I’m not going to really use that headline. Or am I…
Anyway. This is one super easy, super cheap, super good way to feed a crowd. I’m not going to belabor the point with witty prose. Let’s get to the meat of it.
Buy lots ‘O pork shoulder from your local butcher. Yes, your local butcher. Costco carried it last time I was there and you can get it from them, but you will have to live with the guilt of supporting mass feed lot economics and all that goes with it. When I started making this on a regular basis, Costco didn’t carry it, or I probably would have bought it there. So I had to find large quantities of it elsewhere. And I’m glad I did, because buying local helps me to feel superior and better than you. I can’t remember what Costco sells it for, but my local meat market (Reider Meat Market in Delano, MN) sells it to me for $1.36/lb. You can’t even buy bones for that anymore! So it makes me very happy to buy it there.
Three shoulders (about 27lb) fits very nicely inside my very inexpensive roaster oven, and costs roughly $36 (the pork, not the roaster oven).
You rub the meat with seasoning. I use a mix that a friend made for me, or I use pork producers (is that a local thing, or does everyone know what pork producers is?), or Chef Paul Blackened Redfish Magic (yes, you read that right. it’s awesome on just about everything), or just salt and pepper. But here’s the thing: BE GENEROUS with the rub. Slap the seasoned pork into the roaster, cover it and cook at about 225 degree F until the meat falls apart when you stab it with a fork. I like to cook it outside on our screen porch overnight. I turn it on around 10pm and Dave turns it off when he leaves for work around 6am. The point is this: this recipe is like “give or take an hour or more.” It’s pretty hard to mess up. (Tell that to my dad, who wants exact times, quantities, etc. He was using a meat thermometer and obsessing. Hear me on this: do not use a meat thermometer. Simply cook it on a low temp until it falls apart when you stab it with a fork.)
After it cools a bit, you strain the juices off into a separator.
And then start pulling the pork. I don’t know how the experts do it, but I do it with my hands. Or in this case, with Charlie’s hands. It’s always nice to force your kids to help. I take a hunk of meat, get the fat off and hand it to Charlie to shred. There is a fair amount of fat, and as much as I love the stuff (I really do), this gelatinous goo needs to be culled. Your guests will thank you.
Once that’s done, you can serve it as is with BBQ sauce on the side or, as I have found works better, toss it with the sauce beforehand and serve warm in a crockpot. Let me explain: I love shredded pork in my freezer for lots of stuff: tacos, pozole, etc. And while I love BBQ Pork sandwiches, I don’t love them nearly as much as the other stuff I make with the pork. So I am always a little reluctant to add the sauce to all that precious pork we just pulled. But, if you really have the masses coming to eat, chances are you will eat it up anyway. So: I make enough to fit in my large crockpot. The rest I store in the refrigerator (and hope I won’t have to serve) until the party is over and then freeze, for my own personal use later. I have found that when I have selfishly served the BBQ sauce on the side (the better to have the untainted leftovers, should that miraculously happen) people either didn’t use it, or didn’t use enough and the result was less than spectacular sandwiches. And since the only reason I entertain in the first place is to be fawned over and praised, that was a losing deal for everyone concerned. So I mix the damn sauce into the pork.
I don’t have a set recipe for the sauce. But here is it in a nutshell: For one large crockpot, I use one bottle of store-bought BBQ sauce, lots of the defatted broth, apple cider vinegar, some honey, some worcehstershire sauce and anything else within arms reach that sounds good at the time.
I like it tangy and maybe a little spicy. But here’s the important thing: IT NEEDS TO BE THIN! If you use the BBQ sauce out of the bottle, your pulled pork will be thick and gooey. And it will make sick noises when you spoon it onto your bun. It’s gross, so don’t do it.
Add more sauce than you think you need. Serve with cole slaw (on the bun is best!) and chips on the side. How else can you feed 80 people generously on $36?
Michelle says
Lady ~ How do you do it? Make a boring job like roasting pulled pork into a humorous, informative, creative blog? Actually, I think you are BETTER than Pioneer Woman!
admin says
Ha! I am NOT better than her! and this particular post wreaks of a copycat. But her technique is far easier than a video for something like this, so I am guilty as charged. To be fair, for you readers interested: if you want to be blown away by a far greater supermom than me, visit the real mccoy: http://www.thepioneerwoman.com
Michelle says
Wondering if I can redact my July 15th reply? I don’t believe the pioneer woman would use expired vinegar and feed it to the masses! Does the 5% acidity go up when expired?
admin says
Holy SHIT! Redact!!?? Bonus points for a PHENOMENAL WORD! A++ to Michelle Sandquist! It *almost* makes up for saying “supposively!”
As for my vinegar being EXPIRED, you bring up an EXCELLENT topic for a future post! I LOVE THAT TOPIC. Thank you Ms. Sandquist.
Lisa says
Could you share the spice rub ingredients w/me? I’ve done pork with sea salt & liquid smoke,but courious as to what spices your friend put together for you to use.
Thanks
Lisa
jenmenke says
Hi Lisa, I contacted my friend and she says it’s a SECRET! can you believe it? I will research it and get back to you but in the the meantime, I have not found a better commercial spice mix for chicken and pork than Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish Magic. I know it says it’s for fish, and that it’s blackened, but trust me, it’s great. And it’s not “blackened”. I’ve been buying it for years and everyone wants to know what the spices I used were.
pulled porkpå riktigt says
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Rachel says
Jen-
I am doing pulled pork for our summer party. Did 2 shoulders really feed 80 people?? I am unsure of the conversion of raw to pulled pork and how that translates to how many people it will feed. Let me know your thoughts if you could. Thanks a bunch.
Rachel
jenmenke says
I had THREE shoulders in my roaster. And assuming they are making sandwiches with the meat, yes. 3 would easily give you 80 sandwiches if the buns aren’t king kong sized. Good luck!
Sam says
Do you put any water or other liquid in when it is cooking?
jenmenke says
@Sam I’ve done it both ways, but usually I don’t. If I’m in a bigger hurry and need to increase the temperature, I will add about an inch of water to prevent the juices from burning. Otherwise, no liquid is fine. If you choose to add it, I would simply say don’t add too, too much (an inch or so in the bottom) because then you’ll be braising instead of roasting. Still good, just different. 🙂
Sara says
I’d like to try this with 9# pork loins instead of pork shoulders for graduation party. Same cooking rules apply? I’m afraid this will dry out when reheating the day of the party. Planning on serving plain on buns and letting guest add sauce if they want. I was told to wrap them in foil and put 7up or root beer in the bottom of the nesco?!?! Thoughts??
Dianne Kirby says
Do you cover the meat in the roaster? I did a ham at Christmas and it was SO dried out. I had one at Thanksgiving and loosely tented it with foil and it was perfect. Someone said I didn’t need the foil and the next time was a dried out ham! Thanks for the info!
Vanessa says
So I bought the pork tenderloin from Costco the big huge role, do I just put that in, with my home made sauce? Or do I have to cook meat first then add sauce?
admin says
Well… I hope your question included a typo and you didn’t buy pork tenderloin because that will not work because that cut will not ever shred. It needs to be a cut like shoulder or butt. I’m afraid the only thing you can do with the loin would be to finely chop/dice and add your own sauce.
George Webb says
I’m doing bbq for bbq plate dinners. Now I do Crock Pot BBQ and it is good. Best for sandwiches though because it is so wet and moist. Can this Roaster bbq be used for lunch plates and not be so mushy and wet?
MommaK says
How much water do you put in at the time of cooking?