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Sometimes the simple route is the best one to take. That’s what I decided to do with this hot and fast pulled pork recipe. I chose a few ingredients to make the pulled pork moist and absolutely delicious. If you’ve been looking for a 5-ingredient pulled pork recipe, you’ve come to the right place!
I love good pulled pork, either by itself, on a sandwich, or even wrapped up in a taco. Sometimes I cook it low and slow, but not today. Because, I know, there’s not always 8, 10, or 12 hours of cooking time available. This recipe is simple and fast, but still tender and mouthwatering. Let’s get started.
My Gateway Drum cranked up to 275 degrees F with some Royal Oak Charcoal was my choice for cooking this recipe.
I shot a video while I was making this recipe. If you’d like to follow along with it, head over to my Youtube channel and watch it.
I unpackaged this big boy and used a paper towel to dry it off good. Turning it over, I saw there was a pretty thick layer of fat on the bottom. Since I’m cooking it on my Gateway Drum, I decided to leave most of the fat as protection while it cooked. I scored the fat with my knife, using a criss-cross pattern with lines about one inch apart.
With a few squirts of yellow mustard, I covered the pork butt with a thin layer using my hands, making sure to get the sides. This will be the binder that helps hold the spices on as the meat cooks.
My Hot BBQ Rub was up first. I sprinkled a generous layer all over the pork butt, patting it in as I went. Then I went over it again with my Honey Rub to give it some savory sweetness. My goal is for this pulled pork to be dripping in flavors that compliment each other, without being too sweet or too hot. These two rubs work really well together to create a mouthwatering flavor.
Wanting the spices to sink into the meat, I left the pork butt on the table for about 15 minutes to give it all time to mix together and sweat in.
Using Royal Oak Charcoal and Tumbleweed, I lit the fire. When it hit 250 degrees F, I added some hickory chunks, which will give the port butt a delicious smoky flavor.
Once the grill heated up, I placed the pork butt fat-side-down directly on the grate, closed the lid, and let it smoke for an hour.
Every 30-40 minutes, I checked the butt and spun the rack to make sure the meat cooked evenly.
After 3 ½ hours, when the internal temperature reached 130 degrees F, I took the pork butt off the grill and laid it on 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. I poured my Tangy BBQ Vinegar Sauce all over the meat to add some moisture and extra taste. Some of it spilled onto the foil, which is okay. After pouring on about half a bottle, I wrapped it up starting long-side first.
I put the wrapped pork back on the grill, adding a chef’s alarm that would alert me when the internal temp got to 200 degrees F. This will take another hour or so.
After a total cook time of 5 hours, my butt was done. It was hitting an internal temp of 203 degrees F.
The butt rested, still foiled up, for about an hour. After that, I put it in a pan and unwrapped it.
I laid the meat on my cutting board and, using my special forks, pulled through the meat, separating it into small pieces. I could see from how easy it was tearing apart that this pork was going to be super-tender, and it was very moist, too. I left it for a few minutes to let it cool some more, and then went back in and broke up some of the larger pieces.
I took a bite and it was every bit as good as I thought it was going to be. The bark on the outside was perfectly cooked, and the seasonings really popped. The hickory wood did its job, because I could taste a delicious, smoky flavor that blended great with the hot and sweet seasonings I’d used. This recipe is a real winner, and simple to boot!
I usually plan on 4-8 ounces of meat per person, depending on if it’s going to be on a sandwich or eaten another way. A pork butt will serve a pretty big crowd of folks.
Put leftovers in a ziplock bag or airtight container and store them for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it. I vacuum-sealed this pulled pork, because I planned on using it later on to make pulled pork nachos and my soon-to-be-famous pulled pork pizzas.
