Smoked Pulled Pork

Name: Smoked Pulled Pork
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 12 h
Total time: 12 h 30 min
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 2 tbsp light brown sugar; 30 g (5 tsp) fine sea salt, about 1.2% of the meat weight; 2 tbsp sweet smoked paprika; 1 tbsp black pepper, coarsely ground; 2 tsp garlic powder; 2 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp cayenne; 1 tsp dry mustard powder; 2½ kg (5½ lb) bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt); 2 tbsp yellow mustard, as a binder; 120 ml (½ cup) apple juice, mixed with 60 ml (¼ cup) cider vinegar, for spritzing; wood chunks or chips, hickory, apple or cherry; 3–4 chunks or 2 handfuls of soaked chips; 250 ml (1 cup) cider vinegar; 2 tbsp ketchup; 1 tbsp light brown sugar; 1 tsp chili flakes; 1 tsp fine sea salt; 10 soft buns, the pork itself is gluten- and dairy-free; use gluten-free buns if needed; Coleslaw and pickles, coleslaw adds egg, milk, mustard and celery; check pickles for sulphites

A slow-cooked pork shoulder, bark-crusted and tender enough to pull apart

Serves: 10
Hands-on: 30 min
Total: 12 h 30 min
Level: Project

This is the low-and-slow project of the barbecue world: a pork shoulder rubbed with sugar, salt and spices and cooked over indirect heat with smoke until it falls apart. It needs time, not skill, and feeds a crowd.

Ingredients

Rub

2 tbsplight brown sugar
30 gfine sea salt (5 tsp)about 1.2% of the meat weight
2 tbspsweet smoked paprika
1 tbspblack peppercoarsely ground
2 tspgarlic powder
2 tsponion powder
1 tspcayenne
1 tspdry mustard powder

Pork

2½ kgbone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt) (5½ lb)
2 tbspyellow mustardas a binder
120 mlapple juice (½ cup)mixed with 60 ml (¼ cup) cider vinegar, for spritzing
wood chunks or chipshickory, apple or cherry; 3–4 chunks or 2 handfuls of soaked chips

Vinegar sauce

250 mlcider vinegar (1 cup)
2 tbspketchup
1 tbsplight brown sugar
1 tspchili flakes
1 tspfine sea salt

To serve

10soft bunsthe pork itself is gluten- and dairy-free; use gluten-free buns if needed
Coleslaw and picklescoleslaw adds egg, milk, mustard and celery; check pickles for sulphites

Allergens: mustard, gluten, sulphites, egg, milk, celery
Origin: United States (Southern barbecue)

Method

The night before (or at least 2 hours ahead), mix the rub. Pat the pork dry, smear it thinly with mustard and coat all over with the rub. Refrigerate uncovered. 2 h
Set up the grill for indirect heat at 110–125°C (225–250°F): on charcoal, light half a chimney of briquettes and bank them on one side with a foil tray of water on the other side under the grate; on gas, light one burner on low and leave the rest off.
Add the wood to the coals, or in a foil packet with holes over the lit burner.
Place the pork fat-side up over the cool side, lid closed, vents half open. Keep the temperature steady, adding 8–10 briquettes every hour or so and more wood for the first 2–3 hours only.
After 3 hours, spritz with the apple-vinegar mixture every hour. The surface will turn a deep mahogany crust (bark). 3 h
When the meat reaches about 70°C (160°F) — usually around 5–6 hours — it may stall there for hours. To push through, wrap it tightly in a double layer of foil or butcher paper with a splash of the spritz and return it to the grill. 2 h
Continue until the internal temperature reaches 93–96°C (200–205°F) and a probe slides in with almost no resistance, 9–11 hours in total. The bone should wiggle loose. 4 h
Rest the pork, still wrapped, in a cool box or on the counter under towels, for at least 1 hour (it stays hot for up to 3). 1 h
Meanwhile simmer the vinegar sauce ingredients for 2 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
Pull the meat into shreds with two forks or gloved hands, discarding the bone and any large lumps of fat. Toss with some of the vinegar sauce and the juices from the wrap. Serve in buns with coleslaw, pickles and more sauce.

Why it works

Pork shoulder is full of collagen, which needs long hours at around 70–90°C (160–195°F) to melt into gelatin; that is what makes the meat moist and pullable. The 'stall' happens when moisture evaporating from the surface cools the meat as fast as the grill heats it; wrapping stops the evaporation. Salt applied the night before has time to move deep into the meat.

Common mistakes

Pulling the meat at 74°C (165°F): it is safe but tough. It needs to reach about 93°C (200°F) to pull.
Opening the lid too often: each time costs heat and time.
Using too much wood: heavy, white smoke tastes bitter. You want thin, bluish smoke.

Variations

Pulled pork tacos: Serve in warm corn tortillas with Quick Pickles red onion and Salsa Fresca (Pico de Gallo).

Make ahead and storage

Pulled pork keeps 4 days in the fridge and 3 months frozen with its juices. Reheat covered with a splash of apple juice at 150°C (300°F).

Notes

Oven fallback: rub as above, roast on a rack in a roasting pan at 150°C (300°F), uncovered, for 3 hours; then cover tightly with foil and continue until 93–96°C (200–205°F), 3–4 hours more. Add 1 tsp extra smoked paprika to the rub for a smoky note. Total time assumes the 2-hour minimum dry-brine, about 9 hours of cooking and a 1-hour rest; every shoulder differs, so allow up to 2 hours more and cook to temperature, not the clock. Gluten only from the buns; egg, milk and celery only from the coleslaw.