Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

4.74 from 15 votes

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork was tender, juicy and very flavorful. It was the perfect sweet combo to a very savory piece of meat.

Prep Time10

Cook Time6

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bbq, bbq sauce recipe, bone in pork shoulder, dr. pepper bbq sauce recipe, dr. pepper pulled pork recipe, pork shoulder, pork shoulder recipe, pulled pork, pulled pork sandwich, smoked pork, grilling recipes, smoking meats, grillin with dad recipes, grilling with dad recipes.

Servings: People

Author: Maciek Zurawski

Ingredients

Pulled Pork Ingredients

6 lbs Bone in pork shoulder
2 tbsp Yellow mustard
1/4 cup Dad's all purpose rub
1 1/2 can Dr. Pepper
1/2 stick Unsalted butter
1/2 cup Brown sugar

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce Ingredients

1 can Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup Molasses
2 tbsp Red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp Dad's all purpose seasoning

Instructions

Pulled Pork Instructions

Inject 1/2 can of Dr. Pepper into the pork shoulder in multiple parts of the meat.
Score the fat cap in a checkered pattern.
Coat the entire pork shoulder with mustard and season with Dad's all purpose rub.
Set up the grill for indirect heat at 250 degrees.
After the first hour on the grill, spritz the pork every hour with Dr. Pepper soda.
Once the internal temperature of the pork reaches 170 degrees, remove the pork off the grill and time to wrap it up.
Place it in an aluminum pan or on a large foil sheet and add brown sugar, 1/2 can of Dr. Pepper, cubed butter and more seasoning.
Seal it with a sheet of foil or wrap the foil around the chunk and place it back on the grill until internal temp of the pork shoulder reaches 205 degrees.
Remove the wrapped pork from the grill and let it rest for 1 hour.
Remove the bone and shred the meat, mixing it in with all the rendered juices.

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce Instructions

Dr. Pepper sauce: in a sauce pan, add a can of Dr. Pepper soda, ketchup, molasses, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and Dad's All Purpose seasoning. Mix it all together simmering over low heat until the sauce thickens.

Notes

Try to purchase a bone-in pork shoulder. Helps cook more evenly.
If you are not a fan of mustard in general, use hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce as the binding agent.
For the first 4 hours, leave the pork should on the grill. Do NOT peek inside. Let the grill do its magic. After that, you should start to check the bark and see it is not drying out.
At this stage of the cook, no more smoke will penetrate the meat. It’s OK to finish the cook in the oven.
Tenderness is key. This will help make the pork shreddable. The final temperature on a classic pulled pork can range anywhere from 200 to 205 degrees, so be patient. If the probe is not going into the meat smoothly, it’s not done. Keep cooking. This is where a lot of the mistakes are made. Pork is removed too soon and the meat ends up dry and tough.

Nutrition