roundup from 101 Cooking for Two

Everybody deserves great pulled pork, and here are six ways to get there without a smoker—three with pork butt and three "fake" using other cuts of pork. All super easy with step-by-step photo instructions.

close up picture of a BBQ Sandwich with sauce on a blue plate

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Pork Butt AKA Boston Butt Recipes
"Fake" Pulled Pork
Top It Off Right
References to Help You

Introduction

It is pulled pork season, graduation, and summer parties, but not everybody has a smoker—but you want great pulled pork anyways.

Real pulled pork must come from pork butt. It is just the way it is folk. But it doesn't need to be hard, nor do you require a smoker.

Or you can fake it with other more lean cuts of meat that will give you great results but are healthier.

Pork Butt AKA Boston Butt Recipes

Like many cuts of meat, there are multiple names about the same thing. Pork butt and Boston butt are the same.

The pork shoulder is the thinner area of this cut but is commonly cooked and used the same as the butt. It has a bit less marbling and less fat and is usually not separated from the butt. But usually, the term pork shoulder is used interchangeably with pork butt and Boston butt.

image of a hog with Location of Pork Butt highlighted - Image licensed May 17, 2017, from Fotolia. Copyright by foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Image modified in accordance with the license. — Image licensed from Fotolia. Copyright by foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Image modified in accordance with the license.

If you are wondering, butt means thick, so that is why the term "butt" is used. Lastly, the picnic ham and picnic shoulder are not the same as this cut.

Grilled/Smoked Pulled Pork from Butt

This is the real thing done on your gas grill set up to smoke.

Smoked Pulled Pork on a Gas Grill – Not That Hard

How to smoke pulled pork on a gas grill? Not all of us have smokers. There are a lot of gas grills out there. Shouldn't we have smoked pulled pork too? I say yes. Pulled pork for all, and with a little planning, it is not that hard. Just plan enough time.

Check Out This Recipe

Pulled Pork on a Gas Grill from 101 Cooking for Two

Oven Pulled Pork from Butt

This is what I usually do when I get a pork butt. So easy and the house smells wonderful all day long.

Oven Pulled Pork - Low & Slow Pork Butt

The best pulled pork is baked in the oven for most home cooks. Just a dry rub and bake a pork butt low and slow in your oven. Everybody can have perfectly moist and tender pulled pork with great flavor.

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Crock Pot Pulled Pork Butt

It seems everybody wants this recipe. The last of the "real pulled pork from butt recipes," but it comes out of your crock pot.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork the Right Way

Great melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork butt is now an easy and economical BBQ dinner recipe. Cooked all day low and slow in your crock pot, pork butt becomes pull-apart tender for the best barbecue pulled pork sandwiches.

Check Out This Recipe

Pulled pork with sauce in a bun on a blue plate

"Fake" Pulled Pork

Other cuts of pork can be used for a "fake" pulled pork. Here are a couple of pork loin and a pork tenderloin method.

Both will produce near pork butt quality pork that is much lower in fat. The term "shredded" pork may be more accurate.

I have used the pork loin methods for cooking for groups of up to 50 servings. And I love the smaller tenderloin version.

graph showing pork loin vs tenderloin-Image licensed from Fotolia. Copyright by foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Image modified in accordance with the license. — Image licensed from Fotolia. Copyright by foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Image modified in accordance with the license.

BBQ Shredded Pork Loin for Pulled Pork in the Oven

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.

Check Out This Recipe

Crock Pot Pulled Pork Loin

Moist and tender "pulled" pork from pork loin is easy to make using your slow cooker. This healthy low-fat shredded pork is great for parties, tailgating, and large gatherings. But is easy to store for your smaller household.

Check Out This Recipe

Easy Crock Pot Shredded Pork Tenderloin

Think of it as a small crock pot version of pulled pork. Moist and tender, this shredded BBQ pork tenderloin is seasoned with a few spices and only takes a few hours in a crock pot.

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Top It Off Right

To have great BBQ, you need a great sauce. This is it. This could make cardboard taste good but add it to some great pulled pork, and you are in pig heaven.

Memphis BBQ Sauce—Sweet and Tangy

This Memphis BBQ Sauce recipe makes the best homemade sauce you will ever taste. Using only pantry staples, this smoky, sweet, and tangy sauce is easy to make and is the perfect complement to pulled pork, ribs, brisket, or even chicken and burgers. Better than any sauce you can buy. Time to impress your family and friends.

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