American · Main · Medium
Carolina Pulled Pork
Pork shoulder slow-cooked until it surrenders into shreds, tossed in a sharp vinegar mop sauce the Carolina way. Pile it on a soft bun with slaw and you are done.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Carolina Pulled Pork, in 5 ideas
- Bone-in shoulder has more fat and connective tissue, which means juicier pork.
- The stall around 65C is normal, do not panic and do not crank the heat.
- Vinegar sauce cuts the richness of the pork, that tang is the whole point of Carolina style.
- Pull the pork while warm, cold pork fights the fork.
- Leftovers freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.
What you need
Ingredients
- 3.5kg pork shoulder (bone-in)
- 60g brown sugar, 3 tbsp smoked paprika, 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 250ml apple cider vinegar and 80ml water
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 12 soft hamburger buns
- 400g coleslaw
How to make it
Directions
- Mix the brown sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne into a dry rub. Coat the pork shoulder thickly all over. Wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Set your smoker or oven to 120C. Place the shoulder fat side up on the rack and cook low and slow for 8 hours, until it probes like butter and the bone wiggles loose (about 90C internal).
- While it cooks, whisk the vinegar, water, hot sauce, and mustard into a thin mop sauce. Taste and add more hot sauce if you want fire.
- Rest the pork 30 minutes under foil. Pull the meat apart with two forks or your hands, discarding the bone and large fat chunks.
- Toss the shredded pork with a generous splash of the vinegar sauce, keeping some back for the table.
- Pile onto soft buns, top with coleslaw, and drizzle with more sauce. Serve the rest family style.
Pork shoulder is cheapest when bought whole at warehouse stores. Smoke one big one and you have cheap lunches for weeks.