A Scratch-Made Meal That’s Rich, Rustic, and Ridiculously Good
If you’re anything like me, there’s something mesmerizing about the idea of slow-cooked BBQ pork—the kind that perfumes your galley or kitchen with rich, smoky aromas, promising a meal that warms the heart and makes your taste buds dance. But let’s be honest—when it comes to truly good BBQ, nothing compares to the depth of flavor you get from doing it all from scratch.
Today I’m excited to share one of my absolute favorite comfort food recipes: One-Pot BBQ Pork, made in your Dutch oven or slow cooker, with a fully homemade sauce that you build right alongside the meat. No store-bought shortcuts here—just real ingredients, slow-cooked flavor, and minimal cleanup.
Why Scratch-Made?
We’ve all been tempted by bottled sauces—convenient, sure, but often filled with high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and flavors that just don’t hit right. Why spend hours lovingly cooking a beautiful cut of pork only to drown it in something mass-produced?
This recipe is about doing justice to the meat—by creating a rub from real spices and building the sauce from the bottom up, in the same pot. Every bite of pork becomes infused with the smoky, savory, spicy notes of the sauce it cooks in. It’s the kind of flavor you simply can’t buy in a bottle.
The Beauty of the Dutch Oven (or Crockpot)
A Dutch oven is a galley staple in my home on the water—its thick, heavy construction distributes heat evenly, retains moisture, and works just as beautifully in the oven as it does on the stovetop. It’s perfect for this recipe because it lets the sauce and pork mingle for hours, slowly transforming into fork-tender perfection.
No Dutch oven? No problem. A slow cooker works too! You can build your sauce on the stove, then transfer it all into the crockpot and let it do the work while you go about your day.
Final Thoughts
There’s something powerful about scratch-made food—it connects us to tradition, to care, and to the joy of creating something truly good. This One-Pot BBQ Pork is more than just a meal—it’s an experience. It’s about slowing down, cooking with intention, and savoring each bite.
So roll up your sleeves, heat up your Dutch oven (or plug in that Crockpot), and get ready to fill your kitchen with the kind of rich, smoky aroma that lets everyone know something amazing is on the way.
Enjoy the process—and even more, enjoy the flavor.
One-Pot BBQ Pork in the Dutch Oven
Equipment
- 7 quart dutch oven or large crock pot
Ingredients
Spice Rub:
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Chili powder
- 2 tbsp Paprika
- 2 tbsp Ground mustard
- 1 tbsp Onion powder
- 1 tbsp Garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Dried celery
- 1 tbsp Dried oregano
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/8-1/4 tsp Cayenne
- 1 tsp Freshly gound black pepper
Pork
- 4-5 LB Boston butt, cut into chunks(If bone-in, cut around the bone—it adds flavor and will fall right out after cooking)
- Half the spice rub (the rest is for the sauce)
Sauce
- 1 tbsp Avocado oil
- 1 Onion, diced
- 1 Serrano pepper, chopped
- 1 Jalapeño pepper, chopped
- 2 Poblano peppers, chopped
- Adjust spice with bell peppers or extra hot peppers as desired
- 1 Dried Anaheim pepper (rinsed and broken up)
- 2 Dried Ancho peppers (rinsed and broken up)
- 1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup Homemade ketchup If you do not have homemade ketchup use 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- Two 17-oz boxes Pomi tomato sauce I like the pomi as the only ingrediet is tomato.
- 1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Hot sauce
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Spice rub
- Use a whisk to combine all of the spice rub ingredients togeather.
Pork
- Rub pork with half the spice rub and let it rest while you build the sauce. If you’ve got time, let it marinate overnight.
Build the sauce
- Preheat oven to 300°F.Heat oil in the Dutch oven. Sauté onion and peppers, fresh and dried, ntil softened.Add garlic, then vinegar and remaining spice rub. Simmer 2–3 minutes.Stir in, molasses, ketchup or tomato paste, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and salt. Mix well.
- If using a crockpot start the sauce in a pot on on the stove top and trasfer to your crockpot.
- Nestle the pork (and bone) in the sauce.Cover and cook for 4–5 hours at 300°F until tender.6-8 on low for crockpot
Finish the Dish
- Remove the pork and discard the bone after removing the pork from it.Shred the meat and strain the sauce to remove skins and solids—you’ll be left with 4 cups of pure BBQ gold.Serve pork tossed with the sauce or spoon it over as you like.
How to Serve
- This pork is wonderfully versatile:Pile it on a soft bun for classic pulled pork sandwichesServe it with cornbread and slaw for a down-home BBQ plateStuff it into baked potatoes for an easy weeknight dinnerLayer it over nachos or make tacos—yes, seriouslyThis is a recipe built for gatherings, meal prep, or just treating yourself to something special without having to fuss over multiple pots and pans.