Pork Boston Butt in the Oven, for Pulled Pork

This pork Boston butt oven recipe turns one boneless roast into a big pile of pulled pork, no smoker required. Rub it with spices, roast it low at 275 degrees, first under foil and then uncovered, and take it out when it reaches 195 to 205 degrees F and a fork twists in it with almost no resistance. Rest it, pull it, and finish it with a splash of sharp cider vinegar sauce.

Despite the name, Boston butt comes from the front of the pig: it is the upper part of the shoulder, marbled and threaded with connective tissue. Cooked fast, it is chewy. Cooked low for hours, that tissue melts, the fat bastes the meat, and the roast falls apart into soft, juicy strands. That is the whole idea behind a good Boston butt recipe, and an ordinary home oven does it well.

At a glance: serves 8 from a 4-pound roast. Prep 20 minutes, plus an optional night in the fridge with the rub. Roast about 6 hours (roughly 1 1/2 hours per pound), rest 30 minutes.

Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, remembers Keith as the one people called on when a celebration needed a pig cooked through the night:

“Keith was a guy that you always call on when, uh, when you need somebody to stay up all night smoking a pig for a graduation, for a, for a wedding, whatever the case may be.”

Gray Shipley

An oven is not a smoker, and this recipe does not pretend to be one. What it shares with an all-night cook like that is what pork shoulder needs most: low heat and plenty of time.

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork butt (Boston butt) roast, about 4 pounds
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, for the rub
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, for the rub
• 1 tablespoon paprika, sweet or smoked
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup water or apple cider, for the pan
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar, for the sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, for the sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, for the sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup, for the sauce (optional)
• 8 soft buns and coleslaw, to serve

Instructions

1. Stir together the salt, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dry mustard and cayenne in a small bowl.
2. Pat the pork dry. If it comes tied or netted, leave that on so the roast keeps its shape. Rub the spice mix over every surface. For the deepest flavor, cover it loosely and refrigerate it overnight, up to 24 hours; if you are short of time, it can go straight into the oven.
3. Heat the oven to 275 degrees with a rack in the lower middle. Set the pork in a roasting pan or a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with its fattiest side up, and pour the water or cider into the pan around it, not over it.
4. Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for 3 hours.
5. Take off the foil and keep roasting until the outside is dark and crusty and a thermometer in the thickest part reads 195 to 205 degrees F, usually another 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours for a 4-pound roast. A fork pushed into the meat should twist easily. If the pan runs dry, add a splash of water so the drippings do not burn.
6. While the pork roasts, make the sauce. Shake the vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the ketchup together in a jar until the sugar and salt dissolve, and leave it at room temperature so the pepper flakes soften.
7. Move the pork to a cutting board, tent it loosely with foil and let it rest for 30 minutes. Pour the pan juices into a measuring cup and spoon the fat off the top.
8. Remove any string or netting. Pull the pork into shreds with two forks, discarding any large pieces of fat. Toss it with the skimmed juices and about half the sauce, taste, and add more sauce or salt as you like. Serve on buns with coleslaw and the rest of the sauce on the table.

Add 1 boneless pork butt roast to cart

How to cook a Boston butt roast in the oven

Low and slow is the whole method. At 275 degrees, a boneless Boston butt takes roughly 1 1/2 hours per pound, so a 3-pound roast needs about 4 1/2 hours and a 5-pound roast closer to 7 1/2. Roasts are not all the same shape, so treat those numbers as a plan for your day and the thermometer as the judge. You can run the oven at 300 degrees to save about an hour; the outside will be a little drier and darker.

The foil traps steam for the first three hours, which keeps the surface moist and helps the pork through the long stretch in the 150s and 160s where the temperature seems to stall. Then it comes off so the rub can darken into a crust, the chewy edges everyone picks at before the pork is pulled.

Why cook it to 195 degrees F if pork is safe at 145?

USDA FSIS lists 145 degrees F with a rest of at least 3 minutes as the safe minimum for pork roasts, and a Boston butt passes that hours before it is ready. At 145 it is safe but tight and chewy, because the connective tissue running through the shoulder has not broken down. As the roast climbs toward 200 and stays hot for hours, that tissue slowly melts into gelatin and the meat loosens until it pulls apart in your fingers.

So the higher number is about texture, not safety. If you would rather slice the roast than pull it, take it out closer to 185 degrees F, rest it, and cut it into thick slices; it will be tender but still hold together.

Pork butt, Boston butt or pork shoulder roast?

They are all the shoulder. A pig's front shoulder is usually divided in two: the upper Boston butt, often sold as pork butt or shoulder roast, and the lower picnic shoulder, nearer the front leg. The butt has more marbling and a more even shape, which is why it is the usual choice for pulled pork.

If you want to cook a pork shoulder roast in the oven and have a picnic instead, the method is the same. Picnics often come with skin and bone, so they take a little longer; score or remove the skin before the rub goes on.

More recipes for pork butt

Pulled pork is only the start. The same roast, cut into 2-inch chunks, braised slowly in its own fat and then crisped in a hot pan, becomes carnitas. Leftover pulled pork goes into tacos, quesadillas, fried rice, or a skillet hash with potatoes and a fried egg on top.

Pork butt is also an easy way to feed a crowd: a 4-pound roast makes about eight sandwiches, and two roasts side by side take about the same time as one, sometimes a little longer. For beef ideas for a big gathering, see How to Feed a Crowd With Beef below.

Food safety

USDA FSIS lists 145 degrees F, followed by a rest of at least 3 minutes, as the safe minimum internal temperature for pork roasts. Pulled pork goes well past that, but check it anyway with an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the roast. Keep raw pork, and anything it has touched, away from food that will not be cooked. Refrigerate leftovers promptly, and reheat them, covered, with a splash of the pan juices, to 165 degrees F, the FSIS figure for leftovers. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.