Serious Eats: Recipes
Barbecue: Pulled Pork
Each week Joshua Bousel of The Meatwave drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
Due to some complications at my previous residence--including a nosy neighbor who was convinced I was burning down the hood every time I fired up the smoker--it's been over two years since I've made pulled pork, a shame that's hard to live down. With my new digs has come confidence, and this past weekend I smoked up two beautiful pork butts.
Brined in a molasses-and-salt mixture then rubbed down, the pork butts started smoking over a combination of oak and applewood at 10 p.m. on Saturday night and emerged from the smoker 16 hours later. So tender, they began falling apart as I lifted them out. After an hour's rest, they were easily pulled, piled high on a bun, and topped with North Carolina-style vinegar sauce (adapted based on your comments). Pulled pork is one of the few foods I openly brag about making incredibly well--this experience solidified that claim even further. Smokey, spicy, and juicy, the meat was everything pulled pork should be.
Pulled Pork
Brine recipe adapted from Alton Brown.
