Pulled pork is the perfect dish for parties and get-togethers, and for good reason; it’s easy to make, delicious, and affordable. This Oven Roasted Pulled Pork recipe is one of our favorites to turn out delicious pulled pork with absolutely no fuss at all.
This recipe uses a quick sear, then a longer cook in the oven to make a tender, flavorful, and delicious pulled pork that you can serve on sandwiches, include as part of a BBQ platter, use to make your grilled cheese yummier, or even put on top of Macaroni and Cheese!
We wrote this Oven Roasted Pulled Pork recipe to make BBQ-style pulled pork. However, you can interchange the seasonings to make different types of pulled pork for any recipe or occasion. Check out our suggestions below on ideas for flavors that would work great on this pork.
What type of pork should I use for pulled pork?
We recommend using a boneless pork shoulder roast (pork butt) for this Oven Roasted Pulled Pork recipe. You could also use a bone-in shoulder if you like, but it’s hard to work with the bone-in version for this recipe, so we recommend using a boneless one.
We do not recommend using other pork roasts like a loin roast or ham because they don’t have enough fat to shred nicely after the long cook. They’ll dry out and tear more than shred.
Could I use beef or lamb for this recipe?
While it would no longer be Oven Roasted Pulled PORK, you could in fact use a boneless beef chuck roast, or a boneless lamb shoulder roast. These are similar types of cuts to a boneless pork shoulder roast and would work well for this recipe if you’re not a pork eater.
What are the advantages of cooking this pulled pork in the oven?
The most popular ways of making pulled pork are either in a slow cooker or using a smoker.
Slow cookers are great at making cooking easy, but they also take a longer amount of time than this oven roasted recipe. Plus, since we’re doing a sear and cook, the slow cooker won’t quite get you the flavors you will find in this recipe.
Smokers are terrific at imparting rich flavor to pork shoulders, but most people don’t have a smoker, and the amount of time it takes to cook a pork shoulder on a smoker is substantial compared to this recipe!
Our Oven Roasted Pulled Pork combines the ease of slow cooker cooking, with the rich flavor of smoking, while saving you time and not needing any special equipment.
Do I have to sear this Oven Roasted Pulled Pork?
You do not have to sear the pork, and if you’re in a rush, you can skip the step.
However, we do think searing and cooking in a Dutch oven gives a better flavor than just cooking in the oven. A little sear is a good substitute for smoke flavor, and the textural element of the crispy outside bit in the finished pulled pork is a huge plus of this cooking method!
What dish do you recommend cooking this Oven Roasted Pulled Pork in?
We highly recommend a good quality enameled Dutch oven for this recipe and for all sorts of recipes! I personally own a 6 qt. Lodge Enameled Dutch Oven and recommend it without reservation.
Do you have suggestions on other seasonings I can use in this recipe?
Do we ever! Here are some ideas:
- Use a Southwest-style seasoning rub then pull the pork for Mexican-style or Southwestern style pulled pork. You can then use that pork for these recipe ideas:
- Tacos! Fry the pork in the fat in the pan for crispy tacos.
- Nachos!
- Enchiladas!
- Season the pork with just salt and pepper, and then add a can of pineapple chunks halfway through cooking. You’ll have Hawaiian pulled pork that’s great on mini Hawaiian rolls!
- Use a Chinese Five Spice style rub and after you shred the pork add it to broth and serve with noodles for a hearty pork and noodle soup.
- Add canned tomatoes and dried Italian Herbs to the cooking mixture and pull the pork apart to serve over polenta or noodles for a filling Italian-style meal.
We’re sure there are many more ideas, so if you have one, leave us a comment with how you’d like to season and serve this pork!
Thanks for reading our Oven Roasted Pulled Pork recipe. We hope you like this recipe, and if you’re looking for other ways to cook pork shoulders or make pulled pork, you can look at all of our pork shoulder recipes here.
If you have comments or suggestions about this recipe, just leave us a comment or rating below. We appreciate your feedback and hope to see you soon at Lake Geneva Country Meats!
