Carolina Pulled Pork Recipe
CATEGORIES
INGREDIENTS
- Dry Rub:
- 3 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground white pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt
- Cider-Vinegar Barbecue Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
- 1 cup brown mustard
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pan drippings from the pork
DIRECTIONS
- Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend and garlic all over the pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the pork in a roasting pan and roast it for about 6 hours. An instant-read thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the pork should register 170 degrees F, but basically, what you want to do is to roast it until it's falling apart.
- While the pork is roasting, make the barbecue sauce. Combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Take it off the heat and let it sit until you're ready for it.
- When the pork is done, take it out of the oven and put it on a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While it's resting, deglaze the pan over medium heat with 3/4 cup water, scraping with a wooden spoon to pick up all of the browned bits. Reduce by about half. Pour that into the saucepan with the sauce and cook 5 minutes.
- While the pork is still warm, you want to "pull" the meat: Grab 2 forks. Using 1 to steady the meat, use the other to "pull" shreds of meat off the roast. Put the shredded pork in a bowl and pour half of the sauce over. Stir it all up well so that the pork is coated with the sauce. Serve with buns and cole slaw