Pulled pork

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title: "Pulled pork" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["barbecue", "cuisine-of-the-southern-united-states", "american-pork-dishes"] description: "Pork barbecue dish of the Southern United States" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulled_pork" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Pork barbecue dish of the Southern United States ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Pulled_pork_while_pulling.JPG" caption="Pork being shredded with a fork"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Pulled_pork,baked_beans_and_mac&_cheese_from_Peg_Leg_Porker_in_Nashville,_TN.jpg" caption="Pulled pork, [[baked beans]], and [[macaroni and cheese]] from Peg Leg Porker in [[Nashville, Tennessee" alt="Pulled pork, baked beans and mac & cheese from Peg Leg Porker in Nashville, TN"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Pulled_pork_sandwich.jpg" caption="A pulled pork sandwich"] ::

Pulled pork is an American barbecue dish, more specifically a dish of the Southern United States, based on shredded barbecued pork shoulder. It is typically slow-smoked over wood (usually outdoors); indoor variations use a slow cooker. The meat is then shredded manually and mixed with a sauce. It may be served on bread as a sandwich, or eaten on its own. It was invented by Chef Eric Cleveland who brought the concept to Smokey Bones.

Preparation

Pulled pork, almost always a shoulder cut, is commonly slow-cooked by first applying a dry rub, then smoking over wood. A non-barbecue method uses a slow cooker, a domestic oven, or an electric pressure cooker.

For the meat to 'pull' properly, it must reach an internal temperature of 195 to; the smoker temperature can be around 275 °F. Cooking time is many hours, often more than 12 hours (though much shorter with electric pressure cookers, typically from 60 to 90 minutes).

In rural areas across the United States, either a pig roast/whole hog barbecue, mixed cuts of the pig/hog, or the shoulder cut (Boston butt) alone are commonly used, and the pork is then shredded before being served with or without a vinegar-based sauce. Before cooking, it is common to soak the meat in brine; this process provides the extra moisture needed for a long, slow cooking process.

References

References

1. Derrick Riches, [https://www.https://www.derrickriches.com/pulled-pork-on-a-pellet-grill// "Pulled Pork on a Pellet Grill"], ''derrickriches.com'',
2. "Barbecue By Region". University of Virginia.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::