How to Make the Best Dutch Oven Pulled Pork BBQ

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This Dutch oven pulled pork recipe is proof that you don't need a smoker to get melt-in-your-mouth, pit master-worthy barbecue results. It's as simple as season, sear, braise, and walk away, letting your Dutch oven transform the pork into tender, juicy perfection.

Enamel tray topped with Dutch oven pulled pork, bowls of macaroni and cheese, collard greens, dill pickle chips, and potato salad, and a pile of pickled red onions and okra beside a jar of bbq sauce and a red-striped white napkin.

Whether you're looking for a crowd-pleasing recipe as a host for game day parties or planning meals for the week, this pork is incredibly versatile. Serve it as traditional pork sandwiches with tangy cole slaw and pickles, spoon it over creamy grits or baked sweet potatoes, or stash portions in the freezer for easy dinners whenever you don't feel like cooking.

I'm willing to bet this will become your MVP meal prep solution like it is for me.

Being from the South, I'm no stranger to a barbecue joint. Chris and I usually end up splitting a barbecue platter so we can try lots of things. If you like to do that and want to recreate the experience at home, you're in luck. I happen to have a large collection of bbq restaurant-inspired recipes.

Grab your favorite platter or tray and surround this pulled pork with purple cabbage slaw, my smoked gouda mac and cheese recipe, collard greens and ham hocks, and an assortment of pickled red onions and other pickled things. (I usually have some pickled okra and dill pickle chips in the fridge.)

I also wouldn't be mad if we added some Southern fried green tomatoes or my oven baked onion rings recipe to the mix. And we can't forget about something sweet. My banana pudding dessert cups are the perfect ending to a barbecue meal.

Sounds pretty great, right? Let's get going on that pulled pork recipe!

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Tasty Tip
Frequently asked questions
Related
Pairing
🍽Get the recipe
Recipe guidelines and test kitchen tips
Food safety

Ingredients

Before we get started, let's gather the ingredients we need for this recipe:

pork shoulder or pork butt
barbecue dry rub
Vidalia onions
Coca-Cola
Western Carolina bbq sauce
ketchup
Worcestershire sauce

(See recipe card for quantities.)

Instructions

Now that we've got our ingredients, it's time to get cooking!

Removing seared pieces of pork from a red handled Dutch oven to a glass bowl with tongs.

First, preheat the oven to 300°F. Sprinkle the pork with the seasoning and sear in batches in hot oil. Remove from the Dutch oven.

Sautéing onions with a wooden spoon in pork drippings in a red handled Dutch oven.

Then, add the onion to the drippings in the pan and cook until tender.

Adding seared pork with metal tongs to braising liquid and onions in a red handled Dutch oven.

Next, stir together the Coca-Cola, bbq sauce, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Add to the onions in the Dutch and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the pork to the pot.

Shredding slow-cooked pork with two forks on a dark metal baking pan.

Finally, cover the Dutch oven and transfer to the oven. Cook for 3 hours or until fork-tender. Remove the pork and shred with two forks. Place pork in the juices in the Dutch oven before serving.

Hint: Before returning the shredded pork to the cooking juices in the Dutch oven, skim the fat off the top. You can use a fat separator or just a small spoon.

Substitutions

Need to make some ingredient swaps? I've got you covered:

Pork butt - Use pork shoulder roast or picnic roast if pork butt isn't available.
Vidalia onions - Being a Georgia gal, I'm keen on Vidalia onions, but any sweet onion will work. Try Walla Walla or Maui onions. You can also substitute white onions or yellow onions if that's what you have.
Coca Cola - Grab a root beer, Dr. Pepper, Cheerwine, or even apple juice or cider for a different sweetness profile. Don't use diet soda though--cooking the artificial sugars can produce a bitter taste and alter the chemicals (in a bad way).
BBQ sauce - Instead of using from-scratch vinegar-based sauce, grab your favorite store-bought brand. Opt for a less sweet version since there's already cola in the cooking liquid.
Worcestershire sauce - If you're out of Worcestershire sauce you can substitute soy sauce or add a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Spice rub - I like to use my homemade barbecue rub (a quick mix of brown sugar, chili powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, and other spices) for this recipe, but feel free to swap out your favorite store brand instead if you don't want to make your own.

Variations

This recipe is so versatile. Here are some fun variations:

Sweet and Smoky Pulled Pork - Canned chipotle peppers in adobo are one of my favorite ingredients. Chop up 1 or 2 of the peppers and add some of the adobo from the can to give the pulled pork a smoky, slightly spicy flavor.
Carolina Gold BBQ Pork - Looking for a change of flavor. Swap the vinegar bbq sauce for my mustard-based Carolina Gold sauce.
Beer-Braised Pulled Pork - Change up the flavor and replace the Coca-Cola with a dark lager or amber ale.
Hawaiian Pulled Pork - Craving a taste of the tropics? Add crushed pineapple to the braising liquid.

Equipment

Here's the equipment you'll need to make this recipe:

chef's knife
Dutch oven
dry measuring cups
measuring spoons
liquid measuring cup
metal tongs
wooden spoon
medium bowl

Storage

Refrigerate: Store the leftover pulled pork and cooking liquid in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Freeze: Transfer the pork and cooking sauce mixture to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and heat gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Tasty Tip

Those browned bits at the bottom of the Dutch oven after searing the pork are what will make the overall richness and flavor incredible. Don't rush that step in the cooking process--it's key to getting the best results.

Frequently asked questions

Is pork butt and pork shoulder the same thing?

Nope! Pork butt and pork shoulder aren't exactly the same, although they both come from the pig's front shoulder. The pork butt (or Boston butt), comes from the upper portion, while the pork shoulder, (also known as the picnic shoulder), comes from the lower portion.

Can I make this in a crock pot?

You can! Cook the pork on low heat for 8 to 10 hours. Here's a slow cooker tip though: I highly recommend searing the pork chunks and cooking the onions first in the Dutch oven. You just can't get that flavor from simply slow cooking.

Do I have to sear the pork first?

Technically, no you don't. But it adds so much depth of flavor to the finished dish I wouldn't dare skip that step.

Can I make it ahead of time?

For sure! This is a great meal prep or make-ahead dish. In fact, the flavors only get better after a night in the fridge.

I checked the pork after 3 hours but it wasn't tender enough. What did I do wrong?

That's okay! Just keep cooking it until the pork pulls apart. Keep an eye on the cooking liquid too. You may need to add a little more if the cook time is increased.

My pork has a ton of liquid leftover. Is that normal?

It is! The amount of braising liquid after cooking will all depend on how fatty (or not) the pork is. I just serve the pork right out of the Dutch oven with a slotted spoon or tongs. All that juice equals flavor.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with this family favorite pulled pork:

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