North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork
Why I Love This Recipe
Pork butt receives a vigorous, spicy rubdown, then is slowly smoked until tender. The meat is then pulled and simmered in a piquant vinegar sauce
Ingredients You'll Need
1 tablespoon mild paprika
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons hot paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground black
pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 pounds pork butt roast
2 cups cider vinegar 1 1/3 cups water
5/8 cup ketchup
1/4 cup firmly packed brown
sugar
5 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons crushed red
pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground black
pepper
1 teaspoon ground white
pepper
2 pounds hickory wood chips,
soaked
Directions
In a small bowl, mix mild paprika, light brown sugar, hot paprika, celery salt, garlic salt, dry mustard, ground black pepper, onion powder, and salt. Rub spice mixture into the roast on all sides. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
Prepare a grill for indirect heat.
Sprinkle a handful of soaked wood over coals, or place in the smoker box of a gas grill. Place pork butt roast on the grate over a drip pan. Cover grill, and cook pork at least 6 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 195 degrees F (200 degrees C). Check hourly, adding fresh coals and hickory chips as necessary to maintain heat and smoke.
Remove pork from heat and place on a cutting board. Allow the meat to cool approximately 15 minutes, then shred into bite-sized pieces using two forks. This requires patience.
In a medium bowl, whisk together cider vinegar, water, ketchup, brown sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and white pepper. Continue whisking until brown sugar and salt have dissolved. Place shredded pork and vinegar sauce in a large roasting pan, and stir to coat pork. Serve immediately, or cover and keep warm on the grill for up to one hour until serving
