Anyone made Whole30 pulled pork? Sugar free pulled pork rub recipe needed

[mng024]

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations, wife is doing Whole30. Also deciding if I want to mop/spritz or just do liquid in the pan, going to have to do a mix of ACV and apple juice and can't use any worchestire or mustard or ketchup ...

 

[Jonok]

Paprika, salt, pepper, (black and cayenne), granulated garlic, onion powder, cumin and allspice to taste.
Would probably spritz with apple juice if you want any sort of organized bark.

 

[mng024]

Paprika, salt, pepper, (black and cayenne), granulated garlic, onion powder, cumin and allspice to taste.
Would probably spritz with apple juice if you want any sort of organized bark.

Why do you say that regarding the spritz?

 

[Jonok]

The sugar in the apple juice will carmelize and thicken like a glaze, whereas vinegar will just evaporate and not leave any significant residue.

 

[tallbm]

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations, wife is doing Whole30. Also deciding if I want to mop/spritz or just do liquid in the pan, going to have to do a mix of ACV and apple juice and can't use any worchestire or mustard or ketchup ...

You are probably going to get quite a few options to choose from with a question like this but here goes my answer/approach

Since Whole30 moves away from sugar and carbs (but fiber is fine) I would assume that apple juice should probably be used sparingly if a all. Also, plain yellow mustard is usually carb and sugar free so it should be ok to use if you want. In any case my following go-to approach doesn't use either and is super simple yet makes AMAZING pulled pork WITH good bark.

My Go-To Pork Butt Approach (naturally Whole30 and Keto friendly)
Seasoning/rub = Course/Cracked Black Pepper X2, Salt, Onion, Garlic, and Paprika (as you can see no sugar here at all)
Process:

• Pull the pork butt out of the cryovac packaging
• Heavily season the pork butt while it is wet and juicy from just coming out of the bag. The seasoning will have no problem sticking
• Smoke at 275F uncovered the entire time, no spritzing of any kind. This will give you plenty of bark and it should NOT dry out at all, and it should cook at roughly 1 pound an hour. You can put a pan on the rack under the pork butt to catch any drippings. Sometimes you get fat and drippings sometimes you don't but in either case the meat always comes out the same for me, amazing and juicy!
• When the meat passes all tenderness testing (generally 203F-208F) pull it, it is done
• Wrap in double foil. I then wrap with 3 bath towels and rest on the counter until ready to shred and eat (generally about 3-4 hours). I like to time my smokes where they complete about 4-5 hours before time to eat.
• After resting if done like just mentioned, unwrap and shred in a pan.
• Add more seasoning/rub and mix in well until flavor is out of this world!
• Serve and eat. People can add BBQ sauce, ketchup, etc. etc. on their plate/meat as they like from this point.
• This makes an AMAZING pork butt that also just happens to be Whole30 (Keto as well) friendly while providing the flexibility for non-dieters to add any sweet sauce or coleslaw to the mix if they like!

As you can see the approach is simple, makes amazingly good pork butt, and just happens to be friendly for any Whole30 or Keto dieters as well as non dieters who want to pour on the sauce!

hope this info helps :)

 

[jcam222]

I make all of my rubs sugar free and likely should better track amounts for repeatability. That said I have used Splenda or Swerve to replace brown sugar in most rubs with great success. I have never had issues in getting nice bark.

 

[Jonok]

It looked to me like any sort of an added sweetener, metabolically useful or not, was verboten, while fruit juice without added sugar was ok

I will certainly defer to somebody that has actually been on the diet.

 

[schlotz]

Here is a rub from Alton Brown which we use on Pork Butts most of the time.

• 2 tsp whole cumin seed
• 2 tsp whole fennel seed
• 2 tsp whole coriander

• Grind the above three then mix with the rest below

• 2 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoon paprika, not smoked

 

[mng024]

It looked to me like any sort of an added sweetener, metabolically useful or not, was verboten, while fruit juice without added sugar was ok

I will certainly defer to somebody that has actually been on the diet.

100% fruit juice is the only sweetener you can use.

 

[mng024]

Here is a rub from Alton Brown which we use on Pork Butts most of the time.

• 2 tsp whole cumin seed
• 2 tsp whole fennel seed
• 2 tsp whole coriander

• Grind the above three then mix with the rest below

• 2 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoon paprika, not smoked

Interesting! Seems like a very strong rub with the fresh ground spices you use. With the above amounts, how many pounds would that work for?

I ended up going with 2x pepper, 1 x onion, garlic, paprika, salt

 

[Jonok]

Unsmoked paprika (which I use in my rubs) has very little flavor. It does add nice color, and is ground fine enough that it acts as a binder, making a paste when rubbed on moist meat, that sticks the coarser elements of the rub together, and to the meat.
That being said, as it is made from sweet bell, or sometimes tomato peppers, it is more than half carbohydrate by weight, and thus might not be acceptable in your diet...

 

[mng024]

Unsmoked paprika (which I use in my rubs) has very little flavor. It does add nice color, and is ground fine enough that it acts as a binder, making a paste when rubbed on moist meat, that sticks the coarser elements of the rub together, and to the meat.

Thanks? Lol

 

[schlotz]

Interesting! Seems like a very strong rub with the fresh ground spices you use. With the above amounts, how many pounds would that work for?

I ended up going with 2x pepper, 1 x onion, garlic, paprika, salt

The recipe is good for up to two 8 lb butts. Just depends on how much you use.

 

[mng024]

Unsmoked paprika (which I use in my rubs) has very little flavor. It does add nice color, and is ground fine enough that it acts as a binder, making a paste when rubbed on moist meat, that sticks the coarser elements of the rub together, and to the meat.
That being said, as it is made from sweet bell, or sometimes tomato peppers, it is more than half carbohydrate by weight, and thus might not be acceptable in your diet...

You can eat fruits and vegetables. All spices are okay unless it includes an off-plant ingredient like sugar, MSG, sulphites, etc.

 

[tallbm]

Here is a rub from Alton Brown which we use on Pork Butts most of the time.

• 2 tsp whole cumin seed
• 2 tsp whole fennel seed
• 2 tsp whole coriander

• Grind the above three then mix with the rest below

• 2 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoon paprika, not smoked

I bet that makes great pulled pork for tacos!

 

[fivetricks]

Less than 1/2 cup of rub for 2 8 lb butts?! Hogwash.

Where's the mandatory 40-80% loss in the bottom of the pan figured in? Clearly they don't rub their meats like I do mine

 

[Fueling Around]

Interesting! Seems like a very strong rub with the fresh ground spices you use. With the above amounts, how many pounds would that work for?

I ended up going with 2x pepper, 1 x onion, garlic, paprika, salt

How did it turn out?

Without the added sugars (50-75% of volume) of many recipes you don't need to mud wrap a butt. A light rub will suffice for the first butt. Determine your flavor preference and adjust rub application from the starting point.

Unsmoked paprika (which I use in my rubs) has very little flavor.
...

American paprika is worthless except for color and a touch of sweetness. Try Spanish or Hungarian paprikas in your rubs to add some wonderful flavors and a similar sweetness.

Here is a rub from Alton Brown which we use on Pork Butts most of the time.
...

Do you toast the whole seed spice in a skillet before grinding? That adds a wonderful depth to the flavors.

Where is the salt? Salt is not only flavor, but also the catalyst to transport some of the other spice flavors into the meat.

 

[schlotz]

How did it turn out?

Without the added sugars (50-75% of volume) of many recipes you don't need to mud wrap a butt. A light rub will suffice for the first butt. Determine your flavor preference and adjust rub application from the starting point.

American paprika is worthless except for color and a touch of sweetness. Try Spanish or Hungarian paprikas in your rubs to add some wonderful flavors and a similar sweetness.

Do you toast the whole seed spice in a skillet before grinding? That adds a wonderful depth to the flavors.

Where is the salt? Salt is not only flavor, but also the catalyst to transport some of the other spice flavors into the meat.

Plenty of salt in the complete butt recipe, see the link in the sig below. Toasting the seeds before grinding would bloom the flavors for sure.

 

[Fueling Around]

Plenty of salt in the complete butt recipe, see the link in the sig below. Toasting the seeds before grinding would bloom the flavors for sure.

Oh yeah, lots of salt and sugar in the whole recipe.
Definitely not Whole30 friendly

 

[schlotz]

My first post, was directed at the OP's request for a rub that is sugar free and the rub mentioned does exactly that. The salt response above was strictly in ref to your question w/out ref to Whole30. No question my complete personal recipe is not Whole30, but the rub provided is. If looking for a complete Whole30 process then one can adjust it by doing a simple brine with just salt and water, eliminating the molasses. Obviously one should also avoid the Rum sauce recommendation at the end.