Our friend Peggy recently requested a good recipe for Pulled Pork – this is Brett’s secret Pulled Pork recipe.  Be sure to allow 10-14 hours for this – it will be the best use of your time you’ve had in a long time – there’s just nothing better.

Ingredients:

1 4-5 lb Pork Shoulder – Bone In
6 tablespoons Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rub
4 lb Hickory Wood Chips
1 lb Oak Wood Chips
1 bag Natural Lump Hardwood Charcoal
2 cups Pork Barrel BBQ Sauce
1/2 Stick Butter

Mop Ingredients:
6 bottles Beer (I like a dark lager)
1 medium Red Onion
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Liquid Smoke
1 cup Cider Vinegar
5 cloves Garlic
2 tablespoons Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rub
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Prepare the mop at least an hour prior to when you plan to start cooking your pork shoulder – you can make and refrigerate the mop up to 24 hours prior to when you plan to start cooking.  To make the mop, combine all the mop ingredients and bring them to a boil.

Place wood chips in a bowl and soak in water for 30 minutes.

Preheat your grill to 225-250 degrees.  I use a Weber grill and put the charcoal on one side, leaving space for the pork shoulder to sit on the opposite side so it can get indirect heat.

Coat the entire pork shoulder with Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rub – be sure to rub it in well!

Place a handful of wood chips on the charcoal and let the smoke begin!  Add chips approximately every 45 minutes for the first three hours.

Place the pork shoulder on the grill with the fat side up (You put the fat side up so that the fat drips into the meat as it slowly cooks causing it to be moist and tender.).   Let it cook for 10-14hours, applying the mop with a brush every 45 minutes after hour eight.  One key to success is to not move the pork shoulder and to keep it moist with the mop – this creates a sweet, spicy and smoky outer crust.  The pork shoulder is done when the internal temperature hits 190 degrees.

Remove the pork shoulder from the grill and place on a cutting board.  Allow the shoulder to rest for at least 15 minutes prior to pulling.  With 2 large forks, “pull” the meat – it should shred easily.

I like to put the pulled meat in an aluminum pan that contains 2 cups of Pork Barrel BBQ Sauceand a 1/2 stick of butter – all I can say is yummmmmm. I also add 2 tablespoons of the Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rubbefore serving.

A few hints and safety tips:

1. Be sure to use a meat thermometer to ensure that the pork shoulder reaches an internal temperature of  190 degrees – the pork won’t pull correctly unless you get the core temperature to this level.

2. Keep a constant smoking temperature of between 225 and 250 degrees – resist the temptation to peek – it just makes it take longer.

3. Stop adding wood chips after the third hour – once you’ve reached this point in the cooking process you are unlikely to get any additional benefit from additional wood chips.

Try this out and let us know what you think – we guarantee that you will make friends with this recipe and be the life of the party!

Don’t forget to visit Pork Barrel BBQ on the Internet.