
Pulled Pork
A great dish, if you're willing to wait
Buying:
The quality of meat is important when making pulled pork. I look for pork shoulder or pork butt — they are the same thing. I look for a good fat cap and something, not too small — 7+ lbs. Furthermore, since we have to sit through the long cook, I opt for making large quantities of it so I have leftovers.
Prepping:
Making pulled pork will take all day so be prepared to wake up at 6:30 in the morning. The 12-14 hour cook is going to be very, very long. So have some cold drinks and something else to read or watch.
To prepare the meat, liberally coat each side with your choice of spice rub. I opt to use a homemade spice rub that contains salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, and brown sugar. This gives me great flavor and control of what is going in the meat.
Then, insert a temperature probe into the thickest part of the meat.
Smoking:
Heat the smoker to 250F and add a couple of chunks of applewood to the smoker. Let it come up to a stable temp and then add a heat stone and the meat. Make sure the meat is FAT CAP UP, so that it will baste the meat throughout the cook.
Then, let the meat smoke for about 6-8 hours checking the temperature every 30-45 minutes. After this time, the meat should reach a temp of 160-190F. The temperature in the smoker will affect the cooking time of the meat drastically which is why there is such a big range of time.
At 160- 190F, the “stall” will happen. The stall is when meat juices will start to evaporate so the internal temperature won’t heat up. This is when we will wrap the meat in tinfoil. The wrap will prevent the juices from escaping, which allows the meat to continue cooking. Double wrap the pork and then place it back onto the grill for another 6-8 hours. The internal temp should reach 203F during this time and that is when you should take the pork off the smoker.
Resting:
Resting the pork is big part of its cook process. Take the pork, wrap it in a towel, and then place it in an empty cooler. Let the meat rest for 1 hour or longer before pulling. If you are making this for a party this is when people should arrive. Do not put yourself in the situation of everyone looking at you while you take the meat off the smoker, and then say “give me an hour.” Instead make it a couple hours beforehand and let the meat rest for longer.
Pulling:
Finally, take the pork shoulders out and shred the meat using two forks. It will still be hot so be careful. Add the desired amount of bbq sauce to the meat and then enjoy. I love to serve these with buns to make sandwiches.
Ingredients
Pork Shoulder
olive oil
paprika
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cinnamon
apple cider vinegar
apple wood
large lump charcoal