Pulled Pork
Prep time: 10 mins + 1 hour standing
Cook time: about 8 hours
Serves: 8
2.5 kg bone-in pork shoulder (see Note)
1 quantity Carolina-style Rub
Vegetable oil, for brushing
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup apple juice
Carolina BBQ Sauce, to serve
Bread rolls, to serve
Classic Coleslaw to serve
Carolina-style rub
This rub is great for pulled pork and for pork ribs.
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Note:
Ask a good butcher for a bone-in pork shoulder, and explain what you are doing with it. At a pinch, you could get a boneless pork shoulder roast, though the meat tends to be more tender when cooked on the bone.
In the US, pulled pork is synonymous with barbecue cuisine. And when it’s done right, it’s mighty hard to beat. To Australianise things, you can even use lamb here to create pulled lamb.
About 1 hour before cooking, take the pork from the fridge and stand at room temperature.
Prepare the barbecue for indirect cooking and place a drip tray in the centre. Preheat to 110–120°C. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the rub, and smear the rest generously all over the pork.
Add a couple of wood chunks to the coals and add water to the drip tray. Put the cooking grate in place and wipe with oil. Place the pork, bone side down, on the grill, over the drip tray. Cover the barbecue and cook for 1½–2 hours, until the meat develops a good crust.
For the rub, simply combine all ingredients in a bowl. Can be stored in a jar for up to 1 month.
Combine the reserved rub mixture, vinegar and apple juice. Mop the pork with the mixture, then repeat every hour for another 3 hours. Keep an eye on the thermometer and maintain the barbecue heat during cooking.
After a total of 7 hours, test the meat with a meat thermometer, away from the bone – when it reaches 85°C, it is ready, although it will probably take another hour or so.
Remove from the barbecue, wrap in two layers of foil, then rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
To serve, unwrap the meat and place in a shallow tray. Use forks to pull the meat apart. Douse with barbecue sauce and serve on buns with coleslaw.
This recipe is from THE BBQ Cookbook, available NOW from all good book stores or direct here from THEBBQ.com store
From THE BBQ Cookbook, available from all good book stores or direct from THEBBQ.com
