As promised to Chris, here's the method I use to make authentic NC pulled pork. It is a modified version of a 'The Renowned Mr. Brown' recipe which can be found on the
Virtual Bullet Website, so I take zero credit for it. I usually cook two pork butts when I do pulled pork, as it freezes really well, and spending as much as 16 hours on something, it is worth cooking as much as possible.
Step 1 - Make your rub. You can use any rub you want, but I'm partial to the one in this recipe:
1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
2 Tablespoons table salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Believe it or not, that's enough rub for ONE pork butt. You can find 'turbinado sugar' sold as 'Sugar in the Raw'. It won't burn like table sugar or brown sugar will.
Step 2 - Start your sauce. There are two kinds of pulled pork sauces in NC - Eastern or Western style. Eastern is essentially nothing but sop sauce. Vinegar, a little apple juice, and red pepper flakes and salt. I prefer Western. Here's the recipe I use:
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups white vinegar
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of ketchup
Heat that all up and let it simmer for 30 minutes then set aside
Step 3 - buy two large pork butts and trim as much of the 'fat cap' off the bottom as possible. Don't worry, there will be plenty of fat left so that the pork doesn't get dried out. Here's where it gets fun. Take a squeeze bottle of large plain yellow mustard and completely slather both pork buts with mustard. Be generous and rub them all over it with it. You can't use too much. Once you have that done, apply your rub. Some people like to add some of the rub to the 'sop sauce' you can occasionally baste your butts with while cooking, but I don't bother with that. You may want to save a little to do a final dusting of them before they go on the grill though. If possible, do all this the night or day before you are going to start cooking, but I've done it right before and it still comes out very nicely.
Step 4 - Make your 'sop sauce'. You can get fancy, but I just use equal parts apple juice and apple cider vinegar with a tablespoon or two of red pepper flakes added. You can add some rub if you like. Set aside.
Step 5 - Buy 6 to 8 whole garlic cloves. Soak them in water like you would wood chips.
Step 6 - Prep your fire. I use the minion method. Start 1 full chimney of charcoal. I mentioned before, I am a huge fan of Kingsford Charcoal with apple wood embedded in it. It works fantastically and you will never 'over smoke' your meat. While that chimney is lighting, prepare your grill. Get a large old school coffee or vegetable can and cut off both ends. Put that in the center of your bottom grate and fill up the charcoal ring outside the coffee can with charcoal. Get as much as you can in there. If you are not using the charcoal I recommend, intersperse smaller pieces of smoke wood with the charcoal. I put three full soaked garlic cloves on top of the unlit charcoal. Fill your water bowl with water (if it's freezing, you may want to add hot water so it doesn't take so long for the temp to get to where you want it). Start with all of the vent holes open. Once your chimney of charcoal is ashed over carefully dump it into the coffee can in the center of the grate and then carefully remove the coffee can with some channel locks. Now you've got a big bed of charcoal with just the center lit. That will last you 8-12 hours of cooking time. If you don't want to use the coffee can method, you can just lay down your charcoal and put the lit coals on top. Assemble the grill over your charcoal pan and add your pork butts and close it all up, again, with all vents wide open.
If you don't use the charcoal I recommended I'm a big fan of apple wood. It's very easy to ruin your meat with too much hickory or mesquite - but I've never done it with apple. Just my opinion.
Step 7 - The Cooking process. You are shooting to get your grill up to 225 - 250 (try not to exceed 250 ever). Once you get to 250, close your bottom three vents to about 30% open. You can adjust them over the cooking period to keep your temperature in that 225-250 range. The WSM is very easy to control. Keep your top vents open at all times when cooking.
Over the next 12-16 hours (yeah, it will take that long), you don't need to do much. If you want, occasionally baste with 'sop sauce' (I don't do this for the first 4 hours at least, because all you'll accomplish is washing away your rub). It's good to do every 30-60 minutes the last half of the cooking process - I use a biking water bottle for this btw. You may want to throw in a few more cloves of garlic by opening up the side chamber briefly halfway through. Don't take the lid off or open the side chamber for extended periods or your temp will fluctuate. Do what you need to do quickly.
Your goal is to get the pork butt temperature up to 190 degrees. You will probably have to replenish your charcoal after 8-10 hours. You'll know it's needed when your temp starts to drop below 225. I use oven mitts and lift the entire cooking chamber off of the charcoal chamber. Be careful. Some WSM enthusiasts install handles on the side of their cooking chamber for this. Once you've got the charcoal chamber exposed, brush away some of the ash to expose the still burning coals and fill your charcoal chamber again. Some people claim that you should never cook with unlit charcoal - but I'm telling you it's an old wive's tale - you will not be able to tell a difference. Once you've added fresh charcoal, put your cooking chamber back on and continue cooking.
Step 8 - When is it done? Again, your pork butts are done when internal temp is 190. I have accomplished this in 12 hours and I've had it take 16. I would say 15-16 hours is more likely. Don't overcook them. The outside will look 'burned' but it's not. That's the 'bark'. Once they are done, bring them inside and wrap them in heavy duty foil. I then put mine in a plastic cooler for a few hours. With this method, when you are ready to pull them, the meat will literally fall apart using nothing but two large forks.
Step 9 - Pulling the pork. Some people chop their bbq. I prefer pulling it. It ain't rocket science. Take two forks and pull. It will fall apart easily. Remove any fat, grissle, or bone. Some folks remove the 'bark' - but that's insane if you ask me as 90% of the flavor is there. Shred it up with everything else. I like to take a cup of my Western style sauce and pour that over the meat and mix. Some recipes call for a cup of hot salted water. Now you are pretty much ready for the most important step - eating
I also make my own cole slaw. Very simple. Use whatever cole slaw cabbage mix you want to from the grocery. Make the sauce with a mix of apple cider vinegar, mayo, salt, pepper, celery seeds, and a splash of milk. Pour over the cole slaw mix, toss, and refrigerate for a few hours.
This recipe is a lot of work, but it is absolutely amazing authentic NC pulled pork.
Btw - this is a good recipe to start (putting meat on the grill) at midnight or so. Most of the first 8 hours you aren't doing a lot (once you get your smoker up to the right temp and reduce the vent settings). And that will be just about the right time to be serving pulled pork at 5 or 6 pm the next day.
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