Make Ahead Oven Roasted Pulled Pork Recipes

MAKE-AHEAD OVEN-ROASTED PULLED PORK

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. In 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish, place pork fat side up. Make (20) 1-inch slits in the fat, and tuck a clove of garlic into each. Rub all over with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; rub into meat.
• Cover tightly with foil. Roast 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours, or until meat thermometer inserted in center of roast reads 190°F. Remove from oven; let rest until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes.
• Shred meat with two forks, discarding garlic as you go. Toss shredded pork in some of the pan juices (if any) to coat. Divide pork into 2-cup portions. Place each portion in freezer container or resealable freezer plastic bag. Label with date. Cover and refrigerate until completely cooled, at least an hour. Transfer to freezer; freeze up to 3 months.

OVEN-ROASTED PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F.
• To make the barbecue sauce: combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds. Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other. Put the shredded pork in a bowl. Pour 1/2 of the sauce on the shredded pork and mix well to coat.
• To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom 1/2 of the hamburger bun, and top with the spicy slaw. Serve with pickle spears and the remaining sauce on the side.
• Combine the cabbage, carrot, red onion, green onions, and chile in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar; stirring to incorporate. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix. Season the cole slaw with celery seed, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Chill for 2 hours in refrigerator before serving.

EASY OVEN PULLED PORK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Use a pairing knife to cut 8 small slits into the pork, about 1 1/2 inches deep. Insert a garlic clove into each slit. Sprinkle pork evenly on all sides with salt and pepper. Place pork, fat-side up, in a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Carefully pour 3/4 cup water around the sides of the pork. Cover with foil and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil and continue to cook until pork is tender and meat has pulled away from the bone, about 1 1/2 hours more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).
• Remove from the oven and let stand for 20 minutes. Remove large fat layer and any other large pieces of fat. Pull pork apart and shred.

PULLED PORK SANDWICHES (OVEN)

Steps:

• Combine the first eight ingredients in a small bowl to make the spice rub.
• 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.
• Roast uncovered at 300 degrees for 5 hours or until meat is pull-apart tender and internal temperature reads 200 degrees on a meat thermometer.
• Combine ingredients for the sauce (ketchup through hot sauce) in a medium pot. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce has deepened in color. Set aside.
• 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.
• Remove meat from pan and let it 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.).
• Toss shredded meat with sauce in an oven-proof serving dish. Reserve some of the sauce if it looks too wet or add some of the juices from the meat if it looks too dry. Return to 300 degree oven, covered, for 1 hour.
• Serve meat on buns with slaw to top.