Smoky Pulled-Pork Sandwiches
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Last updated
- Prep
- 20 min
- Bath
- 24 hours
- Total
- 26 hr 3 min
- Yield
- 12 servings
Main Courseporkbarbecuesandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 whole boneless pork butt, 5 to 7 lb, unrolled and untied
- 1/4 cup smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp mustard powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, optional
- 1 1/2 cups prepared barbecue sauce, kept separate from raw pork
- 12 soft sandwich rolls
- Dill pickle slices, for serving
Method
Prepare
- Mix the dry rub in a clean bowl. Reserve 3 tablespoons in a separate covered dish before touching the pork.
- Keep the pork whole and in its natural shape. Coat with the remaining rub, seal without added liquid, and follow the method below.
Cook
- Set the water bath to 165°F.
- Use one whole boneless pork butt weighing 5 to 7 pounds, fully thawed and refrigerator-cold, kept in its natural shape without rolling or tying. The source gives no exact thickness limit; all thick areas must be measurable with a food thermometer. Picnic shoulder, smaller pieces, cured pork, and injected meat need separate methods. Mix a dry barbecue rub and reserve a clean portion before handling raw pork. Season the whole roast and seal without added liquid, curing salt, or liquid smoke. Fully submerge the sealed bags in a verified, preheated circulating bath with water space around every bag. Start timing at immersion and complete the full listed time without interruption. Cover the bath and monitor the water level so every pouch stays submerged throughout the long cook. The listed time covers the bath stage. Allow additional time for the thermometer check, any hotter cooking, and finishing. The oven finish is a separate stage after the bath and center check. Check the thickest center of every piece, avoiding bone, fat, and gristle; check several places in large or uneven pieces. Every measured spot must reach 145°F before finishing. Continue cooking in a skillet or oven and recheck every cooler spot. Bath time, color, tenderness, and browning do not replace this check. Use clean utensils and discard all pouch liquid. Keep cooked food away from raw food, used bags, and utensils used for raw food. Pat dry and coat with the clean reserved rub. Place on a rack over a foil-lined tray and finish in a 300°F oven until a dark bark forms, about 1 1/2 hours. Keep the meat whole through the check and finish, then rest at least 3 minutes after the final heat before cutting, pulling, or serving immediately. Pull into strands only after the rest, add clean sauce, and serve. These methods cover immediate service only, not frozen starts, chilling, storage, reheating, or holding. Bone-in, rolled, tied, stuffed, ground, brined, or unmeasurable pork is excluded. A lower-temperature sliceable shoulder is a different result, not another pulled-pork option.
- Cook for 24 hours if you are cooking one whole boneless, unrolled, untied pork butt weighing 5 to 7 pounds, fully thawed and refrigerator-cold, with all thick areas measurable using a food thermometer.
- Keep the reserved rub, sauce, rolls, and pickles away from raw pork and used equipment. Near the end of the bath, prepare the oven and rack as directed by the guide.
Check before finishing
- At the end of the bath, open the pouch and transfer each piece intact to a clean surface with clean utensils. Discard the pouch liquid and any sauce that touched raw food.
- Use a clean food thermometer. Check the thickest center of every piece, avoiding bone, fat, and gristle; check several places in large or uneven pieces.
- Every spot you check must reach 145°F. If any reading is lower, keep cooking with a method hot enough to reach this temperature and check each cooler spot again. Complete this check before finishing.
Finish
- After the center check, discard the pouch liquid and pat the whole roast dry. Coat with the clean reserved rub.
- Complete the guide’s separate oven finish with the pork still whole. Prepare the rolls and warm the clean barbecue sauce near serving time.
Rest
- After the final heat, rest every piece for at least 3 minutes before cutting, pulling, or serving.
Serve
- After the required rest, pull the pork into strands and toss with enough clean sauce to lightly coat. Fill the rolls, add pickles, and serve immediately.
Want another texture or thickness?
The complete guide has all reviewed settings, safety context, and finishing options.