Carolina-Style Pulled Pork Barbecue
Description
This American barbecue features a bone-in pork roast seasoned with a spicy chili rub, slowly smoked over hickory, then finished in the oven until fork-tender. Serve the shredded pork with Carolina-style barbecue sauce, white bread or warmed buns, dill pickles, and coleslaw.Ingredients
Directions
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Combine the ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, oregano, paprika, salt, granulated sugar, and white pepper to make the spicy chili rub.
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If the pork has skin attached, remove the skin. Massage the dry rub thoroughly into the pork roast.
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Wrap the seasoned pork tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 72 hours.
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Remove the roast from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking and allow it to stand at room temperature.
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For the vinegar-style Carolina barbecue sauce, combine the distilled white vinegar, cider vinegar, sugar, crushed red pepper flakes, hot red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Set aside.
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Soak a medium-to-large hickory wood chunk in water for at least 1 hour. Alternatively, place dry hickory chips in one to three foil pouches and prick the pouches with a fork to allow smoke to escape.
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Light enough charcoal to form two piles on opposite sides of the grill. Allow the charcoal to burn until covered with a thin coating of light gray ash, about 20 to 30 minutes.
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Open the bottom grill vents. Arrange the hot coals into two equal piles on opposite sides of the grill and place the hickory chunk or wood-chip pouch directly on one pile.
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Place the unwrapped pork roast in a disposable pan and set the pan on the grill rack between the two piles of charcoal.
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Cover the grill. Open the lid vents about three-quarters of the way and position them opposite the smoking wood so the smoke is drawn around the pork.
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Smoke the pork for about 3 hours. Add 15 to 20 charcoal briquettes every 30 to 40 minutes, or 7 to 10 pieces of lump charcoal every 15 to 20 minutes, as necessary to maintain the fire. Add additional wood-chip pouches if desired.
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Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C).
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Transfer the pork and its pan from the grill. Cover the pan completely with foil.
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Bake for about 2 hours, or until the pork is fork-tender.
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Keep the roast wrapped in foil and place the pan inside a double grocery bag. Crimp the top closed and allow the pork to rest for 1 hour.
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Transfer the roast to a cutting board and unwrap it. When cool enough to handle, separate the roast into its natural muscle sections, remove unwanted fat, and pull the meat into thin shreds with your fingers.
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Serve the pulled pork with the Carolina-style barbecue sauce. Plain white bread or warmed buns, dill pickle chips, and coleslaw are traditional accompaniments.
barbecue, bbq, carolina, chili, hickory, pork, pulled pork, smoked, spicy rub
