Pulled pork is a shoulder job, not a loin job. Loin is lean and will dry before it shreds. Shoulder has the fat and collagen that melt into strands after a long cook. Boneless Pork Shoulder 1.5kg is the cut, 1.5kg, which is buns for six to eight or a fridge full of leftovers. It sits in pork shoulder and in slow cooker meat with the other long cooks.
Oven pulled pork
Salt the joint the night before if you remember. Next day, sit it in a snug roasting tin with a cup of cider or stock, cover tightly with foil, and cook at 150°C for 4 to 5 hours. It is done when a fork twists and the meat gives, around 90°C internal, not at a pretty 70°C like a loin roast. Uncover for the last 20 minutes if you want a darker bark. Rest 20 minutes, then shred with two forks, mixing the juices back through. If it will not pull, it is not ready — cover and give it another 40 minutes. Shoulder does not overcook in the way a steak does; it undercooks when people get impatient.
Slow cooker and air fryer
Slow cooker: low 8 hours or high 5 to 6, with a little liquid in the bottom. Brown the joint in a pan first if you can; it is worth the extra dish. Air fryer will not do a 1.5kg shoulder in one go. You can finish shredded pork in the air fryer at 200°C for 6 minutes to crisp the edges for buns. Belly Pork Joint 1kg is a richer, smaller pulled option if 1.5kg is too much, same low heat, closer to 3 to 4 hours.
What to serve, and what not to buy
Soft buns, a sharp slaw, and a sauce. Cold pulled pork is better the next day. Do not use Pork Loin Joint 1kg for this — that joint is a sliceable roast from pork joints, and it will go dry if you try to pull it. Shoulder is the cheap, patient cut, and it feeds more people per pound than almost anything else in the pork range.
A 1.5kg shoulder looks modest in the tin and huge on the board once shredded. Portion what you will not eat today and freeze in bun-sized bags with a spoon of juice so it does not dry out. Reheat covered, then crisp the top. Shoulder is cheap because it asks for time, not because it is a lesser cut.
Low heat, tight cover, wait until it twists. That is pulled pork from a 1.5kg boneless shoulder, not a jar of sauce on a rushed chop.