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North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork

Source of Recipe


From "Taming the Flame" by Elizabeth Karmel






List of Ingredients



• 1 pork butt, Boston butt or untrimmed end-cut pork shoulder roast, 7 to 9 lbs.
  
• Olive oil
  
• Kosher salt
  
• Freshly ground black pepper
  
• Hickory wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes
  
• Lexington-Style Vinegar Sauce (recipe follows)
  
• 8 plain white hamburger buns
  






Instructions



1. Build a charcoal or gas grill for indirect cooking. Do not trim any excess fat off the meat; this fat will naturally baste the meat and keep it moist during the long cooking time. Brush pork with a thin coating of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside on a clean tray until ready to cook.
   
   
2. Before placing the meat on the grill, add the soaked wood chips. Place the chips directly on gray-ashed briquettes or in the smoking box of your gas grill. If using a charcoal grill, you will need to add charcoal every hour to maintain the heat.
   
   
3. Place the pork in the center of the cooking grate, fat-side up, over indirect low heat. Cover and cook slowly for 4 to 5 hours at 325° to 350° F, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the pork registers 190° to 200° F. The meat should be very tender and falling apart. If there is a bone in the meat, it should come out smooth and clean with no meat clinging to it. Remember, there is no need to turn the meat during the entire cooking time.
   
   
4. Let the meat rest for 20 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
   
   
5. Using rubber kitchen gloves (or not), pull the meat from the skin, bones and fat. Set aside any crispy bits that have been completely rendered and look almost burned. Working quickly, shred the chunks of meat with 2 forks by crossing the forks and pulling the meat into small pieces. Alternatively, you can chop the meat with a cleaver. Chop the reserved crispy bits and mix into the pulled pork. While the meat is still warm, mix with enough vinegar sauce to moisten and season the meat (about 3/4 cup). Serve hot with coleslaw on the side, or serve sandwich-style on hamburger buns.
   
   Serves 10
   
   ........
   
   LEXINGTON-STYLE VINEGAR SAUCE
   
   • 2 cups apple cider vinegar
   • 1/2 cup catsup
   • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
   • 2 Tbsp sugar
   • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
   • 1 Tbsp ground white pepper
   • 1/2 to 1 Tbsp red chili flakes
   • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
   
   Mix all ingredients together in a large non-reactive bowl and let sit at least 10 minutes, or almost indefinitely, covered in the refrigerator.
   
   Makes about 3 cups.