Pulled Pork Barbecue

Pulled Pork Barbecue, Slow Smoked, with a Spicy Homemade Barbecue Sauce

The Dry Rub:

2 Tbsp Salt

2 Tbsp White Sugar

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Ground Cumin

2 Tbsp Chili Powder

2 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper

1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper

¼ Cup Paprika

The Sauce:

1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Cup Ketchup

½ Cup Water

2 Tbsp Minced Onions

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Molasses

2 Tbsp Mustard

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tbsp Paprika

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

2 Tsp Oregano

2 Tsp Thyme

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Black Pepper

1 Tsp Cayenne

The Meat:

8-12 Lbs Pork Shoulder

Preparation:

Unwrap the pork and rinse briefly.  Dab dry with a paper towel.  Do not remove any fat or the thick hide that likely accompanies the shoulder.  The fat helps keep the meat moist while cooking, and much will drip away slowly anyway.  The skin is a wonderfully natural barrier between your heat source and the meat.  And once everything’s been cooked for many hours, all the unwanted excess will pull away from the meant easily.

Dry-rub the seasonings onto all sides of the meat, except for the skin.  Be sure to work it into every crevice.  Wrap the meat and place in the refrigerator for 12-16 hours to allow the flavors from the rub to work their way into the meat.

About a half hour before you’re ready to start smoking the meat, get some charcoal going and place in the bottom of your smoker or grill.  If you’re using a smoker, you can likely use a bit more charcoal initially than if you’re limited to a regular charcoal grill because the distance between the heat source in a smoker is a few times greater than that of a regular charcoal grill.  Therefore, the chance for burning the meat will be a bit greater in a regular charcoal grill.

My smoker, and therefore I assume all smokers, come with a metal pan that seems to fit well on some hooks located a few inches below the meat rack.  I’ve found this to be not only an excellent fat dripping tray, but a very effective heat shield.  Thus, the meat is protected from the most direct of radiant heat, and cooks more smoothly throughout.  The tray has yet another added benefit all that dripping fat burns off, forming excess smoke.  I can’t be positive, but I assume this smoke can only add to the flavor of the meat.

Check the temperature of your smoker and make sure it’s in a good range.  If you have an actual temperature gauge, shoot for around 220 – 250 degrees.  If you have time to spare, you could even cook the meet around 200, but of course, this extends the cooking time.

Add the meat to the smoker and insert a temperature probe (if you have one) that can monitor the temperature continuously.  Close the lid and wait…which could be anywhere from 6 to 16 hours, depending on the thickness of the meat and the cooking temperature.  You’ll need to periodically replace charcoal to keep the heat going.  Have at least one full bag on-hand, preferably the natural type.  Did you know that the more common charcoal briquettes have coal dust in them?  Once I learned that, I decided to not use that charcoal whenever possible.

Your goal is to cook the meat until its internal temperature reaches 185 degrees.  I’ve read that it’s at this temperature (or very near it) that the tissue fibers themselves break down, resulting in a sweeter, soft meat that we all love as pulled pork.  In fact, when cooked correctly, the entire pork shoulder should very simply be able to be “pulled” apart. 

Once cooked, you have two main options:

1. Serve the pork immediately as-is.  Provide your guests with sauce(s) and buns, and of course, a large fork so they can pull the pork off the bone.


2. I prefer to go with option 2, which is what I’ll describe below.

Allow the pork to cool for about a half hour or until cool enough to begin pulling the meat.  Do so in whatever way works best.  Chunks of meat longer than 1-2” (your choice) measured along the lines of the muscle should be cut into smaller pieces.

Throw everything into a large Dutch oven or crock pot.  Mix all the ingredients listed above for the sauce and add to the pot.  Cook everything for an hour or two, periodically using a spoon to press any chunky pieces of meat against the sides / bottom of the pot to break apart.  If the mixture seems to need a bit of moisture, add water and/or vinegar as you deem appropriate.

Serve your pork directly from the pot or Dutch oven, piping hot, with the heartiest buns you can find.  Be sure to provide some Brawny paper towels, because simple napkins probably won’t be enough.  Hope you enjoy it.

- Jeremy -