Pulled Pork in the oven

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Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby DJBenz » 12 Mar 2014, 11:06

So at the weekend, in the absence of my UDS build being started, I had a go at some slow and low with a pork shoulder in the oven. Managed to get a bone-in shoulder from Tesco that was about 3-4kg (can't remember exactly). The idea was to get a handle on the cooking process so that all I'm doing is changing the equipment when it comes to actually smoking something - I realise that may present its own set of challenges though. :lol:

So... Made my own rub from what I had in the spice cupboard; equal parts onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, brown sugar and 1:2 of cayenne pepper and mild chilli powder and coated it good an proper on Saturday night. Left overnight to let the spices sink in.

On Sunday morning at 9.30am I put it in the (fan) oven at 125°C and roasted for 6 hours. I don't have a digi-probe, so I used the kitchen meat thermometer stuck into the end of the joint, running parallel to the bone. Not sure how accurate either the oven or meat thermometer temps are, but after 6 hours the meat was showing well above the 'Pork' temp on its dial. Tried it in a couple more areas of the joint and they were all reading over (it states 77°C for pork, I'm sure I've read different on here for pulled). Looking at the wide end of the bone I could see the meat starting to lift from it a bit.

Once out of the oven I foiled it, taking care to keep the juices that had seeped out, wrapped it in a towel and put it in a cool bag, leaving it to rest for another hour.

When it came to pulling it was slightly more difficult than I'd imagined it should be, although the meat was pretty tender. It didn't fall off the bone, but the bone was pretty clean once I'd stripped the meat off. Mixed up the meat with a little Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce and served with white buns and coleslaw (not home made, that's next).

Family enjoyed it hugely, getting our kids to eat anything other than chicken can be a challenge, but they wolfed it down. I've got a feeling it could have been better though, although I was very pleased for a first attempt.

Any pointers on things I could do to improve? Apart from build the UDS of course. :D
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Re: Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby CyderPig » 12 Mar 2014, 11:44

Hi Dan
You could have continued to cook it in the foil for an hour or so.
165f is a safe temp for pork but it pulls better at 205-210f.
Cheers
Si
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Re: Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby Tyrone1Wils » 12 Mar 2014, 11:48

Just a quick note while im at work, to get pork to a pulling state, the temperature should be in the 195-210F range so according to google that should be 95-99C.

Edit: What Si said! Just beat me to it
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Re: Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby DJBenz » 12 Mar 2014, 11:56

Good to know, thanks guys. Damn, I guess I'll have to try all over again, what a hardship. :D
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Re: Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby robgunby » 12 Mar 2014, 13:10

Also just so you know, compared to smoked pulled pork, oven pulled pork tastes like ^£&(* :)

I tried it in my early days of smoking to see if all the bother of cooking on a smoker for 18 hours was worth it. I need not expand on my findings ;)
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Re: Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby CyderPig » 12 Mar 2014, 13:49

Hi Dan
Don't be put off.
Cooking meat l+S in the oven is a really good way to get the feel of a piece of meat and the way it cooks, by replicating cooking techniques used in a smoker you will have a better understanding of times and be better prepared when you do it for real.
Just fire control to master.
Cheers
Si
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Re: Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby DJBenz » 12 Mar 2014, 13:54

robgunby wrote:Also just so you know, compared to smoked pulled pork, oven pulled pork tastes like ^£&(* :)


A good incentive to get the UDS built. :)

CyderPig wrote:Don't be put off.
Cooking meat l+S in the oven is a really good way to get the feel of a piece of meat and the way it cooks, by replicating cooking techniques used in a smoker you will have a better understanding of times and be better prepared when you do it for real.
Just fire control to master.


Exactly what I was thinking. Next step would be to get a decent thermometer so I can monitor temps. Plus lots of experimenting with rubs and sides. It's a hard life, but I'm willing to keep going for the betterment of the end result. :D
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Re: Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby CyderPig » 12 Mar 2014, 14:00

Hi Dan
Need any help with the UDS build give me a shout!
Si
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Re: Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby BRUN » 12 Mar 2014, 14:25

I did one a week or so ago, it was in the oven for 12 hours, had to adjust the temp from 105c to 120c and then for half an hour at the end to 140c to get it to pull temperature, it was really moist and fell apart, I think yours just needed longer

also, was the tray it was in covered in foil ?

when doing joints in the oven I always have a wire rack in the oven tray to raise the joint up slightly, with some water at the bottom of the tray, and the tray given a foil 'tent', otherwise they just dry out IME
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Re: Pulled Pork in the oven

Postby DJBenz » 12 Mar 2014, 14:31

CyderPig wrote:Need any help with the UDS build give me a shout!


Will do matey, cheers!

BRUN wrote:also, was the tray it was in covered in foil ?

when doing joints in the oven I always have a wire rack in the oven tray to raise the joint up slightly, with some water at the bottom of the tray, and the tray given a foil 'tent', otherwise they just dry out IME


No, it was just in a plain tray to catch the juices. I'd thought about putting it on a wire rack direct on the shelf (to mimic the 'open to heat' environment of a BBQ) but I opted to try and save the juices. Drying is always a worry for me too - I cook our Sunday chicken in the method you describe - but even with no water and no foil tent it was still really moist.

I think I'm going to try the same method, but foil it for another hour as suggested to get it to optimum pulling temp.
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