Oven Pulled Pork from pork butt is cooked in the oven low and slow. Our best-pulled pork recipe is tender and moist with delicious bark. Super easy, with almost no work—you rub, bake at 250° for 8 to 9 hours, shred, and eat.
🐖Ingredients
Pork butt, AKA Boston butt—boneless or bone-in
Dry rub—brown sugar, kosher salt, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper
Liquid smoke—optional but suggested
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐖Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Cook Pulled Pork in the Oven with Pork Butt—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- ⏰How long to cook pork butt in the oven
- 🌡️When is pork butt done?
- ✔️Tips and variation
- 🍽️Serving Pulled Pork
- ♨️Storing pulled pork butt
- Reheating pulled pork butt.
- ❓FAQs
- 🐖What is pork butt and why use it?
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Comment by Lisa B :
"I was beyond amazed at the end product of this recipe. The cooking method is foolproof. People thought the pork was cooked on a smoker or grill. It was perfectly moist but with the crunchy texture of the bark mixed in. So easy! Outstanding results."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Everybody deserves great pulled pork, but most of us don't have smokers. You can make perfect moist and tender pulled pork with fantastic bark in your oven.
We make this recipe almost monthly. With only 10 minutes of prep, you can make perfect pulled pork by simulating a smoker's or grill's cooking environment using 250°F oven temperature, dry rub, and liquid smoke.
For other pork butt recipes, see Smoked Pork Butt on a Gas Grill and Crock Pot Pulled Pork. Or for pork butt carnitas, see Oven Baked Carnitas and Crock Pot Pork Carnitas.
👨🍳How to Cook Pulled Pork in the Oven with Pork Butt—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Use a bone-in or boneless pork butt, AKA Boston butt.
2. Pat dry and coat with liquid smoke (optional) and dry rub.
3. Place on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. Roast in a 250° oven until an internal temp of 200° to 205°—about 8-9 hours.
5. Wrap with aluminum foil, and then wrap with several towels.
6. You can shred in as little as 15 minutes, but better in 1-2 hours.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰How long to cook pork butt in the oven
In a 250° oven, a 4-pound pork butt will take 8 to 9 hours. Bone-in will take a bit longer. Two hours per pound at 250° is a good starting point for timing. This time will vary from 1 ½ hours to 2 ½ hours per pound by the weight and thickness of the meat.
The best oven temperature is 250°, but you can use oven temperatures of 225° to 275° and adjust the cooking time. I do not suggest 300° or above since the outside will dry more before the collagen in the center is fully melted. I also do not recommend using convection for the same reason.
Much bigger pork butts will take much longer into the 12+ hour range. I suggest cutting huge pork butts into smaller pieces to speed up cooking and help predict timing better.
A quick warning: Many ovens will shut off at 8 to 12 hours for safety if people leave the stove on accidentally. So, watch for that problem with your oven.
🌡️When is pork butt done?
Pork butt is done at an internal temperature of 200° to 205°, which will produce the most tender results. The collagen connective tissue will start melting in the 175° range but is not complete until about 200°.
The only way to tell if your pork butt is done is by checking the internal temperature of the thickest part with a meat thermometer. You can not cook by time or color of the meat.
✔️Tips and variation
Use a dry rub: There are many dry rubs available, and if you have one you like, use it. I have provided the dry rub I use for pork butt recipes. It is simple and uses common pantry ingredients. It is a version of BBQ Dry Rub or use Memphis Dry Rub. A touch of cayenne pepper can be added if you want a bit of heat.
Elevate the Pork Butt: Use a rack or crumbled-up foil to elevate the pork out of the fatty drainage. You don't have to do this, but the results will be nicer.
Liquid Smoke: A good-quality liquid smoke will add a nice smokiness, but you can skip it if you want. You can rub the pork roast with a light coat of yellow mustard before adding the dry rub.
🍽️Serving Pulled Pork
We prefer pulled pork sandwiches on a great bun or bread and topped with Memphis BBQ Sauce, but others like to pile on coleslaw or other condiments on their pork sandwich.
You can never go wrong with a nice pile of pulled pork with sauce and sides on your plate. But you can use pulled pork to make great nachos, pork tacos, or quesadillas.
Suggested side dishes
The standards are cold side dishes like coleslaw, potato salad, Caprese Pasta Salad, or Macaroni Salad. Cornbread and cheesy potato casserole, French Fries, or Mac and Cheese are also great sides.
♨️Storing pulled pork butt
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for 4 days, but I prefer two days since the texture suffers.
Pulled pork will freeze well for 3 to 4 months. Many will freeze pulled pork in reheatable sealed bags which can be reheated in boiling water.
Reheating pulled pork butt.
Reheat on a sheet pan sprinkled with a bit of water with your hand (don't overdo it). Cover tightly with foil and into the oven at 250°-300° until hot.
The time varies by how you shredded it and the amount on the tray. Usually, I take about 45 minutes or so in the oven. I know that is not very exact, but you get the idea.
You can then turn the oven down (keep it covered) or transfer it to a crock pot on low to keep warm.
Never reheat or store with sauce applied -the acid will destroy the texture of pulled pork.
❓FAQs
No, but it will add some smoky taste.
There are many "bad" versions of liquid smoke on the market. And the chemical-filled versions will ruin your pork.
I stick to Wright's brand only. If not available to you, the ingredient list on the bottle should only have smoke and water—nothing else.
Bone-in pork butt will take a bit longer to cook, but not much. Some will argue a taste difference one way or the other. Nope, no difference to me (or most people) in the taste. So use what you have.
Absolutely. The rest before the shred could be as short as 15 minutes, but longer is better. Shred just before serving. It will stay warm with my method for up to 4 hours, giving you ample time to serve freshly shredded pork.
Special tools are made for shredding, but you don't need them—just a couple of good forks work well.
Any bone will pull out easily and then attack with the forks. There may be some non-eatable parts that should be discarded.
No. Please keep it open to the dry oven environment to develop the fantastic bark of pulled pork.
The moistness of pulled pork butt comes from the melting of connective tissue, and the bark firming up blocks most moisture loss. Smokers and grillers don't need foil, and we don't.
🐖What is pork butt and why use it?
The best cut of meat to use for pulled pork is pork butt which has a large amount of connective tissue that, when melted, makes for the absolute best pull pork that is moist, tender, and flavorful.
Like many cuts of meat, there are several names for the same thing. Pork butt and Boston butt are the same cut. It is behind the neck and is part of a larger (primal) cut called the pork shoulder. The pork shoulder is divided into two smaller cuts, the pork butt (Boston butt) and the picnic shoulder.
The picnic shoulder is a thinner area below the pork butt. The picnic is frequently smoked to make the picnic ham. Large restaurants and BBQ experts will low and slow-cook the whole pork shoulder primal cut for masses of pulled pork.
📖 Recipe
Oven Pulled Pork Butt—Low and Slow
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Ingredients
- about 4 pounds Pork Butt - aka Boston Butt
- rub of your choice - good quality
- 2 tablespoons Wright's Liquid Smoke - optional but recommended
Suggested dry rub if you don't have one
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt - 2 tablespoons if using Morton
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Use a rub of your choice. If using my rub, mix ½ cup dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
- Place a 4-pound (give or take a little) bone-in (or boneless) pork butt on a large piece of plastic wrap if wrapping for later. Rub with about 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke (optional).
- Use about one cup of rub and coat the meat on all sides of the pork butt with a heavy coat. If you have time, wrap the meat with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours, but overnight is fine. If you don't have time, apply the rub and pop it in the oven—which I usually do.
- When ready to cook, prepare a large-rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and a rack. Give it a heavy spray of PAM.
- Place meat on the rack and place it in a 250 ° oven (not convection). Don't bother to preheat. Fat cap up or down does not matter. You can shorten the time by increasing the oven's temperature to 275°, but I suggest 250°.
- Bake until internal temp of 200°-205°—about 8-9 hours. This will vary with the meat's thickness, bone-in vs. boneless, and the oven. You have some flex time to get your timing right in the next step.
- Remove from the oven directly onto a large sheet of heavy-duty foil. Wrap tight with the foil, then wrap with several towels. Place wrapped meat in a small cooler if available and rest for 1-2 hours until needed. It can stay warm for up to 4 hours if well-wrapped in a cooler. This can help you get your timing right for serving.
- Shred with forks. It will fall apart.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Cooking time can vary, but you can use the wrap time at the end to adjust the shredding time by a few hours.
- If you don't have a rack, you can elevate the meat on balls of rolled-up foil. Please do not leave it to cook in the muck.
- The liquid smoke is nice, but some will object, so skip it if you wish. If you use it, quality matters a lot. I use only Wright's™.
- My rub is provided for you, but use the rub of your choice.
- If you use my rub, the salt is calculated on Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. 1 teaspoon table salt = 1 ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- I find my rub still is good with half the salt if that is a concern for you.
- 195° is the absolute minimum internal temperature, but I much prefer 200° to 205° and 210° max.
- Good refrigerated for 4 days, but I prefer 2 days since the texture suffers. It will freeze well for 4 months.
- Bone-in or boneless does not matter. But bone-in may take a bit longer.
- Fat pad up or down does not matter.
- I frequently just wet it with the liquid smoke and apply the rub. And then directly into the oven. It is still great. Or use yellow mustard and then rub.
- DO NOT cover with anything like foil or a lid in the oven.
- Nutrition is hard to calculate. The fat drains, the rub forms bark, and also drains some. So many things are included in the nutrition numbers that may not be there.
Reheating
I like to reheat it on a sheet pan. I sprinkle with a bit of water on my hand (don't overdo it). Cover tightly with foil and into the oven at 250°-300° until hot. The time varies by how you shredded it and the amount on the tray. Usually, I take about 45 minutes or so in the oven. I know that is not very exact, but you get the idea. You can then turn the oven down (keep it covered) or transfer it to a crockpot on low to keep warm if serving. Never reheat or store with sauce applied -the acid will destroy the texture.Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's note: Originally Published November 2, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Larry R says
Thank you sir. I'm going to try it with the Boston Butt.
msjenjenp says
This turned out sooooo fabulous! I had a 3.88 lb pork butt and used 2T salt and cooked it for 9.5 hours. I did turn the heat down to 225 degrees about an hour of the time because I baked it in an Oster French Door toaster oven and thought it might be a little hotter than a real oven. It is the best. Served it with homemade egg potato salad and "Grillin' Beans" Southern Barbeque flavor beans and my husband was in heaven. Thank you so much for the recipe. We will always use it from now on.
DrDan says
Now you are the first I heard using a toaster oven. I have no idea how the oven temp runs on those ovens. As long as you are going for the final temperature of the meat, it doesn't matter much since anywhere from 225 to 300 should be ok as long as you shoot for the end temperature.
Were you able to contain the fat ok?
Dan
Larry R says
Hello,
I tried this recipe yesterday and it didn't turn out too well. My local store didn't have the boston butt, so I had to settle for the picnic shoulder. It was six pounds. I rubbed it up and let sit in fridge overnight. I cooked it for 8 hours at 250 and it was tough and dry. My question is, should I have covered it? thank you.
DrDan says
Hi Larry,
You basically have a different cut of meat. The butt is has more fat distributed through the meat and the picnic is more covered with fat but otherwise leaner (think ham). They need to be cooked differently. I have never done a picnic so I'm not going to be much help.
Dan
Kelly says
Hi, I usually use a slow cooker but I want to get the bark so I found your recipe here. I don't have a rack for my roasting pan - do you think it'll be alright to elevate it with some sliced onions? Thanks!
DrDan says
Hi Kelly,
The onion would probably break down. I would use some crumbled up rolls of foil. It doesn't need to be in a roasting pan. I generally use a sheet pan which has some rim on it. Then any oven safe rack you have will work.
My crock pot version of this uses foil balls. It also has some bark with a rub. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/crock-pot-pulled-pork-butt-right-way/
Dan
Lizzie says
Made this recipe once, just didn't believe you about cook-to-temp time! It was good but ... so now -- with tons of time on our hands today -- we put a 2.5-pounder in the oven @ 11:30 which we feel should be ready for a nap around 6 or so. Agree with you to use ONLY Wright's liquid smoke. It's just too dang cold here in Idaho to even think about the grill!
DrDan says
Thanks for the not. Time can vary some, thickness and the ovens are the variables. I did a 4.5 pounder 2 days ago and it was 9 hours. But as always, cook to a final temperature.
It is 40 degrees right now in Michigan. A warm up for a few days.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Susie says
Is there a reason not to use a convection oven?
DrDan says
The theory is to simulate a grill which would not have the fan moving air. I just turned the convection off. You could do convection but remember, you want low and slow.
cakespy says
Great recipe and so informative. This was a new post to me, and I appreciate it! :-) I'm more of a baker than a cook so this was full of handy tips for cooking unctuous pork! :-)
Tyson Kreger says
Thanks for verifying this was possible! I wrapped my bone-in butts in salt, pepper, honey, bbq sauce (hand spread), & tinfoil on a cookie tray.
I was cooking at 420. I let them go 3.5 hours and ended up putting bowls under the cookie tray as the juice was spilling over and burning under the burners. I had to add water to the bowls so they didn't burn the juice. (Metal mixing bowls) - Then, I opened them up to the air and put on more bbq. Then, turned down my temp to 300 so as not to char the sauce and bark. They smelled great by this time.
After an hour, I took them out to cool. Delicious! I probably would try to de-bone them while warm next time; instead of putting them in the fridge overnight after cooling on the counter for two hours. I used plastic bags for gloves! Once de-boned, I pull it all apart and dumped some of the juice from the beginning stages of cooking back in, along with some bbq sauce and water. It's in a zip-lock back now, ready to make Sammy's!
Chef Garfie says
It is possible to smoke pork butt in the oven without using liquid smoke. Much about the culinary arts comes down to personal taste and preferences. For me, liquid smoke is a strict no-no, never, never, use it regardless of the "quality."
Instead, used soaked hardwood chips in a smallest hotel pan with moisture (not water level) and cover it with a perforate pan lid or not. Place this in the back of the oven during pre-heat and roasting. It will smoke and thus smoke the food product.
Commerical smoker pans for stove top and oven use are available. These can be gotten at the restaurant supply store.
A special oven designed for low and slow cooking, an Alto Shamm, can produce smoke using the same technique as above if not equiped with a smoker pan.
As to your choice of wood for smoking, type matters. Another reason liquid smoke is to be avoided at all costs. Mesquite is NOT a smoking wood. It is used for open grilling. Mesquite smoke imparts the food product with a chemical taste similar to kerosene. The more the mesquite is used in the smoker the stronger the off taste becomes. The smoker is difficult to rid of this by product.
Better woods for smoking are hickory, apple, cherry, and pecan. I select the wood to compliment the end goal of the product. For pulled pork general its hickory except for Octoberfest when it's apple.
Sandra says
I have used this recipe twice. Did not change a thing. So simple and easy. Put the dry rub on the day before. Put it in the oven while you are sleeping. Your house smells like heaven when you wake up the next morning. Warning: Your neighbors will find an excuse to come visit you when they smell it coming coming from your house. Just pretend that you did not hear the doorbell or print out the recipe if you feel guilty and have to answer the door.
DrDan says
Thanks for the note Sandra.
The house does smell wonderful.
Dan
Kathy says
Just going to fix this recipe for the new year's eve party I am going to have and wondering if the liquid smoke what brand did you use .thanks for any help
DrDan says
I use Wright's. Great quality and adds something nice to the recipe. There are generic out there but NO. I had some from Gordon's Foods and it ruined anything it touched. It should only have two ingredients, smoke and water. No chemicals.
If in doubt, leave it out. it is not critical to the recipe.
Dan
EmJo says
I've used your recipe so many times. And people are shocked when I say it came from an oven. It's so easy! Thanks so much!
DrDan says
Thanks so much for the note. I must admit to only using the grill recipe a few times this year and can hardly tell the difference. I love this recipe too.
Happy Holidays
Dan
SusieQ says
Hello everone! I have 2 pork butts in the oven on 250 and just took one out of my pressure cooker. The one in the pressure cooker I braised first with a mixture of spices. Then I added a package of onion soup and. water to cover. I cooked it for about an hour. Let us sit for about 30 minutes and shredded. It is very good too!
Leslie says
This is do good, melts in your mouth, my husband and son-in-laws said it was the best pulled pork they have ever had. 5 star recipe
DrDan says
I hate to admit it but I do this oven based recipe about 10 to 1 vs the grill. I'm just lazy and my wife loves it.
Thanks for the note Leslie
Dan
Virginia says
I Love this recipe. Made it the first time exactly as written. Living in Texas and having family that enjoys spice, I experimented with Ancho chili pepper in place of the chili powder. and red pepper instead of black pepper for a little kick. I have also let it marinade for 2 days and boy does that flavor sink in!
I appreciate your blog and recipes very much. Enjoy your retirement with your family! God Bless you always!
Cathy says
Great recipe! I made a few changes, I marinated in a mojo jerk with all the above spices, plus adobo, Everglades and badia for pork. Vacuumed sealed it and let it rest in the fridge with multiple turns over the past two days. Put it in the oven at midnight last night, and took it out about 30 minutes ago. And it's just perfect. Wrapped and sitting in a cooler till the Memorial Day festivities begin. Thanks for the helpful insight!