Pulled Pork Advice

Sealion

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Tucson, AZ
Grill(s) owned
  1. Stampede
I want to make pulled pork this weekend for a party, and I am not sure what to do. I have two pork tenderloins (no bones) from Costco (total weight 5.2 lbs.).

All the pulled pork examples I find are the larger, bone in cuts that cook for 15+ hours and use various approaches for the “stall” (not sure what that is).

What would you suggest for cooking a couple of pork tenderloins?
- How long at what temperature?
- Wrapped or not?
- Should I expect a stall with these smaller cuts?
- What should I expect for overall cooking time?

Time to up my game, but do not want to mess it up for the party!

Thanks much
 
Unfortunately, you will not be able to make pulled pork from tenderloins. Those are very lean, and have little connective tissue. Pulled pork needs both of those things which is why it is made from the shoulder of a pig (either the butt end, or the picnic......or whole.) Tenderloins are best cooked hot/fast, and to an internal temp no greater than 145F (I prefer 140-142F.)

If you wish to make pulled pork for your party, your best bet is to acquire the proper cut (CostCo should carry it.....though it'll come in a two pack with each piece weighing in at ~7lbs or so......). My local market carries smaller portions, and most meat counters will cut you the size you want. If it were me, I wouldn't cook anything smaller than 4 lbs.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Rich
 
Unfortunately, you will not be able to make pulled pork from tenderloins. Those are very lean, and have little connective tissue. Pulled pork needs both of those things which is why it is made from the shoulder of a pig (either the butt end, or the picnic......or whole.) Tenderloins are best cooked hot/fast, and to an internal temp no greater than 145F (I prefer 140-142F.)

If you wish to make pulled pork for your party, your best bet is to acquire the proper cut (CostCo should carry it.....though it'll come in a two pack with each piece weighing in at ~7lbs or so......). My local market carries smaller portions, and most meat counters will cut you the size you want. If it were me, I wouldn't cook anything smaller than 4 lbs.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Rich
OK. We have always used tenderloins in the crock pot all day for the pulled pork and it has worked well. Makes sense.
 
I want to make pulled pork this weekend for a party, and I am not sure what to do. I have two pork tenderloins (no bones) from Costco (total weight 5.2 lbs.).

All the pulled pork examples I find are the larger, bone in cuts that cook for 15+ hours and use various approaches for the “stall” (not sure what that is).

What would you suggest for cooking a couple of pork tenderloins?
- How long at what temperature?
- Wrapped or not?
- Should I expect a stall with these smaller cuts?
- What should I expect for overall cooking time?

Time to up my game, but do not want to mess it up for the party!

Thanks much
Easy peasy…pork tenderloin is 325 until internal hits about 145, rest for 5-10 minutes. Should take you about 30 minutes. Flip once half way through. Delicious!

Edit: pork tenderloin doesn’t have near enough fat to smoke all the way to a pull. Slice those bad boys up with some artichokes and rice and you’re set.
 
For pulled pork, you want to get something with a name like boston butt or pork shoulder.
The pork tenderloin would be excellent sliced thick after cooking low/slow to get some smoke then hot/fast to sear and finish it off.
 
i hunt wild pigs so i often have a surplus of pork loin and i have made pulled pork from it to get rid of it. it can be done. but with its low fat content and less connective tissue it will be much dryer. if you do it i would inject it heavily and wrap it at 160 and add plenty of moisture in the foil to help. butts and shoulders are king for killer pulled pork though
 
Someone once said to me, “It’s good to be good, but it’s better to be lucky.”

I had already thawed the pork tenderloins and did not have time to cook a butt or shoulder, so I thought I would experiment. I never understood why the wife tries a new recipe for company, but I did the same thing so I cannot say that anymore!

I put the tenderloins on the grill at 225 for an hour to get some smoke flavor. Then I moved them to the crockpot to finish them off in our traditional way of making pulled pork. They smelled great and came out very well. Everyone loved the light smoke taste.

Someday I will try a shoulder, but I will keep this as a quick and simple alternative.

Thanks again for the comments.
 
They smelled great and came out very well. Everyone loved the light smoke taste.
....and, in the end, this is what matters! Glad you made a meal that you and your guests enjoyed! Lots of ways to skin a cat (or pig), but I do hope you'll try pulled pork from a shoulder cut sometime, cooked to 200-205 all the way on your RT.

R
 

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