This tried and true pulled pork is my go-to recipe when feeding a lot of people. It’s so flavorful and tender and will keep you coming back for more. Depending on what you want, you can put this pulled pork on burger buns or sweet potatoes and top it with your favorite things. The steps are simple to make this pulled pork too- I love that you just need to season, sear, and then roast it in the oven. Follow the recipe below and I hope you love this dish as much as we do!
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Let’s get cooking!
The steps:
- You’re going to preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 148 degrees Celsius.
- To prep your pork, you will rub generous amounts of seasonings on all sides. Sprinkle everything on, and then rub it in with your hands. Here are the seasonings you can use: sea salt, cracked pepper (omit for AIP), garlic powder, onion powder, cumin (use less of this than the others), and coconut sugar.
- Now you’re going to sear your pork on all sides to get that gorgeous and delicious “bark” like you would get from a smoker. Heat the Dutch oven (linking mine here) to medium-high heat, add the oil, and then gently place the pork in the pot once the oil is hot.
- Let the meat sit for a few minutes, about 3-4, on each side. It will be starting to get that thick dark burnt looking layer.
- While the meat is searing, grab a medium sized bowl, and stir the bone broth and apple cider vinegar together.
- You can also chop your apple, onion, and celery while the meat is searing.
- Once the meat is ready, add in the chopped apple and veggies, and then pour the bone broth and apple cider vinegar mixture around the meat.
- Now you get to turn the stove off, put the lid on the Dutch oven, and place it in the oven! You’re going to let it cook for a nice long while, about 2-4 hours, depending on the size of your pork.
- Start with 2 to 2.5 hours for a small-medium sized pork (maybe 2-4lbs), and 3 to 3.5 for a medium-large sized pork (5+lbs). It’s hard to over cook the pork, so if it’s not ready after the initial time, add 30 minutes. Keep adding time in 30 minutes intervals, until your pork is done.
- Your pork will be done when it’s tender, falling off the bone, and shreds very easily with a fork. If it’s tough, then it’s underdone, and you’ll need to keep it in the oven longer.
- While the pork is cooking, you can get your sweet potatoes ready. Since the oven will be at such a low temperature, you can either cook your sweet potato in the microwave (washed, poked around with a fork, and wrapped in a paper towel for 5-7ish minutes), or you can cook them in a pressure cooker (check out this tutorial for making IP “baked” sweet potatoes from Sweet Peas and Saffron)
- When the pork is done, take it out of the oven, let it rest for 5 minutes, and then shred with forks right in the pot.
- You can take out any fat you don’t want to eat during this time, but leave the apples, onion, and celery in the pot.
- Leaving the pork in the pot with all the juices will keep it nice and tender.
- Slice the sweet potatoes the long way, open them up, and stuff your yummy pork inside and on top! Enjoy!
Substitutions:
- If you already have a BBQ rub that you love, feel free to use it.
- Brown sugar can be subbed for coconut sugar.
- Your favorite cooking oil can be subbed for avocado oil.
- Normal chicken broth, or vegetable broth, can be subbed for bone broth.
- You can use any kind of apple in place of the Granny Smith apple.
- If you don’t want to serve the pork on the sweet potatoes, feel free to use whichever type of bun, lettuce wrap, or tortilla you’d like.
Recommended kitchen items:
- Lodge Dutch oven. This thing is heavy duty. I use it for this pulled pork, soup, hash, artisan bread, or any large meal.
- Glass measuring cup. You might have one of these already, but they are just so useful for so many recipes. I mixed my bone broth and vinegar in mine before I poured it into the Dutch oven.
- Stainless steel measuring utensils. The spoons are my favorite, because they fit in spice jars. I also love using stainless steel, instead of plastic.
- Silicone oven mitts. I love using silicone oven mitts, because they totally protect your hands, unlike the fabric ones I’ve used in the past. I use this set daily.
I hope you love this recipe, and would love to hear about how making it went for you! Share with me in the comments below, on Pinterest, or @whitsfoodfit on Instagram.
Dutch Oven Pulled Pork
(AIP, Gluten free, Dairy free, Paleo, Nut-free, Soy-free)
Ingredients
- 2-5 lbs pork butt or shoulder
- sea salt
- cracked pepper (omit for AIP)
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- cumin
- coconut sugar
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 cup chicken bone broth
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Granny Smith apple cubed
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, or 148 degrees Celsius.
- Rub generous amounts of each: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin (about half as much as the other spices), and coconut sugar on all sides of the pork.
- Heat a large Dutch oven on the stove to medium-high heat. Once hot, add about 3 Tbsp of avocado oil, or enough to cover the bottom of the pot.
- Add the meat and sear it for about 3-4 minutes on all sides, or until it creates a thick, dark, burnt looking layer.
- While the meat is searing, mix the bone broth and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl.
- Once the meat has seared, add the chopped apple, onion, and celery to the Dutch oven.
- Pour the bone broth and apple cider vinegar mixture around the pork- not on top.
- Turn off the stove, put the lid on the Dutch oven, and put it in the oven.
- With a smaller sized pork, start the timer at 2 hours. For a medium to large size, start at 3. You can keep adding 30 minutes to the time if it's not done initially. It's hard to over cook, so it's okay if you get up to 4 hours with a very large piece of meat.
- While the pork is cooking, cook your sweet potatoes. Since the oven temp is so low, you can either cook them in the microwave (wash, poke with fork a few times, and wrap in paper towel to cook for 5-7 minutes), or a pressure cooker.
- The pork is done when it's tender, is falling off the bone, and can be easily shredded with a fork. When yours is ready, take the pot out of the oven and let the meat rest for about 5 minutes.
- Shred the pork in the Dutch oven with forks, discarding any fat along the way, but leaving in the apples, celery, and onion.
- Keep the pork in the pot with all the juices to keep it nice and tender.
- Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and stuff with pork. Yum!
*Link to the IP sweet potatoes: click here
