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–+ servings

Oven Pulled Pork - Low & Slow Pork Butt

pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce
Cooking pork butt in an oven produces perfect tender and flavor-packed pulled pork. Cover with a simple dry rub, then roast low and slow in your oven. This easy recipe takes minimal preparation time and almost no skill.
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 9 hrs
Total Time: 9 hrs 40 mins
Servings: 12 serving
Calories: 238.1kcal
Author: Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Ingredients

  • about 4 pounds Pork Butt aka Boston Butt
  • rub of your choice good quality
  • 2 tablespoons Wright's Liquid Smoke optional but recommended

My Rub

  • 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 pepper

Instructions

  • Use a rub of your choice and some Liquid Smoke. 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.
    rub ingredients with liquid smoke
  • Place a 4 pound (give or take a little) bone-in (or boneless) pork butt on a large piece of plastic wrap if wrapping. Rub with about 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke (optional).
    coating a pork butt with liquid smoke
  • Use about one cup of rub and coat the meat on all sides of the pork butt with a heavy coat.
    hand rubbing the rub on the pork butt
  • If you have time, wrap the meat with plastic wrap. You may need a second piece. Refrigerate for a few hours, but overnight is fine. If you don't have time, just apply the rub and pop it in the oven—which I usually do.
    pork butt wrapped in plastic wrap
  • Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and a rack when ready to cook. Give it a heavy spray of PAM.
    spraying a pan covered with foil and a rack spraying tieh PAM
  • Place meat on rack and place 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°.
    pork shoulder on rack ready for oven
  • Bake until internal temp of 195° plus (200°-205° is better). About 8-9 hours. This will vary some with the thickness of the meat, bone-in vs. boneless, and the oven. You have some flex time in the next step to get your timing right.
    cooked Boston Butt on a tray
  • 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 is well wrapped in a cooler. This can help you get your timing right for serving.
    pork butt in foil being wrapped
  • Shred with forks. It will fall apart.
    shredding the pork butt wih forks

MY PRIVATE NOTES:

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Notes

Pro Tips:

  1. Cooking time can vary, but you can use the wrap time at the end to adjust the shredding time by a few hours.
  2. 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. (see the crock pot recipe)
  3. The liquid smoke is nice, but some object, so skip if you wish. If you use it, quality matters a lot. I use only Wright's.
  4. My rub is provided for you, but use the rub of your choice.
  5. 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.
  6. I find my rub still is good with half the salt if that is a concern for you.
  7. 195° is the minimum, but I much prefer 200° to 205° and 210° max.
  8. Good refrigerated for 3-4 days, but I prefer 2 days since the texture suffers. It will freeze well for 3-4 months.
  9. Bone-in or boneless does not matter. But bone-in may take a bit longer.
  10. Fat pad up or down does not matter.
  11. I frequently just wet with the liquid smoke and apply the rub. And then directly into the oven. It is still great.
  12. DO NOT cover with anything like foil or a lid in the oven.
  13. 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.
  14. Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.

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 to a crockpot on low to keep warm.
Never reheat or store with sauce applied -the acid will destroy the texture.

Nutrition

Calories: 238.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.7g | Protein: 28.5g | Fat: 8.7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.8g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 90.7mg | Sodium: 1234.76mg | Potassium: 544.9mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 198.6IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 33.6mg | Iron: 2mg

All nutritional values are estimated.

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