Boston Butt Pork Roast is an inexpensive cut of meat and when cooked properly makes delicious pulled pork that’s enough to feed a crowd. I do recommend getting the Boston Butt over a Picnic Roast. Both of these cuts come from the pork shoulder. It does take some planning to make pulled pork. Realizing that it needs to be started the day before and will then roast in the oven for over six hours the next day.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon Paprika
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Dry Ground Mustard
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Italian Herbs
1 tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 tablespoons Kosher Salt
1 Yellow Onion – sliced and rings separated
1 5 to 7 pound Boston Butt Pork Roast
Combine all of the spices, paprika to the kosher salt, in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture over the entire pork roast working it into crevices and patting it down to adhere to the pork roast. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Mound a bed of onions in the middle of the roasting pan. Place pork roast fat side up on top of the onions and roast for six to seven hours. The pork roast will need to be tender and pull apart easily. An instant-read thermometer in the thickest part should register at least 170 degrees F.
Let the pork roast rest for 20 to 40 minutes or until it is cool enough to handle. (Reserve pan dripping for barbecue sauce.) Pull the pork while it is still warm. Remove the fat from top of pork roast. Using two forks or your hands shred the pork roast into small pieces and strips. A technique that can work is to hold the pork roast with one fork and use the second fork to pull and rake the meat apart. Discard the bone and any pieces of fat. Go through the meat a second time with your hands and tear any larger pieces into smaller bits and remove any remaining fat and tough parts. Some of the crispy outer bits of meat can be left in for texture and flavor.
Mix and serve with your favorite barbecue sauce or use the drippings to make a really great barbeque sauce.
Serves 12
Some of the onion will burn but the onion under the pork roast will taste amazing. My Barbecue Sauce for Pulled Pork will be posted later.