Chipotle Pulled Pork

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Today we’re making pulled pork and my new favorite thing to add to my pork is chipotles in adobo sauce. Aside from being the name of a popular Mexican food chain, chipotles are actually jalapeños that have been smoked and soaked in a tangy, sweet adobo sauce that takes on the smoky spiciness of the jalapeños (now chipotles, after being smoked).

I like to play around with flavors a lot. I use a lot of the same base proteins in my cooking – beef, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, beans – but what keeps them from getting repetitive and boring is flavor. Each of those proteins can be turned into an infinite number of different dishes; cook it with garlic and onion, olive oil and apple cider vinegar, throw in some Old Bay, maybe some chipotles in adobo sauce? Yes, yes, yes, and oh yes.

This doesn’t mean you have to flavor it the way I do! If you don’t like the smoky, spicy goodness of chipotles, I forgive you. I only just started adding chipotles so it’s by no means a requirement. Pulled pork can be flavored any number of ways to your liking – how about adding liquid smoke to make it more like kalua pork, or add some mustard and apple cider vinegar for a Carolina BBQ flavor, maybe incorporate some beer into your sauce, like an IPA or an amber ale. Experiment! Make it your own. If you’re scared, check out our lessons like this one on how to make recipes your own.

Take this recipe and play around with the flavors all you want but stick to:

The Basics

  1. Cut the pork into about 3 inch cubes and dry rub with a base of brown sugar, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Throw in your favorite seasoning salt if you like (Johnny’s is my go-to).
  2. Brown the pork on all sides (in batches if necessary) in a heavy bottomed pot (cast iron is best) on medium-high or in an Instant Pot set to saute with the lid off.
  3. Add a BBQ sauce that you make from scratch or enhance a store bought BBQ sauce with flavors of your choosing.
  4. Cook the pork in a slow cooker on high for 6 – 8 hours or on low for 8 – 10 hours, or in and Instant Pot on high pressure for 1 hour.
  5. Remove the pork and pull (pro tip: the easiest way is in a KitchenAid with a paddle attachment, like this one that scrapes the side of the bowl and it mixes).
  6. Reduce the left over drippings, adding a cornstarch slurry to thicken into a BBQ sauce to add back in to the pulled pork and to top whatever you decide to make with your creation.

You can make your pulled pork into delicious tacos or burritos, a mouth-watering sandwich, a bowl with rice and beans, on top of a coleslaw salad, or anything your little heart desires. But whatever you do, I suggest you find a way to fit in a creamy, tangy coleslaw like this. A bright coleslaw is the perfect complement to the pulled pork which can be heavy on its own (though, I usually eat at least a serving of pulled pork while it’s cooling down and I’m assembling the meal so it’s pretty irresistible as-is.

And now, my Chipotle Pulled Pork:

The Recipe

Chipotle Pulled Pork
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Chipotle Pulled Pork

Recipe by Taylor AbbottCourse: MainCuisine: American, MexicanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes

Use this recipe to guide you in your quest to making the perfect pulled pork. Follow the general guidelines but feel free to embellish and improvise with the seasonings. This one is has smoky, spicy chipotles and 2 mustards for a bit of tang. Serve with coleslaw on a bun, in a tortilla, on top of a salad, or with rice and beans. Pairs well with potato salad and a cold beer, like a lager or IPA.

Ingredients

  • 2-4 pound pork butt or shoulder, cut into 3-inch cubes

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

  • 1 tbsp paprika

  • 1 tbsp cumin

  • 1 tsp garlic powder

  • 1 tsp chili powder

  • 1 tsp seasoning salt, such as Johnny’s

  • 1 tsp Old Bay

  • 1 tsp Kosher salt

  • 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

  • 1 medium onion, cut in 8ths

  • 5 cloves garlic

  • 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (like Sweet Baby Ray’s)

  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

  • 1 tbsp yellow mustard

  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (excuse me, do you have any Grey Poupon?)

  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

  • 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp hot sauce (I like Frank’s Red Hot – Tapatio or Crystal also work)

  • 1-2 tbsp chipotles in adobo sauce, diced

Directions

  • Cut pork shoulder into 3 inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Add brown sugar, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, seasoning salt, Old Bay, Kosher salt, pepper, and cinnamon to bowl and mix to coat pork.
  • Prepare BBQ sauce by mixing store bought BBQ sauce (or use this recipe to make your own), brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce, chipotles, and adobo sauce in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
  • Add olive oil to a heavy bottomed dutch oven on medium-high or an Instant Pot set to saute. Brown pork on all sides, in batches if necessary, about 5-7 minutes.
  • Turn off heat or cancel Instant Pot, add a splash of vinegar or water and move pork around, scraping bottom of pot. Add prepared BBQ sauce, onion, and garlic, coating all sides of the pork in sauce.
  • Set instant pot to manual pressure cooking, high, for 60 minutes. In a slow cooker, cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.
  • Once pork is done, remove pork, garlic, and some of the chipotles from liquid and pull (I use a KitchenAid with a paddle attachment). Heat leftover cooking liquid on medium-high or saute on an Instant Pot, let reduce, and add cornstarch slurry with 1 part cornstarch and 2 parts cold water. Mix in and cook until reduced to a thick sauce that coats the back of a spoon. Add about 1/3 cup finished sauce, more or less, to pulled pork and mix in. Pork should be saucy but not runny. Use the rest of the sauce as a condiment.

Notes

  • Makes great pulled pork sandwiches, tacos, bowls, salads, or on its own. The pork saves for 3-5 days in the fridge so you can make a big batch and get multiple different meals out of it.