How do I 'cheater' pulled pork (don't have a smoker/grill)

[svttodd]

OK, I know this is sacrilegious BUT I was wondering what the best way to make BBQ pulled pork in the oven or slow cooker? I have a nice rub on my pork shoulder/butt. I do not have access to a grill/smoker this weekend, so I have to 'cheat' on the BBQ. I have done this in the past with my cast iron Dutch oven, but I was wondering what the best way is. This is what I have access to this weekend: a slow cooker, Dutch oven, and a regular oven (convection can be turned on or off). I have made good pulled pork and brisket this way, but the bark is just 'ok'. Is there a way to make great bark using a 'non traditional' indoor BBQ method? I promise that I will get a new smoker soon, but I won't have it for the weekend. HELP! Thanks. -Todd



When I used the Dutch oven in the past, I superheated a grill (I had brief access to a grill, but not hours on end), browned the outside of the rubbed pork in the Dutch oven inside the superheated grill to make 'bark', then transferred to a slow cooker for several hours. The pork tasted great, and the bark tasted good, but the bark was not as thick or as good as a 'real' smoker or grill would make.

 

[SmittyJonz]

:shock:

 

[smoke ninja]

Pulled pork dont have to be bbq. You can use any flavor you like. Lots of latin American cuisine features pulled meats. If you try too hard to make it like bbq it may end up like bad bbq

 

[Bludawg]

You got an oven you got an electric smoker; Take a roaster pan put a layer of wood chips in the bottom
lay a sheet of aluminum foil on the chips. Put the Butt in the roaster rack and set it on top of the foil. wrap the whole thing in a sheet of foil to seal it up. Put it on to of the stove burner on med low heat let it smoke until it stops. Peal off the foil and put the whole thing in a 275 deg oven until the bone wiggles like a loose tooth.

 

[DjPorkchop]

I have had to do it a couple times. I was out of coal and had no cash to buy any so the wife ordered me to cook pulled pork no matter how it was done. Via slow cooker, pressure cooker or oven.

I put some butter in my big 16 qt canner/pressure cooker ( i know guys, I know but please stick with me) then I rubbed said pork butt with SPOG and seared it all up the best I could.

After that I had my slow cooker going on medium and put the pork butt in and let it ride allll freakin day long. House smelled fantastic all day and I was not able to sample. Now that was hard.

Long story short, it got done some time that night, drained juice and separated fat and mixed juice back in pork, after pulled, and dumped in sauce and let it ride a bit longer.

Was it as good as coming fresh out of the smoker? Not even no but oh hell no!! BUT was it good and eatable? For sure and then some. Aint no shame in my game brother. What ever it takes to crank out good food i can deal with it.

At the end of the day the wife was happy, there for so were we all.

 

[MisterChrister]

Use a mix of brown and raw sugar in your rub along with your salt and pepper and other spices, use yellow mustard to adhere your rub. Use a butt/shoulder roast so the ample fat can render and carmelize the rub and make bark. Put on a wire rack sitting on a roasting pan in the oven at 275 until the bone wiggles freely. Make a good finishing sauce to mix in while pulling along with the de-fatted drippings from the roasting pan.

 

[blazinfire]

Personally, I would skip the wood smoke all together and just cook it in the oven! Rub it down with your favorite rub in a deep pan. 300-325 degree's til the bone wiggles! Might not have the bark you get from BBQ but at least it will be good!

 

[Fwismoker]

Another vote for not trying to fake anything and just make some pulled pork with your favorite seasonings.

 

[Yendor]

Do you have access to the tools needed to inject it? How about a Mojo injection (lots of recipes out there for a Mojo Injection.

 

[HeathBarkley]

When I used the Dutch oven in the past, I superheated a grill (I had brief access to a grill, but not hours on end), browned the outside of the rubbed pork in the Dutch oven inside the superheated grill to make 'bark', then transferred to a slow cooker for several hours. The pork tasted great, and the bark tasted good, but the bark was not as thick or as good as a 'real' smoker or grill would make.

If you want a "bark" on the outside, use an oven. You need to lift the roast off the bottom of the pan so that it is not sitting in its own juices. I'd probably cook it at 300. Then after its done, drain the juices, and there will probably be a lot, and put the roast on a broiler pan and put it under the broiler to sear it. A broiler is essentially an upside down electric grill. It'll probably be more of a crust than a bark. That's how I'd do it.

 

[Jeff H]

Do you have access to the tools needed to inject it? How about a Mojo injection (lots of recipes out there for a Mojo Injection.

IMHO, you won't need injections at all in the oven. The boston butt renders a lot of fat during the cook. The pan will have 1/2" or more of drippings and rendered fat in it by the time it is done cooking in the oven. As long as you keep it covered for most of the cook, there is no way you need an injection.

 

[Shagdog]

I would give it a good rub with your favorite BBQ seasoning and bake at 300 until the bone wiggles free or a probe slides in like a knife through warm butter. Foiling will kill your bark, I would just leave it naked on a roasting rack. Should take 5-6 hours ish..

After you pull the butt to rest, collect the drippings in a jar and put in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. The fat should all rise to the top. Skim the fat, reheat the drippings, and mix back in with the pork when you pull it

 

[Yendor]

IMHO, you won't need injections at all in the oven. The boston butt renders a lot of fat during the cook. The pan will have 1/2" or more of drippings and rendered fat in it by the time it is done cooking in the oven. As long as you keep it covered for most of the cook, there is no way you need an injection.

I'm coming from more of a flavor aspect than fat rendering one. If you had tasted the Cuban Mojo pork butt I tasted a couple hours ago you'd know where I'm coming from. I think it could add some great flavor to an oven cook.

 

[hammb]

I think Bludawg nailed it if you're going to use an oven and absolutely MUST get some smoke flavor. It'll work out.

If it were me I wouldn't bother. I'd do it up as carnitas or roast it with some sauerkraut and enjoy it that way.

There are plenty of ways to make a Boston Butt delicious without doing BBQ

 

[DaveAlvarado]

The key to a crispier bark is making sure air can get all the way around the meat. That means a roasting pan. You might go with a higher sugar content in your rub as well if you want.

Cook at the same times and temps you'd use in the smoker, but in the oven. You won't get smoke flavor (unless you cheat and use liquid or powdered smoke) or smoke ring, but you'll get everything else.

 

[jfletcherMD]

I'd agree that it's probably best not to try to create "fake" pork barbecue/pulled pork by adding tons of "fake smoke" flavoring agents, or by using the slow-cooker "pulled pork" mixes/seasoning packs that you can find at any grocery store. If you do, you'll probably wind up with either an overly smoky-flavored pork mush, or something more akin to Manwich/sloppy joes than what we all think of as "barbecue."

I would suggest going with something in the Caribbean or Polynesian family with regard to a non-grilled/smoked shoulder recipe. Do a quick google search for "Pernil" (a Puerto Rican dish of spiced pork shoulder that's cooked slow in an oven - goes GREAT with rice and roasted peppers/onions, or on top of plain white buns and topped with fruit salsa) or "Slow Cooker Kalua Pork" (a facsimilie of the Hawaiian Luau staple - again, great with rice, macaroni salad, sweet potatoes, or fresh pineapple!)

If you're absolutely committed to creating smoke/barbecue flavor, I'd second (or third, or fifth, or whatever...) BluDawg's idea of using the oven as an electric smoker via the use of a roasting pan. Alton Brown also has a plan out there for a "DIY Smoker" that uses a hot plate, a large cardboard box, and a desk fan.

Then again, with the money you'd spend on a fan, hot plate, thermometer, and wood chips, you could just buy a Weber Smokey Joe...:wink:

Good luck with your cook!

 

[jjjonz]

Here ya go .....


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyM5ChmmVAA"]Cheater BBQ authors make pulled pork INSIDE! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[airedale]

An hour in the pressure cooker has worked for me a couple of times. As others have said, it won't taste like long/slow/bbq pork but it is good on its own.

Just this week I cooked what was left over after I cut the coppa out of the shoulder and it was fine. I used some vinegar finishing sauce and sprinkled some Butcher & Packer Hickory rub for flavor and it made good sandwiches.

 

[PatioDaddio]

Here's my recipe. Use your broiler.

http://www.patiodaddiobbq.com/2009/07/cheater-pulled-pork.html

John

 

[svttodd]

Thanks everyone, you guys are great!!

Should I try to cook it briefly at a very high heat to get a thicker crusty bark, then go slow and low for the rest of the cook...OR... just slow and low in the oven or slow cooker? Slow cooker usually tastes great and is moist, but I think the slow cooker kind of kills the bark. I figured if I use a lot of sugar and/or honey with very high heat initially (just for a minute or so to blacken the outside) then it may make a good bark, but maybe there is another way.

Like I said, I got some REALLY good flavor in the past, just a little lacking on the bark part. When I briefly cooked it on very high heat in my cast iron Dutch oven on the grill, then transferred to a slow cooker, it tasted the best, but I was wondering if the high heat portion was necessary. I use a pecan rub, with salt, sugar (brown and white), paprika, chili powder, and I usually drizzle it with raw local honey just before it goes on the high heat. Sometimes I use a little root beer in the bottom of the slow cooker instead of honey. Honey seemed to work best for making a bark during the initial high heat though. The root beer made a great flavor in the slow cooker, but kept the pork almost too wet to form a bark.