British BBQ Society Forums

More of an experiment in timing rather than cooking, I tried to cook pulled pork quickly in a household oven. Plenty of recipes out there seem to suggest its possible with decent results.

So one pork collar trimmed and rubbed. In oven at 250f for 3 hours. Nice bit of colour on it, seemed to be going well. Following recipe then foiled and oven turned up to about 300f. This cooked for another 3 hours or so till it hit 195f

Rested for an hour, pulled it then pretty much threw it right in the bin.

None of the fat or sinews had broken down at all. Really quite unpleasant.

Now, just curious but is this the result of a mistake in the cooking method or is this just what happens when you try to rush things.
Like I said, plenty of sites (amazingribs included) claim to get decent results using this technique.

Nick

For cooking at home most of my pork shoulders are cooked hot & fast now. I cook at 325f all the way through the cooking process, I foil about 3hrs in and add some liquid to the foil, but find I have to take the pork to a much higher finishing temp' to get the internal fat to melt, sometimes as high as 215f.

once the pork has reached 205f i'll start testing it by pulling on the paddle bone, if i get lot's of resistance i'll put it back on for another 45mins before testing again and repeat untill it's ready, then I let it rest for an hour.

Thanks for the info

I have another shoulder in the oven as we speak, was about to remove it, but I'll leave it in and see if I can avoid the pizza for tea option.

Thanks again

Nick

Before finding this forum, I always used (and still do on occasion) roasting bags, not foil. Granted the pork is more steamed than roasted but it always pulls nicely. I usually cook it at around 130-140c (250-275f) for a minimum of 3 hours. Around the 3 hours mark I pull it out and using a tea-towel or oven glove press the pork (still in the bag mind). If it yields then I remove it from the oven & bag, pouring off the juices. I then either sauce it and foil it resting it for later use or rest it then pull/shred it. Granted you don't get a crust but all the fat & sinews are meltingly soft and unctuous. As I've mentioned before the stock is strained and frozen along with any remaining pork for later use.

Thanks for the replys. I'll def be cooking the pork like that in future when smoking is not an option. Last nights didnt turn out as bad as I thought it would. No real bark to speak of like you say but taking it higher was the way to go. Will try again next week and compare it.

Thanks

Nick

Im going to try this again this weekend.

Just curious as to whether to even bother putting any rub on it this time. Last time I tried it, most of the rub looked like it had washed off as the pork seemed to be steaming as it cooked in the oven

It depends on how long you leave the rub on. Just for a giggle, sorry a scientific experiment coat half the joint with the rub and leave for a couple of hours then the other half with just S&P and maybe a touch of garlic just before you cook*. Cook as normal and conduct a taste test (that way you get two portions )

* Sorry egg sucking mode, put the salt on too early and it WILL draw out the moisture

Will give it a shot tomorrow. Have to first rain proof the bit of yard i'm smoking in then I'll do one in the oven, one in the smoker

This worked a treat. Plenty of injection and rub on, unfoiled in oven at around 325f for 3 hours.
After 3 hours meat was sitting at just under 200f. Foiled and left for no more than 40mins.



Had this last night with homemade mac and cheese and bbq beans. Fantastic.

Left over pulled pork nachos tonight. Im in my happy place.

Thanks again for the tips.

Nick