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Pulled Pork should be the star dish of your autumn

Posted on March 5, 2020

September, synonymous with back to school, the end of holidays and shorter days. In short, I prefer summer. But with the pulled pork recipe I’m about to serve up to you, I can do it all year round.

So what better than to prepare some provision to make several lunches and save time when getting back from work during the week. Spaghetti in industrial quantities is fun, but doing something on the BBQ is even better.

That’s why I’m giving you a pulled pork recipe. What’s good with pulled pork is that it can be done in many ways, with many different spices and different sauces. As long as we respect the original technique, it will be tasty.

Plus, if you put some in your kids’ lunches for school, they’ll be as popular as Freddy Prinze Jr. in a shady 1990s movie.

Pulled pork is made from pork shoulder, also known as the “Boston butt”. The first step is to clean the shoulder by removing the fat and rind excesses. You can leave it for cooking, but I prefer to have as much contact as possible with dry spices. I prefer a bigger “bark” (the bark is the crust of spices that is created around the meat during cooking).

It is still a fat piece, so it’s rarely dry after cooking. However, I like to inject the piece, it adds an additional flavor profile. So once cleaned, I proceed to the injection. There are several injection options, but I like to opt for the Oakridge Dominator injection mix, mixed with apple juice and ginger ale.

The following rub, a mixture of dry spices, is a dry marinade. I’ll start with House of BBQ Experts Kansas spice rub that I sprinkle everywhere on the piece of meat. I then add a second layer of Blues Hog spice rub. The mixture of the two is just pure magic.

Now you’re ready to BBQ

You are now ready for the BBQ or smoker.

Personally, I always use a charcoal BBQ for pulled pork. Well, those who know me will say that I always cook on charcoal anyway. Pork shoulder is a piece that takes a few hours to cook, you can smoke at 225°F. On the other hand, after having done several tests, I always cook at 275-300°F. You can calculate about 8 hours of smoking time for a shoulder of 4-5 kgs. I highly recommend the Presto BBQ if you have a gas BBQ, which will make a huge difference.

I’ll explain the technique in a Kettle because it’s definitely a BBQ that everyone should have. It’s inexpensive and super versatile.

With the coal on one side and a pan with water of the other side, you’ll be well-positioned to cook in indirect heat.

Dosage is key!

I always add two pieces of wood in my charcoal and an additional one during cooking. I like a soft wood like apple, pecan or cherry for pulled pork. Do not try to smoke it too much. Dosage is the key! You adjust your temperature and put the piece on the grid.

Always put the hatch at the top of the piece of meat because it will encourage convection. Let’s cook up to 160°F by watering the piece after about 40 minutes with apple juice or another liquid. Once the 160°F internal temperature is reached, we pack the shoulder to continue cooking up to 205°F. It’s ready!! Let it pack for about thirty minutes.

I like adding some Blues Hog Tennessee Red sauce while fraying. It is a vinegar sauce that will enhance the taste of your pork.

The advantage of pulled pork is that it is as versatile as Gregory Charles with 14 instruments at the same time. It can be eaten in many ways. On a burger, in a poutine, in a mac’n’cheese, on a pizza. In short, with anything. You can also seal pulled pork in plastic wrap to be frozen later.

And finally, here it is: my secret recipe:

pulled pork recipe