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Pulled Pork with Lexington-­Style BBQ Sauce

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Makes 8 to 10 servings 1x

Time 10 or more hours, largely unattended

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 bone-in pork shoulder, Boston butt, or picnic ham (6–10 pounds)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes, or to taste
  • Pinch cayenne
  • Creamy Cabbage and Carrot Slaw for serving
  • 8 or more hamburger buns, split

Instructions

  1. Start the coals or heat a gas grill for medium-low indirect cooking. If using a charcoal grill, position the coals so the smoke ­will be pulled over the pork and out the top vent. Make sure the grates are clean. If using charcoal, put a drip pan ­under the indirect side of the grill; for gas, empty, clean, and replace the fat trap. When the grill temperature is 300°F, add wood to the fire
  2.  While the grill comes to temperature, trim the external fat on the pork to about 1/4 inch thick. If it’s partially covered with skin, slice off as much of it as pos­si­ble so the smoke can penetrate the meat. Season the pork generously all over with salt and pepper. (You can prepare the pork up to a day before and refrigerate it.)
  3. When the grill fills with smoke, put the pork on the indirect side of the grill, with the thicker end closest to the fire; the temperature ­will immediately drop. Close the lid. ­Every hour or so, turn, move, and rotate the pork for even cooking. Cook, keeping the temperature in the grill between 250° and 300°F, until you can stick a fork in the meat and turn it with ­little or no resistance; this can take 8 to 12 hours, depending on the size of the pork and how hot the fire is.
  4. While the pork cooks, make the sauce: Combine the vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, pepper flakes, cayenne, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a saucepan over medium heat; whisk and bring to a gentle bubble. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Remove from the heat.
  5. Transfer the pork to a cutting board or platter. To “pull” the pork, break it apart into manageable pieces and rake 2 forks in opposite directions to shred the pork. Discard any bones or skin. Put the pork in a large serving bowl. Toss the pork with just enough sauce to lightly coat it and serve, passing the remaining sauce, the slaw, and buns at the ­table.

—Recipe from How to Grill Everything

Recipe variations

Pulled Pork with North Carolina Vinegar Sauce This sauce hails from the eastern part of the state, versus the western North Carolina Lexington version. It’s strong stuff, hot and puckery, with just a little bit of sweetness from the brown sugar: Use cider vinegar and increase it to 2 cups. Omit the ketchup. Increase the red pepper flakes to 2 teaspoons and the cayenne to 1 teaspoon. No need to heat the sauce; just whisk it all together in a bowl.

Pulled Pork with South Carolina Mustard Sauce A completely dif­fer­ent take: For the sauce, whisk together 1 cup yellow mustard (no Dijon ­here; use the ballpark stuff), 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pulled Pork Dev­iled Eggs No ­matter how much you love pulled pork­you’re ­going to have left overs, even a ­little bit, which is all you need for ­these babies: Hard-boil 6 eggs; cool, peel, and cut them in half lengthwise. Pop the yolks into a bowl, add 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce and mash ­until smooth. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped pulled pork. Taste and adjust the flavors and texture with salt and pepper, or more mayonnaise and sauce. Stuff the mixture back into the egg halves.