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Cooking pulled pork in a Dutch oven is the perfect way to slow things down, and spend some quality time together as a family. I’m a huge fan of giant rewards for little effort, and that’s exactly what this mouth-watering pulled pork is.
This simple recipe means everyone will be happy and full – and you won’t need to spend the entire day in the kitchen. In my book, that makes this the perfect campfire meal.
If you’re new to cooking with a Dutch oven, check out our post on Dutch Oven Campfire Cooking for Beginners to get you started.
How to Make Pulled Pork in Your Dutch Oven
To make the juiciest, tastiest pulled pork, cook the pork (neck or shoulder of pork both work well for this) with garlic, onion, tinned tomatoes, stock, and a selection of spices.
And for the most flavorsome, tender meat, you’ll need to cook it low and slow – over the campfire in your Dutch oven for about 6 hours. But once it’s on, you just need to check it occasionally and top up the water in the pot. In the meantime, you can get on with enjoying the rest of the day outdoors while your pulled pork cooks to perfection.
We usually have our pulled pork in homemade burger buns, with a side of coleslaw (also homemade 🙂 ). It’s also delicious in a freshly-baked bread roll.
- Dry the pork meat off. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
- Rub the dry spices on the meat.
- Roughly peel and chop the onions and garlic.
- Put the meat into your Dutch oven. Add the onions and garlic, tinned tomatoes, stock and barbecue sauce of your choice.
- Add water until the meat is covered, and keep coming back to it as it cooks to make sure it doesn’t go dry.
- Once the meat falls apart when you pull on it with a fork, it’s done! This will take about 6 hours.
What is Pulled Pork?
Pulled pork is a true American classic (I know Im danish, but I still love it!). Traditionally the pork meat was smoked over wood until tender. Pulled pork was originally created by the Spanish settlers and inspired by the way the natives cooked their meat over a fire. Pulled pork is a slow process and the fire is what gives this soft, flaky meat its distinctive (and delicious) smoky flavor.
If it’s not a day for the campfire, you can cook your pulled pork in a slow cooker.This recipe also works well in a clay cooker for the oven, just set the oven to 260F (125C) and follow the recipe as normal.
What You Need to Cook Pulled Pork in Your Dutch Oven
You’ll need to combine all your ingredients ahead of time. Start cooking at least 6 hours before you want to eat. As this recipe is cooked over a fire, you will need access to a fire pit. If you need some help getting set up, here’s a post that’ll show you how to build a campfire.
You will also need a Dutch oven. We have cooked this several times, both using firewood and charcoal. Charcoal is easier to manage because you can have a set amount of coal around the Dutch oven at all times. Firewood is a little trickier, it can burn at different rates and temperates and so is harder to control, but it’s definitely possible.
TIP: When we’re on a camping trip, I mix the dry ingredients together at home before we leave. If I’m cooking the recipe within the first two days of the trip, I’ll even chop the garlic and the onion and bring them in a small bag or container. This saves time and cuts down on mess and fuss. It is super easy to transfer everything into the Dutch oven once we’re at the campsite.
Other than that, it’s pretty simple. You just need to spend a day by the campfire. Check-in on your pulled pork now and then. Make sure that your meat is covered with water at all times.
How Long Does It Take to Make the Best Pulled Pork?
For this recipe, the clue is in the name. Pulled pork needs to be cooked for a long time at a low temperature until it’s tender enough for you to pull it apart.
My father usually says that it’s tender enough that you can chew it with your eyebrows. That’s not (quite) true, butthis recipe does make the meat come apart nice and easily when you pull on it gently with a fork. It takes about 6 hours over the fire or in the oven for the meat to be tender. If it doesn’t come apart when you check, try giving it another 30 minutes.
TIP: If you have a lot of meat and there’ll be some left for another day, don’t pull it all apart today. Keep the leftovers as a whole piece of meat. This way it’ll be easier to reheat and will retain moisture better.
Here is the full recipe for the best pulled pork cooked in a Dutch oven:
Print Pin
5 from 2 votes
Dutch Oven Pulled Pork
Pulled pork cooked over your campfire, in a Dutch oven. This is slow food at its best, and you do not need to spend time cooking, all you need do is watch as it turns into the most tender pulled pork you have ever had.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Dutch oven pulled pork, dutch oven pulled pork camping, dutch oven pulled pork recipe, pulled pork dutch oven, pulled pork recipe dutch oven
Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time 5 hours hours
Total Time 5 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Servings 10
Ingredients
- 4,5 lb Neck of Pork
- 2 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
- 2 tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 3 Onions
- 1 Garlic
- 1 lb Smoky Barbecue Sauce
- 1 cup Chicken Stock
- 2 tins Tomatoes
- Water
- Olive oil (or other suitable vegetable oil)
Instructions
Light a fire, or start about 20 charcoal briquettes.
TIP: The charcoal will make it easier to control the temperature of the cooking. You need about 12 pieces of charcoal underneath and about 8 on top, and you should aim for a temperature of around 260F (125C)
Dry the meat off.
Mix all the dry ingredients together.
Rub the dry spices on the meat.
Roughly peel and chop the onions and garlic.
Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the bottom of your Dutch oven. (It burns off quickly over the fire, so I tend to use a bit more than when I'm cooking it in a conventional oven.)
Place the meat in your dutch oven.
TIP: if there is more fat on one side of your meat than the other, then place the fat side down in the Dutch oven. This will help stop your meat sticking and burning.
Add the onions and garlic.
Add the tinned tomatoes, stock and barbecue sauce of your choice.
If you have your own tomatoes from the garden they will work just fine too, just roughly chop them up and add them to the pot. You will need 4-6 tomatoes to replace a tin, depending on the size of your tomatoes.
Add water until the meat is covered, and keep coming back to it over the next 5 hours to make sure it doesn’t go dry.
Once the meat falls apart when you pull on it with a fork, its done. This will take about 6 hours.
This is the perfect way to spend a day by the fire. Together with good friends share a delicious, no-hassle meal while you chat into the night. The kids also love this for supper when we go “backyard camping”.
Try it for yourself and let me know what you think, I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time,
XO Malene.
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Rusty Rogers on May 28, 2021 at 01:40
We are cooking for about 45 at a girls camp in July. I plan to cut up the pork butt into chunks to make it cook faster. Will that work or do I need the full 6 hrs? How long should I plan on for the cook? Can’t wait to try this recipe!Thx.
Reply
Malene on June 21, 2021 at 13:29
Hi Rusty – sorry for the delayed reply.
The time is for the protein to break down, and make it “pulled”. If you can, you could consider cooking it from home for the first 4-5 hours, and then freeze it, and bring it to cook the final couple of hours at camp.
I cant wait to hear how you go. Have a great camp. /Malene.
Reply
ashok on November 6, 2020 at 06:23
Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.Reply
Jan Camp ell on July 31, 2020 at 14:19
What do you do with the sauce that the pork has cooked in? There would be a fair wiantity if yhe pork needs to stay covered for all day cooking?
Reply
Malene on July 31, 2020 at 16:04
Hi there, thank you for asking. You are right, this leaves a lot of sauce. I find it quite salty and don’t do anything with it. We have used it to add to the burgers when we eat it like burgers, but be vary of how much you use- I prefer using bbq sauce for that. I hope this answers your question. Do let me know how you do, if you make it. ?
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Jacques on July 27, 2020 at 09:15
This might be a silly question…but do you only use the 20 pieces of charcoal for the whole 6 hours or do you need to replace those somehow?
Reply
Malene on July 30, 2020 at 11:34
Hi Jacques – thanks for asking, that was probably me that was being unclear. If any of the pieces burn out, I make sure to replace them. The number of charcoal is to make sure that you have an even heat during the cooking time, and you want to keep the temperature up during the full 6 hours. When cooking this we usually have a small fire going next to the dutch oven, and we start new coals in there. And then replace as needed. I hope this makes it clearer – sorry that I wasn’t clear the first time around. All the best, Malene.
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Chris on April 14, 2020 at 06:25
Camping in our back yard for Easter in isolation here in North Queensland Pulled Pork and coleslaw on fresh bread rolls delicious!!
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Malene on April 14, 2020 at 09:28
Sounds amazing, Chris! Yes – its one of our favorite meals as well! And back yard camping is a good way to spend a day in these times. Stay safe.
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Nannymed on April 2, 2020 at 06:57
Pulled Pork is so delicious, easy, and inexpensive to make. There aren t very many ingredients in this pulled pork recipe, and you can set it and forget it as it cooks slowly all day.
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Malene on April 6, 2020 at 11:43
Im glad you liked it! Have the best day.
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K Johnson on September 2, 2019 at 22:38
The easiest, flavorful, tender pulled pork. Used a pork butt instead of the neck. Added some pork seasoning to the spice mix. Reserved the tomatoes and onions for those who wanted to pour over the pulled pork sandwich. Used ciabatta rolls rather than dinner rolls and put extra bar b que sauce and hot sauce on the table for those like the heat. Everyone raved about it. Easy Beasey. Others brought broccoli coleslaw, cabbage casserole and corn on the cob. What a meal. The cast iron cleaned up very well too.
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Malene on September 3, 2019 at 10:59
Oh Im so glad it was a hit with everyone! It sounds like you had an amazing time! Best Malene.
Reply
Dale on May 31, 2019 at 13:26
This turned out perfect! So easy to follow and turned out just the way it should! We brought chili sauce to make it more spicy for those that wanted that, but it was very tasty! A big hit with everyone!Reply
