Pulled Pork Teriyaki for a Crowd

This recipe for fall-apart tender, succulent pulled pork teriyaki is for serving a crowd of 25, 50, or even 100 people. Cooked in advance in slow cookers or in the oven, this fail-safe recipe is suitable for beginners, easily scales up or down, and is great for church suppers, fundraisers, entertaining, large gatherings, and more.

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Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian-inspired

Keyword: pulled pork for 50, pulled pork for a crowd, teriyaki pulled pork

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 4

Total Time: 4 10

Calories: 606kcal

Author: Erica

Servings: 25 people

Equipment

hotel pan

Ingredients

15 lbs bone-in, Boston butt pork roast see Notes
black pepper
all-purpose seasoning blend see Notes
12 oz Lawry's Teriyaki Marinade with Pineapple Juice see Notes
2 Tbsp cornstarch plus 2 Tbsp cold water
garnish: sesame seeds, chopped green onion, flat-leaf parsley optional

Instructions

Prepare the pork

Season the pork with black pepper and all-purpose seasoning. Divide meat between two slow cookers, Dutch ovens, or heavy roasting pans.
Pour 6 oz (~1/2 bottle) teriyaki marinade over the meat in one cooker and the rest of the bottle over the meat in the other cooker.

Cooking in slow cookers

Cover slow cookers with lids, cook on high heat for 4 hours until pull-apart tender.

Cooking in the oven

Heat oven to 250℉.
Cover Dutch ovens, if using, with lids or roasting pans with a double layer of heavy-duty foil.
Cook pork in the oven until pull-apart tender (~6-8 hours)

To finish the pork

Transfer meat to serving pans (such as hotel pans) and shred. Cover with foil to retain moisture.
Into a bowl or glass measuring cup, strain juices from pan/cooker to end up with 2 cups reserved juice. Put in the fridge to solidify the fat layer on top.

This is an overnight stopping point! Store cooked meat in pans covered tightly with foil. Put the strained juices (also covered) in the fridge to solidity the fat layer on top for easy removal.

Discard the chilled, solid fat layer. Transfer juices into a medium saucepan. (Completely cold, the juices may gel up - this is completely fine and it will return to juice when heated.)
Heat the juices over medium-high heat, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in an equal part cold water and add to the saucepan. Gently simmer, stirring, until thickened.
Spoon teriyaki sauce over meat. Use just enough to moisten and flavor the meat.
Reheat the meat in the oven at 250-350℉. Stir and check the meat regularly as it reheats. If desired, serve topped with sesame seeds, green onion, and parsley.

Notes

For the amount of pork, 8 lbs is a starting point. Please see the body of this post for guidelines for serving sizes, starting amounts, and bone-in vs boneless cuts of pork.

I am in love with Spanglish Asadero seasoning blend and I put in on and in everything. It might seem odd for an Asian recipe, but that's what I still use.

I prefer Lawry's marinade because it is easy to get, cheap, and flavorful. It is on the salty side, so with the all-purpose seasoning which also has salt, I don't add more salt. If you use different ingredients, taste your pork for seasoning at the end.

Note, the 2 cups reserved juices is for 25 servings. Use 4 cups juices (1/4 cup cornstarch) for 50 servings; 6 cups (1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp cornstarch) for 75; and 8 cups (1/2 cups cornstarch) for 100 servings.

Nutrition