I have a few books that I consider to be essential to cooking just about anything on my smoker, such as pulled pork BBQ. Smoke & Spice by Chery Alters and Bill Jamison is definitely one of them. It is full of recipes and approaches on all things smoking-related. I cannot recommend it enough.
Two of the recipes from the book that I use (with slight variations) whenever I smoke a pork butt or shoulder are the ones for the Southern Sucor rub and the Southern mop. The two combined produce pork with tremendous flavor and a fantastic bark.
I cook my pulled pork BBQ on my Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. It’s easy to fire up, easy to keep running at a steady temperature, and comes in 3 different sizes to fit anyone’s needs.
Most of the pulled pork I made this time went onto sandwiches, topped with a fantastic roasted poblano slaw. But, I kept a bit around for making an out-of-this-world good pulled pork poutine and a few pulled pork hot pockets.
You can also cook pork butt over a high-heat. If you prefer chicken, it’s just as easy to smoke and pull.
Pulled Pork BBQ
Ingredients
- 7-8 pound pork butt or shoulder
For the Southern Succor rub (modified only slightly from Smoke & Spice).
- ¼ cup ground black pepper
- ½ cup paprika
- ½ cup turbinado sugar I used Sugar in the Raw
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons dry mustard
- 2-3 teaspoons cayenne
For the Southern sop (modified only slightly from Smoke & Spice)
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons Southern Succor rub from above
Instructions
- Fire up your smoker to cook at 225 F. Use a lighter wood, such as hickory, apple or cherry.
- Trim any large pieces of fat off the pork. You don’t have to be real picky about it, just get any large chunks.
- Combine the rub ingredients. Rub all but about 2 tablespoons of the rub all over the pork.
- Place the pork onto the smoker and cook until the meat reaches 185 F.
- Combine the sop ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until dissolved. Keep warm until ready to use.
- Once the meat hits 185 F brush the sop onto the meat. I used a big basting mop.
- Keep sopping every 5 degrees until the meat hits 200 F at which point you can remove the pork from the smoker. Wrap it in foil and let it rest at least 30 minutes before shredding.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.