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Pulled Pork Burger – plated and served
BurgersGrilling & BBQDinnerAmerican

Pulled Pork Burger

Pork shoulder braised for hours, shredded and tossed in BBQ sauce, served in a soft bun with coleslaw.

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Preparation
25 min
Cook/bake time
7 hr
Total
7 hr 25 min
Difficulty
Medium
Calories
970 kcal
Servings
8
Prep
25 min
Cooking & baking
7 hr

Pork shoulder braised for hours, shredded and tossed in BBQ sauce, served in a soft bun with coleslaw. The long, low cooking time is not an end in itself, but the only way to transform the abundant connective tissue of the shoulder into gelatin and make the meat fall apart. The oven does almost all the work on its own.

Why this works

Pork shoulder is full of collagen, which only begins to turn into gelatin at around 70 °C, and this takes hours, not minutes. Between 70 and 80 °C, the core temperature often stalls for hours because escaping water cools the meat through evaporation. This plateau phase is not a sign that something is going wrong, but exactly the stage where the meat becomes tender enough to shred.

Step-by-step instructions

Conventional · 160 °Cor Fan 140 °C

  1. Massage in the rub

    Mix the brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper to make a rub. Pat the shoulder dry, score the fat cap in a diamond pattern, and vigorously massage the rub in on all sides. Let the meat rest covered in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably overnight.

  2. Cook low and slow

    Preheat the oven to 120 °C top/bottom heat. Place the meat in a roasting pan with the fat cap facing up, pour the apple juice around the edges, and cover everything tightly with a lid or aluminum foil. Slide the roasting pan into the oven and leave it alone for six hours. Resist the urge to constantly check on it, as every opening costs temperature and time.

  3. Form a crust

    Remove the lid, increase the temperature to 160 °C, and let the meat cook uncovered for another 60 to 90 minutes. Now liquid evaporates and the dark, savory crust forms on the outside, providing texture when shredded. It is done when a fork slides into the meat without resistance.

  4. Cook the BBQ sauce

    Meanwhile, whisk together the ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and paprika in a saucepan and let everything simmer gently over low heat for ten minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy. Taste it, it should be distinctly sweet and sour, because the meat itself is quite savory.

  5. Shred and stack

    Let the meat rest for fifteen minutes and then shred it with two forks directly in the roasting pan so it absorbs the released juices again. Mix it with half of the BBQ sauce. Briefly toast the cut sides of the buns, fill them generously with pulled pork, top with coleslaw and pickles, and serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Our best tips

  • A meat thermometer saves any guesswork: at a core temperature of 92 to 95 °C, the meat falls apart on its own.
  • Do not skimp on the fat cap. It keeps the meat juicy over the long cooking time and can be easily removed at the end.
  • Pulled pork freezes excellently in portions, ideally together with a little of the roasting juices.

Tasty variations

From the slow cooker

Cook on low for 9 hours, then 20 minutes at 220 °C in the oven for the crust.

Pulled Pork Bowl

Instead of in a bun, serve over rice with corn, black beans, and avocado.

Nutrition facts

Per serving (1 portion)
Calories970 kcal
Protein60 g
Carbohydrates60 g
– of which sugar28 g
Fat53 g
Fiber3 g

Where the 970 kcal come from

per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it

We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:

  • Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
  • Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
  • Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
  • Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.

A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.

How we calculate nutrition →

Frequently asked questions

Which cut of meat do I need?

Pork shoulder, also known as pork butt. It has enough fat and connective tissue. Lean cuts like tenderloin or loin do not fall apart, but become dry.

What is the plateau phase?

Between 70 and 80 °C, the core temperature often stalls for hours because moisture evaporates and cools. This is normal, just keep cooking and do not turn up the temperature.

Can I make it the day before?

Yes, very well. Store shredded with a little juice in the fridge and reheat covered at 150 °C the next day.

How many calories are in a pulled pork burger?

One burger out of eight is around 684 kcal. The bun and BBQ sauce contribute more than most suspect. The meat itself is lean if you skim off the rendered fat before shredding.

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