Serves 6 to 8
North Carolina native Elizabeth Karmel, also known as the “Grill Girl,” is a nationally respected authority on grilling, barbecue, and Southern food. Elizabeth hails from Greensboro, where she grew up on pulled pork barbecue. She says, “Pulled pork is my barbecue touchpoint. No matter how much I love Texas-style brisket or Memphis ribs, there is nothing like a red slaw–topped North Carolina pulled pork sandwich to bring me back home.” She says the real secret to pulled pork is cooking it longer and to a higher internal temperature than many will tell you. (This also happens to be the secret to succulent melt-in-your mouth brisket.) Slow roast or smoke your bone-in pork butt or shoulder until an instant-read meat thermometer registers between 190°F and 195°F. This temperature is higher than is recommended by most books but is necessary for the pork to separate easily into the fine, moist, tender shreds characteristic of true pulled pork. You can prepare this butt in the oven or on the grill. Undoubtedly, the oven is easier—less fuss and more regulation—but the grill, while it needs a bit more babysitting, imparts a smoky, traditional flavor.
The rub included here makes about ¾ cup. You may not need all of it, depending on how well you rub it into the meat. The extra will keep in an airtight container for a few weeks. My rub recipe calls for one of my favorite spices—piment d’Espelette, a red chile pepper from France. It is a more delicate alternative to cayenne powder, but cayenne is certainly a fine substitute.
1 Put the wood chips in a roasting pan and add water to cover. Set aside to soak for 1 hour. Remove the meat from the refrigerator. To make the rub, combine the brown sugar, paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and piment d’Espelette in a small bowl. Rub the meat with the oil and then rub liberally with the rub. Leave at room temperature for 45 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, to make the sauce, combine the vinegar, the water, the onion, Aleppo pepper, and mustard in a small bowl or a resealable jar. Set aside.
3 When ready to grill, set up the grill for indirect cooking at 275°F. Drain the wood chips and wrap them in a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place the foil-wrapped chips on the coals.
4 Place the pork on the grill, not directly over the flame, and cook until the internal temperature of the meat is 165°F; this should take about 5 hours. Check the meat and grill often; you want to keep the grill temperature somewhere between 200°F and 275°F, preferably 250°F. The goal is to cook the meat low and slow. When the meat has reached the right internal temperature, remove it from the grill and wrap it in a double layer of foil. Return it to the grill and cook until the desired doneness: For sliced pork, cook until the internal temperature reaches 180°F, and for pulled pork, at least 195°F. This will take another 3 hours.
5 To cook the butt in the oven instead of on the grill, heat the oven to 275°F. Transfer the meat to the oven and cook until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 195°F, 8 to 9 hours.
6 Transfer the meat to a cutting board with a moat (an indented area around the board to catch juices). Cover the meat with foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute and let it cool enough to handle. (The internal temperature will also continue to rise as the outer layer cools, allowing it to pull more easily.)
7 Chop with a chef’s knife or shred the meat using a pair of tongs, discarding the fat and bones. Serve with the sauce on the side.
I use Jack Daniels bourbon barrel stave wood chips. Apple, cherry, and hickory chips would be good, but stay away from mesquite. Soaked hunks of wood are better for a full butt, which requires long cooking, but soaked chips wrapped in foil work just fine for the half butt.