Barbecue Pork Recipes – 10 Easy Recipe Ideas To Try Out!

Pork is one of the most delicious foods that you could make on your backyard BBQ. And among the countless recipes out there you could use, there are a few mouth-watering ones that you should definitely try out. From pulled pork through pork belly slices, all the way to Chinese pork chops, all these recipes are going to earn your promotion to a grill master!

Here are all the barbecue pork recipes that we will go through in this article:

Before we dive into these finger-licking ideas, make sure you check out my guide on some of the best gas/charcoal combo grills on the market currently! These will help you grill the perfect pork ribs or make the most delicious pulled pork ever!

Pulled Pork

Perhaps as one of the most commonly cooked pork dishes, pulled pork is everyone’s favorite. One of the best meats you could use for it comes from the pork shoulder which is perfect for pulling. It doesn’t have a ton of fat and creates ideally tender meat. One of the crucial parts of cooking pulled pork is doing it slowly and not rushing the whole process.

In terms of ingredients for the dish, you will need – 2 teaspoons paprika, ground cumin, pepper, brown sugar, and 1 tsp of salt. Additionally, you will need around 5.5 lbs of pork (shoulder).

Start by mixing the paprika, cumin, pepper, brown sugar, and salt. Rub them over the pork shoulder. Next up, put it in a big dish with the skin side up. Here, you can optionally put in 2 medium glasses of cider only if you want to. That is known to enhance the flavor and make the pork juicier.

Cover the casserole with a lid and cook in an oven at 300 degrees (without a fan) for up to 8 hours. Gas stoves should be at 2 or low-medium. One telltale sign that the meat is good to go is if it falls apart. Check on it every now and then. If the meat starts looking dry, add more cider (at your best judgment).

Next up, take the meat out of the oven and put the meat aside, leaving the liquids in the casserole. Remove the skin and shred the meat. If you want, you can remove any fat you see, as well as from the liquid in the casserole.

Pro Tip: Mix your favorite BBQ sauce with the leftover liquid in the casserole and set it aside for dipping.

After you’ve pulled the pork, put it back into the casserole so that it stays juicy. Serve with the BBQ sauce mix on the side and coleslaw saw seasoned by your taste.

Pull-apart pork with honey chipotle

For this recipe, you will need – 2.5 lbs of trimmer pork (shoulder). It is important to measure the weight after the rind has been cut away. All butchers know how to do that, so ask them before getting the meat. Additionally, we will need 5 tbsp of ketchup, 3 tbsp chipotle paste, 3 tbsp of honey, and red wine vinegar.

Similar to the pulled pork recipe, we need to mix all the ingredients (chipotle, honey, vinegar, and ketchup) with the pork at least a few hours ahead of the cooking. For the best results mix them 1 day prior. When mixing, rub the pork well and for even better results put it in a food bag in the fridge so that it can marinate for a while. If you want, you can turn it around from time to time.

Now, let’s get to the actual cooking! Start by preheating your oven to 320 degrees (or 3 on gas). Put the pork into a roasting tin and pour over the leftover marinate. If you want the pork to retain its juiciness, add a bit of water to the tin as well. Cover everything with a foil but make sure that the foil isn’t touching the actual meat. Bake for around 3-4 hours and then turn the oven up to 400 degrees (or 6 on gas) for around half an hour. This step could be skipped if you’re just making the pork ahead by just removing, cooling, and even chilling it after the first 4 hours.

After you’re done cooking it, shred the pork and mix the now-shredded pork with the extra chipotle and ketchup sauce.

BBQ Chinese pork chops

Grilling pork chops is every chef master’s favorite thing to do. For this recipe, we will need to go over two things – the marinade and the salad. Apart from those two, we will need 4 pork chops.

Marinade

For this, we will need – a tsp five-spice powder, half a tsp ground cinnamon, one tbsp hoisin sauce, 2 tbsp soy sauce, brown sugar, and honey, 1 tsp rice wine (or dry sherry), grated ginger (a small piece), and crushed garlic to taste.

Mix everything together and put the chops in a tray that isn’t too deep. Pour the marinade over the chops making sure it touches every part of the meat. Let it stay like that for 30-60 minutes.

Then, fully heat up your barbecue and grill the chops for around 5 minutes on each side.

For the salad, you can do your salads that go well with chops, such as curried potato salad or any other. My favorite one is made with roasted peanuts, cucumber, mint, red chili, shallot, brown sugar, lime, and fish sauce!

Baby Back Ribs

Baby back ribs are one of the most finger-licking recipes out of all on this list. They are very easy to make and will wow your guests and family!

For the recipe, you will need 1 tbsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tbsp paprika, salt and pepper (to taste), 3 lbs of baby back pork ribs, and 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce.

Start by preheating your gas grill. If it is a charcoal grill, arrange your charcoals on one side and lightly oil the grates. Combine the cumin, chili, paprika, and salt and paper into a bowl or a jar and mix them well together.

Now that you have your rub ready, start trimming the racks by using a small and sharp knife to remove the membrane of each rib. Once ready, use your rub to cover each rib from all sides. It is important to not overdo this, as you risk the ribs becoming too spicey or too dark. After you’re done with the rub, you can store it away for future baby back ribs!

If you’re cooking them on a charcoal grill, place them on a higher rack away from the burning charcoal. Additionally, you can put aluminum foil below to prevent flare-ups and drips. On a gas grill, put them on a higher rack and reduce the grill to low. Leave the ribs for around 1 hour without lifting the lid throughout the process.

After they’re ready, brush each rib with your favorite BBQ sauce and put them back in the grill for 5 additional minutes. Serve the ribs as a rack or as individual rib bones piled together.

Mustard & rosemary pork chops

This recipe is one of the simplest on the list and is also one of the quicker ways to make delicious pork chops!

For starters, you will need the following – 2 tbsp, mustard (of your choice), 3 tbsp olive oil, garlic (to taste, sliced), 3 springs of rosemary without the leaves, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and 4 pork shoulder chops, roughly 7 oz each.

Begin by mixing the oil, rosemary, mustard, garlic, and vinegar together. You can add a little bit of black pepper (and salt) if you want. Put all of that in a food bag and add the pork chops in there. Rub it all together and let it rest for around 2-4 hours.

After that time has passed, remove the chops. You can cook them on a grill or a griddle. Personally, I think griddles work better. Cook them for roughly 10 minutes turning them twice on each side. To keep them juicy, brush them with the marinade every few minutes.

Before serving, leave the chops covered loosely with tin foil and spread a bit of salt to further season them.

If you really want to learn what it takes to cook a steak or chops on a gas grill, click here to read my detailed article on the topic!

Chinese pork ribs

If you’re looking for something a bit unusual and definitely super-delicious, these Chinese pork ribs are just the right thing for you!

In terms of ingredients, you will need – 12 pork ribs (the more meat the better), 3 oz hoisin sauce, 2 tbsp of your favorite soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp vinegar or wine, 1 tbsp five-spice powder (Chinese ones give the best result here).

Start by putting the ribs in a pan and covering them with water. Boil them for around 15 minutes at low heat. In a separate bowl, put the hoisin sauce and mix it with the honey, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and vinegar.

Once the ribs are done boiling, drain them well and brush them with the marinade. If you’re cooking them later, chill and cover them for now.

Heat your barbecue to high and cook the ribs for around 20 minutes turning them every few minutes. What you’re looking for is a slightly charred and shiny look. Serve them while they’re hot.

Pork belly slices

Pork belly slices aren’t as widely known as the other recipes here but are just as delicious. There are a number of ways for pork belly slices to be cooked but few are the ones that really stand out.

For this particular recipe, we will be using – 4 tbsp ketchup,  and 1 tbsp of each Worcestershire sauce, light brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce (dark), mustard (preferably English), and crushed garlic to taste.

Start by pre-heating the oven to 320 degrees (4 on gas). In the meantime, dry out the slices with paper and season them to taste with pepper and salt. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and put them together with the slices in a tin for roasting. Cover it neatly with foil and roast it for around 90 minutes until the meat gets tender.

Then, remove the foil and put the tin on the grill. The grill must be on high (or very high). Grill for a few minutes, turning it over once and dipping it into the remaining sauce in the tin. The slices have to become charred and the marinade needs to get thicker due to all the water evaporating from it.

There are a number of ways in which you can serve this recipe. My personal favorite is as a sandwich – between buns with chopped coleslaw.

Jerk Pork & pineapple skewers

This one is one of the more visually impressive recipes on this list. It is certainly made to impress your guests and will look and taste amazing once you’re done!

For it, we will need the following ingredients – 1 lb or pork fillet (cut into small chunks), 2 tbsp jerk seasoning, 1 tsp ground allspice, 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp of your favorite chili sauce, limes, pineapple cut into chunks, 7 oz of basmati rice, and canned black beans (14 oz rinsed and drained).

The first thing you need to do is mix the pork with the allspice, chili, and jerk seasoning. You can use lime zest to taste here. Then, let the pork sit for a while like that and start threading it onto your skewers.

Pro Tip: If you’re using wooden skewers, you can “season” them by soaking them beforehand in either regular water or a seasoning of your choice.

Once your skewers are ready, brush them with vegetable oil. Put the skewers aside while you’re cooking the rice. Once the rice is ready, cook and stir it together with the beans.

Then, heat your griddle pan until it reaches its peak temperature. Cook all the skewers for around 3 minutes on each side until you see that the pork is charred and well-cooked.

Serve it with the cooked rice and beans mix, additional chili sauce, and lime wedges.

BBQ pork belly

This recipe is a definite fan favorite and unites lovers of all types of pork meat. Thanks to the nicely charred pork belly and the sticky barbecue sauce, this is always a delicious idea to present to your guests! The hard thing about this particular recipe is that it needs a lot of beforehand preparation. Some of the things you will have to prepare at least 4-5 days in advance so the sooner you get started the better!

For it, we will need to prepare the rub and barbecue sauce separately.

The Rub

For the rub, we will need – 1 tbsp of black peppercorns, 1 tbsp of fennel seeds, 2 tbsp cumin seeds, 2-4 dried bay leaves, 3-4 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp oregano (dried), and around 1.6 oz brown sugar.

To mix all that, put the fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and peppercorns in a hot pan and grind them with the bay leaves. Gradually add the other ingredients as you’re mixing everything together. After it’s ready, put it in a container for a few days.

The Barbecue Sauce

For the BBQ sauce, we will be needing – 5 oz ketchup, 3.5 oz apple juice and apple vinegar, 1 tbsp of mustard (preferably American), and 3 tbsp brown sugar. You can also add a splash of chili to this mix if that’s your thing.

Mix the sauce until the sugar is completely dissolved. If you want the sauce to get thicker, put it in a saucepan for a few minutes so that it boils out a bit. After it is ready, it can be kept in a fridge for up to 5-6 days. In fact, it is better to leave the sauce to “age” a bit for at least a day or two but not doing that isn’t going to ruin the recipe.

Once you’re ready with everything, it is time to get to the cooking. If you want, you can season the pork with salt before you put it on the grill. That isn’t essential, however. Now, start your charcoal grill by having the charcoals on one side only. Have a drip tray on the other side and close the lid. Open the air vents a little bit so that some air passes through. The temperature of the inside of the grill should be around 230 degrees (Fahrenheit).

Brush the rub all over the pork and put some more charcoals and woodchips on the grill. Put the pork with the bone-side facing downwards inside the drip tray and have it placed underneath your grill vents. Let it cook for around 6 hours and only open the grill in order to add more coal and woodchips every now and then. A good indicator that the process is going accordingly is having a narrow and light smoke stream coming out of your vent.

Once your pork reaches around 250 degrees (Fahrenheit) on the meat thermometer, brush it all over with the BBQ sauce. Once the sauce is glazed, remove the meat from the barbecue and slice it into chops. Serve the meat with extra sauce on top.

BBQ pork steaks with smoky corn

Out of all the recipes we went through, this one is the fastest to prepare and won’t take you more than half an hour.

For the ingredients, we will need – 4 tsp of ketchup, 2 tbsp sugar (muscovado), 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp paprika, and 1 tbsp of butter. Additionally, we will need 4 corn on the cobs and 4 pork loin steaks (preferably with the fat trimmed away).

Start by using a large pan to boil some water for the corn. Meanwhile, start making your sauce by mixing the sugar, vinegar, ketchup, and half the paprika. Brown your pork for 3-5 minutes on each side on a frying pan. Put the sauce in after 2-3 minutes of cooking it and turn the pork steaks. Cook until the meat is sticky.

When the corn is done boiling (shouldn’t take more than 6-8 minutes), take it out and leave it for now. Use the remaining paprika and mix it with the butter. Then, put that mix inside a microwave on high for around half a minute until the butter melts and the paprika starts sizzling. Brush the corn with the paprika/butter mix and serve with the pork steaks.

If you want to learn about the process of smoking and see what the best woods for smoking different kinds of meat are, read this article. Additionally, make sure you check my detailed article on some of the best meats you can smoke!

Frequently Asked Questions

What pork is the best one for a BBQ?

There are plenty of good pork parts that will be delicious no matter how you cook them. For ribs, using the baby back ribs is going to be the best cut. If you’re set on making pulled pork, then use the shoulder cut. It consists of the front leg and shoulder of the pig and is typically divided into two separate cuts in the store. One cut is called the “Boston roast” and the other is the “Picnic roast”.

Do you cook pulled pork covered or uncovered?

I would definitely say “both” to this question. In the beginning, cook the pork covered, then there will be a 10-minute period of cooking the pork at a lower temperature uncovered. In the end, you can cover it with a foil tent and let it rest for 30 minutes.

What is the highest quality pork?

One of the best porks in the work is Berkshire pork. It is renowned by chefs across the world for its great quality and is as prized as Kobe beef in Japan. It has a moist texture and unique marbling to it.

Should you wrap a pork shoulder in tinfoil?

In the BBQ world, wrapping pork in its final cooking stages is known as the “Texas crutch”. It is a good way to finish cooking the pork without risking any drying out. It is especially handy if you’ve smoked the meat for more than 10 hours.

Final Words

If you really want to be a grill master, then trying out different barbecue pork recipes is a mandatory process. There are countless recipes and ideas out there that can make you a more versatile chef and much more experienced on the grill. No matter what your favorite way of cooking pork is, you have to try out all of the recipes we just went through!