Dr Pepper Beef Jerky
September 26, 2017Pulled Pork
Pulled pork has long been a staple of low and slow barbecue and it is easy to understand why, after you have experienced the combination of sweet and savory flavors, wrapped up with that delicious pork.
You can make pulled pork with a variety of different cuts, but the pork butt/pork shoulder is generally considered to be the best candidate for the job. They are a bit, fatty and full of flavor. For this reason, I typically suggest pulled pork as the best option for people who are still learning how to smoke meat. It absolutely can hide a variety of sins!
If you want to learn to take your pulled pork to the next level, consider checking out my pulled pork course HERE. It takes you through literally every step needed to create delicious, tender, and juicy pulled pork every time.
For this recipe, I have included a homemade rub, but you can use any kind of rub that you like best.
You can pick up a bottle of my El Chupacabra rub, which is perfect for this recipe, or try the recipe below:
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sweet paprika
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons onion powder
- 2 Tablespoons dried rosemary
Pork Rub
Pro Tips
The brine helps to add some additional flavors to the pork, as well as binds more liquid to the proteins in the meat, keeping it juicier as it cooks. If you prefer, injecting your pork with a similar solution can help the brine to penetrate deeper into the meat.
Slathering your pork with mustard is helpful for two reasons. First, it acts as a binder, sticking your delicious rub to the exterior of the meat, and second, the mustard breaks down and combines with the rub and juices from the meat to build up a thick, firm bark. If you don’t like mustard, don’t let this hold you back-You won't even taste it by the time you are done.
Pulled pork will often begin to blacken as it cooks. Don’t let this scare you, it is an expected part of the cooking process. If, however, the pork is overcooking or the exterior is becoming too firm, you may want to wrap the pork in foil.
To help people like yourself to make pulled pork that is super tender, incredibly delicious and so juicy it is dripping, I created the Pulled pork Mastery Course HERE- This course takes you through literally EVERYTHING you need to know and do, to get consistently epic pulled pork, every single time. If that isn’t amazing enough-Its currently on sale!
Method
1. Most pork shoulders will come with a fairly thick layer of fat across most of the top. Unfortunately, this will never really render down, so we want to start by slicing through the fat in a crosshatch pattern. Be careful not to cut too deep into the meat.
2. The night before you are planning on cooking, Create a gallon of pork brine. Ensure the pork is fully submerged in the liquid. Store in the refrigerator overnight.
3. Before adding the pork to the smoker, remove the pork from the brine, rinse with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
4. Slather the full exterior of the pork with the yellow mustard, before applying a generous coating of the rub. Focus on keeping the rub even and consistent.
5. Prepare your smoker to at about 225 F. Add a nice chunk of your favorite fruit wood. Apple or cherry are my favorites for pork shoulder and give it a nice, sweet smoke.
6. Add a water pan and keep an eye on it throughout the cook, to make sure it remains topped up. Insert an internal temperature probe into the thickest part of the pork and avoid allowing the probe to touch any internal bones which may give a false reading.
7. After the pork has been on the smoker for 3 hours, Mix the apple juice and water together to form a spritzing liquid. Spritz the pork approximately every 60-90 minutes.
8. At about 150 F- 165 F, your pork will likely hit the stall and will reduce the speed at which the internal temperature increases (It may even go backwards a couple of degrees). The best thing to do is continue cooking until the stall is passed.
9. Smoke the pork until it hits an internal temperature of 203 F. By this stage the connective tissue and the meat should be soft and juicy. A good way to tell if it is ready is to look at the shoulder bone. The meat should be shrunk back from the and you should be able to wiggle it loose with not much force.
10. Once internal temperature is met, remove the meat from the cooker and allow it to rest for 45-60 minutes, lightly tented in foil.
11. Before you are ready to eat, break the pork into pieces with your hands. You want to break the meat into bite sized chunks but avoid shredding it too fine.
12. As you shred the meat, mix in a generous serving of your sweet sauce and incorporate throughout the meat.
13. To serve, slap the pulled pork onto a soft bread roll and serve with coleslaw (You can find my recipe HERE) and some more of the sweet sauce on the side.
For additional info on how to make your pulled pork really impress your guests, check out my guide HERE.
