Pulled Pork Sandwiches

By Melissa Clark

Updated April 2, 2017

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
3½ to 4½ hours, plus at least 1½ hours’ marinating and resting
Rating
5(3,122)
Comments
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This recipe takes a good deal of time, but it yields a lot of sandwiches, more than enough for a sloppy, spicy dinner party feast. You’ll roast a dry-rubbed pork shoulder in the oven until it’s pull-apart tender, 3 or 4 hours that you can spend doing other things while your kitchen fills with the aroma of the cooking meat. Then you’ll assemble a quick slaw and simmer a tangy barbecue sauce for about 10 minutes before putting it all out on the table with soft rolls. Serve the combination warm, at any time of the year, for a weekend project well worth an afternoon’s work.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings

FOR THE PORK

  • 1 ½ teaspoons whole coriander seed

  • 1 ½ teaspoons whole cumin seed

  • 1 ½ teaspoons black peppercorns

  • 2 ¼ teaspoons coarse kosher salt

  • 1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard powder

  • 1 ½ teaspoons chile powder

  • 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

  • 3 ½ pounds boneless pork shoulder

  • Hamburger or brioche buns, for serving

FOR THE BARBECUE SAUCE

  • 1 ½ cups ketchup

  • ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

  • 2 tablespoons molasses

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated

  • ¼ cup cider vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

  • 2 teaspoons sweet or hot paprika

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

  • Pinch of cayenne

  • Dash of hot sauce, more to taste

FOR THE SLAW

  • 1 small head green cabbage, outer leaves removed, shredded (about 1 ½ pounds)

  • ½ small red onion, thinly sliced

  • 1 large jalapeño, seeded if desired, thinly sliced

  • ¾ cup mayonnaise

  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

  • Black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Assemble the spice rub for the pork: In a dry, small skillet over medium-low heat, toast coriander, cumin and peppercorns until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind toasted spices into a fine powder. Transfer to a bowl and mix with salt, mustard powder, chile powder and sugar.

  2. Step 2

    If your roast is tied up, untie it. Massage meat generously with spice rub. If you have time, let meat rest for an hour or two at room temperature, or refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

  3. Step 3

    Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place pork in a baking pan and roast for 3 to 4 hours or until meat is pull-apart tender and internal temperature reads 200 degrees on a meat thermometer. Let meat cool for at least 30 minutes before pulling it apart and shredding with your hands or two forks. (This works best when the meat is warm but not hot.)

  4. Step 4

    Prepare the barbecue sauce: Combine ingredients in a medium pot. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce has deepened in color. Season with more hot sauce if you like. Add two-thirds of the sauce to meat and toss to coat, adding more sauce as needed. (Any leftover sauce will keep for at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator.)

  5. Step 5

    Make the slaw: Combine cabbage, onion and jalapeño in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add dressing to cabbage and toss well.

  6. Step 6

    Serve pulled pork with slaw, buns and hot sauce on the side, letting people assemble their own sandwiches.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
3,122 user ratings
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Comments

Rory

Hi, being Australian I'm new to cooking pulled pork and I was wondering if I should cook this with a lid on? My meat is a 3kg (don't know what that is in pounds) pork shoulder with the bone in. I'm also thinking I may have to cook it longer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.

TC outwest

Being a westerner - tried this and needed some tweeking. Better to cook the pork at a lower temp for longer - 250 to a temp of 190. Low and slow is better in tenderness and breakdown of collagen which helps it "pull". DON'T cover the meat. The outside becomes the "bark" and is awesome. . Covering it or cooking in a bag steams the meat - not the same. Slaw recipe is good. Sauce is run-of-the-mill. Too sweet, needs vinegar and heat to stand out.

Kim

What is the best way to double this recipe for a party? 2 3.5-pound pork shoulders, or 1 7-pound one? Could the meat be cooked in a slow cooker?

Thorigol

I listened to the commenter who recommended 250° but live at 7700ft in Colorado. After 6 hours the pork was still only up to 180°. I took it out anyway and it was actually perfectly done at that point. Just noting that at altitude, it will take longer. Certainly glad I did this the day before my party!

LAZ

I had a 3.25 lb pork shoulder roast, which took 4.5 hours at 300 degrees to get to 200 degrees internally. It was done, but didn’t pull apart easily at all. I had to slice it first, then pull (and my hands were dead when I finished). The crispy bits of the crust were fine, but not really worth it. Next time, I’ll try the crockpot. For the sauce, I used about ¼ c. ketchup plus ½ c. tomato sauce, 5 T brown sugar, with the rest of the ingredients as specified. Very good, but I would either make more or put it all on the pork. We put the extra on top of the meat in the sandwiches, and could have used more. I guess we like our meat more saucy than not. The slaw was very good.

Mel

Generally good but I found it a bit too sweet. I’ll make this again but will cut back on the sugar in the rub and the sauce.

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