Go Back
+ servings
A burger bun with shredded meat and coleslaw
Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes

Steam Oven Pulled Pork

Pulled pork made in a steam oven is tender, juicy and fabulous, and takes far less time and effort than its traditionally barbecued cousin.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 10 minutes
Course: lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: oven pulled pork, pulled pork, steam oven pulled pork
Servings: 6
Calories: 446kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Put the pork into a large deep casserole pot. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a small bowl and rub all over the pork. Really get into the crevasses to make sure the rub covers the entire surface of the meat.
  • Put the pot in your steam oven (no lid required) and set to 250°F/120°C, combination steam setting. If your oven has variable steam settings, choose 30% (if not, doesn’t matter! Just choose combi steam and let the oven figure out the humidity).
  • Cook until the meat is fork-tender and shreds easily, anywhere from three to four hours. A couple of times during cooking, baste the meat with the juices which collect in the bottom of the pot.
  • Cover and leave the cooked meat to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before shredding with a couple of forks or your hands. Dress with a generous amount of the cooking liquid (or a lesser amount plus the vinegar sauce mentioned above) and serve as you please.
  • Leftovers are almost as good the next day, heated up using the reheat function in your steam oven.

Notes

You can increase or decrease the amount of meat: although I’ve specified 2kg (4.4lbs), anything from 1.5-3kg (3.3-6.6lbs) will take a similar time to cook. As for the amount of rub you should use, the quantities here will do the amount of meat specified, but I often triple or quadruple the mixture and store the rest in a jar for next time. It’ll keep for at least a couple of months in a dark spot in the pantry.
Want some extra smokiness? I have tried this with a tiny dash of liquid smoke before – I find it a bit overpowering but I know some people (including my husband) love it. I’ll leave it to you, but try not to go overboard as the aroma doesn’t evaporate away very much in the steam oven.
I like to mix the cooked and pulled meat with some of the cooking liquid that accumulates in the bottom of the pot (fat and all – that rendered fat carries the most amazing flavour). If you want to add a vinegar sauce don't go too heavy on the cooking liquid. The two of those things together have potential for making your meat very salty.
If you’re wondering, the bun you see in the image is a brioche roll. Non-traditional but very delicious. If I were US-based I’d be looking for potato rolls, which I adore but I’ve never seen available here.

Nutrition

Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 77g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 204mg | Sodium: 960mg | Potassium: 1301mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 390IU | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 3.2mg