North Carolina Style Smoked Boston Butt Recipes

NORTH CAROLINA-STYLE PULLED PORK

Steps:

• 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 until pork is tender and shreds easily, about 6 hours. 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.

SMOKED BOSTON PORK BUTT

Steps:

• Coat the pork butt with the mustard. Apply the spice rub all over the pork butt, creating a paste with the mustard. Place the pork, fat side up, in a preheated 225 to 250 degree F smoker for 10 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 to 200 degrees F. During the smoking process, leave the smoker closed for the first 2 hours and then spray the pork with a small amount of apple juice or cider every 2 hours thereafter.
• Remove pork butt from the smoker and let rest for at least 15 minutes before pulling apart.

NORTH CAROLINA PULLED PORK

Steps:

• 1. If using the rub, combine the mild paprika, brown sugar, hot paprika, celery salt, garlic salt, dry mustard, pepper, onion powder, and salt in a bowl and toss with your fingers to mix. Wearing rubber or plastic gloves if desired, rub the spice mixture onto the pork shoulder on all sides, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, preferably 8.
• If not using the rub, generously season the pork all over with coarse (kosher or sea) salt and freshly ground black pepper; you can start cooking immediately.
• 2. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and place a drip pan in the center.
• If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat the grill to high; when smoke appears, reduce the heat to medium.
• If using a charcoal grill, preheat the grill to medium-low and adjust the vents to obtain a temperature of 300°F.
• 3. When ready to cook, if using charcoal, toss 1 cup of the wood chips on the coals. Place the pork shoulder, fat side up, on the hot grate over the drip pan. Cover the grill and smoke cook the pork shoulder until fall-off-the-bone tender and the internal temperature on an instant-read meat thermometer reaches 195°F, 4 to 6 hours (the cooking time will depend on the size of the pork roast and the heat of the grill). If using charcoal, you'll need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side every hour and toss more wood chips on the fresh coals; add about 1/2 cup per side every time you replenish the coals. With gas, all you need to do is be sure that you start with a full tank of gas. If the pork begins to brown too much, drape a piece of aluminum foil loosely over it or lower the heat.
• 4. Transfer the pork roast to a cutting board, loosely tent it with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes.
• 5. Wearing heavy-duty rubber gloves if desired, pull off and discard any skin from the meat, then pull the pork into pieces, discarding any bones or fat. Using your fingertips or a fork, pull each piece of pork into shreds 1 to 2 inches long and 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide. This requires time and patience, but a human touch is needed to achieve the perfect texture. If patience isn't one of your virtues, you can finely chop the pork with a cleaver (many respected North Carolina barbecue joints serve chopped 'cue). Transfer the shredded pork to a nonreactive roasting pan. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the vinegar sauce, enough to keep the pork moist, then cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it on the grill for up to 30 minutes to keep warm.
• 6. To serve, mound the pulled pork on the hamburger buns and top with coleslaw. Let each person add more vinegar sauce to taste.

SMOKED BOSTON BUTT WITH CAROLINA VINEGAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Smoked Boston Butt:.
• Soak mesquite wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat smoker to 225 - 250 degrees. Sprinkle soaked wood chips over coals.
• In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, paprika, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper. Spread mixture over all sides of roast. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Place roast in smoker. Cook, covered with smoker lid, until meat is very tender, 11-12 hours. Remove from smoker, and let stand for 30 minutes. Shred roast, discarding fat and bone. Serve with Carolina Vinegar Sauce or your favorite barbecue sauce.
• Carolina Vinegar Sauce.
• In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper, salt, black pepper, hot sauce, and smoked paprika. Cover, and refrigerate for up to five days.

CAROLINA SMOKED PORK

Steps:

• Preheat smoker to 250 F. Place pork butt in the center of the cooking grate, fat-side down. Cover and smoke 8 hours, undisturbed. Check smoker temperature hourly; add charcoal and use vents as needed to maintain a temperature of 250 F through the duration of cooking.
• Make Carolina BBQ Sauce: In a mixing bowl combine sugar, black pepper, chili powder, crushed red pepper, and hot sauce to make a paste. Add the Sweet BBQ Pit Sauce, followed by vinegar; stir well to combine. The final consistency should be quite fluid, rather than thick. Makes about 2 cups of Carolina BBQ Sauce. (Store in a covered container at room temperature for several months.)
• Check for doneness by placing a digital thermometer into the center of the pork, avoiding contact with the bone. Temperature should register 170 F. Use heat-proof gloves to remove pork to a large cutting board on a flat work surface. Chop the pork: As you chop, the pork will cool, so plan on doing this as the last step before serving. The meat should be tender and falling apart. Pull the bone out of the meat: it should come away smoothly, with no meat clinging to it. Discard bone. Pick through the meat and set aside any bits that you don't want to include in the final dish, such as the barky exterior or excess fat. (You may opt to include everything: Pitmaster Jones says the final mix is up to you!)
• Using one cleaver, begin to chop the meat, using your free hand to carefully steady the pork butt. When the meat is in large chunks, use both cleavers at the same time to finish chopping. Use the cleavers to toss the meat on the board as you go; repeat the chopping-tossing process until the meat is bite-size and well mixed. Drizzle a small amount of Carolina BBQ Sauce on top of the meat; continue chopping and stirring to combine. Add more sauce to taste: the goal is to lightly complement the smoky flavor of the pork without overwhelming it. Makes about 7 lbs chopped pork. (Sam Jones's serving suggestion: Cool leftover pork in the fridge, then serve as a sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise.)