Description
This BBQ dutch oven pulled pork is delicious, tender and easy to make following some simple steps. It's a budget-friendly recipe, that is always a crowd favourite. Ideal for batch cooking, to freeze portions, and to have leftovers for the entire week.
Ingredients
Pork
1.2kg pork shoulder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large onion / 2 medium diced
5 garlic diced
2 celery stalks diced
1 cup of beef stock
33 cl gluten-free beer
BBQ sauce
1 cup of tomato passata
3 tbsp of tomato paste
3 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius in top and bottom mode.
- Season and sear the pork: Add the ground pepper and the salt to the meat and rub on both sides. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil to a dutch oven on medium-high heat, and sear all sides until they’re nicely golden-brown (approx. 4-5 minutes per side). Remove the pork from the dutch oven, and set aside on a plate.
- Cook the veggies: Add the garlic, onion and celery with a pinch of salt to the same oil where you cooked the pork. Cook for 20 minutes until both the celery and onion are soft.
- Slow cook the pork: Put the pork back into the dutch oven, and pour the beer and the stock. Cover with the lid, and put in the oven for 2h 45min - 3h. Once the time is up, check that you can easily pull-apart the meat with a fork.
- Prepare the BBQ sauce: While the meat is cooking, prepare the BBQ sauce. Simply add all the ingredients to a medium pot with lid, and cook on medium-low setting, stirring occasionally. You can cook this sauce for as little as 20 minutes or as long as you want (the longer the better).
- Pull apart the pork: Put the dutch oven on a heat proof surface. Using two forks, pull apart all the meat directly in the dutch oven. Stir to combine the pulled meat with the sauce. Put back in the oven, and cook for another 30 minutes without lid. As the pork rests, it will keep absorbing liquid, so be mindful of not letting all the liquid evaporate.
- Add the BBQ sauce, stir to combine, and cook in the oven for another 15-25 minutes without lid.
Notes
It’s important to not let all the liquid evaporate (step 5). Once the pork cools down it will absorb more liquid, and the sauce will thicken.
As with all slow-cooked recipes, I find the flavours deepen as the recipe rests for a while. My preference is always to cook it the day before.
A fatty cut of pork is a must (pork shoulder or pork butt) to ensure the meat ends up extra tender! If you feel like the meat you bought has too much fat, feel free to trim a bit, but make sure to leave some!
Keywords: dutch oven pulled pork, pulled pork in dutch oven, dutch oven pulled pork recipe, bbq pulled pork in dutch oven, dutch oven bbq pulled pork