Pulled Pork

Ring in grilling season with this utterly spectacular backyard BBQ treat.

Bonus: There are BBQ Sauce Recipes if you read to the end!

This is an all day project that requires almost no effort. Once you get it going, you just gotta check on it every hour or so, freeing you up to do other stuff.

It’s a great way to spend a day at home, enjoying the maddening scent of pork and smoke while you relax, read a book, or catch up on other projects at home.

This is more of a technique than a recipe, and will yield swoon-worthy results.

You Will Need:

1. A grill, smoker, or charcoal grill. Any of the above will work assuming you can keep the temp at grate-level between 275°F – 300°F, or somewhere in that ballpark.
2. An aluminum tray or pan, filled with water
3. A probe thermometer with at least two probes – one to measure the internal temperature of the pork, and a second one to monitor the temp at grate level
4. A 10-inch cast iron skillet or smoker box
5. Wood Chunks (not chips) – I like a 50/50 combination pecan and apple for pork, but hickory or oak – or a combination – are all good. Avoid Mesquite as it’s flavor is too strong for a long smoke.
6. A spray bottle, for spritzing the pork

Ingredients

1. A 5lb – 8lb (or bigger) bone in pork shoulder roast, also known as a pork butt, Boston butt, or blade roast
2. A healthy squirt of Dijon mustard – perhaps 1/4 cup (enough to cover the surface of the roast)
3. 1/2 cup Basic BBQ Rub – or store-bought is fine if you have one you like.
4. 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
5. 1/2 Cup Water

Instructions & Timeline

Note: There’s a lot of sciency stuff, research, and development that went into this – but this is a gameplan, not a novella. If you follow the steps and timeline below, you’ll have a great end product.

Be sure to read this article as a primer – whether you’re using gas, a traditional smoker, or a charcoal grill, all the same principles apply.

The following timeline is if you want to eat at 8:00PM – if you want to eat earlier, adjust accordingly.

9:00AM: Rise, get coffee on (I’m assuming you slept in, since this is a day-off kind of project)

9:30AM: Get grill going and temp stabilized

• Wood chunks in cast iron skillet or smoker box, directly on favorizer bars or hot coals
• Place drip pan underneath grate where pork is going to go, and fill half way with water

9:45AM: PREP

• Trim fat cap; slather with mustard; apply BBQ rub generously, being sure to cover the entire roast (it should look like it was rolled in wet sand).
• Mix Apple Cider Vinegar and Water in spray bottle
• Insert 1 probe of thermometer into deepest, coldest part of your pork roast (should probably register somewhere between 35°F – 42°F
• Place 2nd probe of thermometer near grate level. A lot of probes come with a clippy thing designed for this purpose, but if you don’t have that, just stick the probe all the way through half an onion, place the onion on the grate cut-side down, so that the tip of the probe is an inch or so above grate level

10:00AM: Pork on the grill 

11:00AM: Spritz – 50/50 Apple Cider Vinegar/Water.  Check wood chunks, adding more as needed.

12:00PM: Spritz; check wood chunks 

1:00PM: Spritz; check wood chunks 

2:00PM: Spritz; check wood chunks 

3:00PM: Stall

The temperature will have stopped climbing. Fat cap broken. Internal temp between 155°F-170°F.  Spritz; check wood chunks. One hour to go before wrapping. 

4:00PM: Spritz one last time, then wrap as follows:

• Remove probe from pork
• Double or triple-wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil, making sure it’s tightly sealed and no juices can escape
• Poke instant read thermometer through foil
• Continue to cook for another 1 to 2 hours at 275°F-300°F (or transfer to oven if need be) 
• Heat can be increased to 325°F if needed. 
• No need for more smoke at this time. 
• Remove pork from cooker/oven at 195°F (anywhere between 190°F-200°F is okay)

5:00PM – 8:00PM: Finish and Rest

Pork Should Hit Target Temp Sometime Between 5:00PM – 7:00PM, then rest for 1 to 4 hours

• Keep pork wrapped in foil.
• Wrap in towel and transfer to cooler or turned off oven. 
• Rest in cooler or turned off oven for at least 1 hour (and up to 4) before shredding 

Bonus Tracks – BBQ Sauces!

 Sauce #1: Sweet and Smoky (Kansas City Style)

Note: These proportions are approximate – BBQ sauce is definitely a taste as you go kind of thing.

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• Juice from 1/2 lemon 
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup, or dark honey 
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (or other) 
• 2 tablespoons bourbon 
• 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 
• 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dried mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/8 teaspoon Wright’s liquid smoke 
• Pinch Kosher Salt 
• 1 cup water

Stir everything together. Bring to a boil over high heat; lower to medium heat, stirring occasionally, and reduce until it has a lightly syrupy consistency about like room-temperature maple syrup). Cool to room temperature (1 hour) and refrigerate 

Sauce # 2: Hot and Tangy (East-Carolina Style)

• 4 oz Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce 
• 4 oz apple cider vinegar 
• 2 oz Dijon mustard 
• 2 oz Sweet and Smoky BBQ Sauce, above 

Shake or stir well, and refrigerate