Pork Love

Last night we had a marathon meeting accompanied by dinner prepared by one of the counselors. She is vegan, and she made delicious vegan fare- a soup with pasta and lentils and vegetables, a salad, and bread. Everything was divine, but I still know that I could never give up meat. Chicken, fish, beef, and pork, I love it all. I'm in the middle of prep work for tomorrow night's kick-off of our cooking Enrichment group. We're doing a kick-off to barbecue season and I think it will be fantastic. I thought I'd share a recipe we'll be sampling tomorrow night. I got this recipe for traditional Carolina-style pulled pork from my Aunt, and we've been in love ever since. It takes some prep work, but it's perfect for a summer bbq, perhaps Memorial Day on Monday? (when we'll definitely be enjoying it again!).

Carolina-Style Pulled Pork

Pork Rub

2 T Kosher salt (not iodized)
2 T sugar
2 T brown sugar
2 T ground cumin
2 T chili powder
2 T cracked pepper
1 T cayenne pepper
4 T paprika
2 T ground sage

Makes 1 cup. Blend all ingredients. Rub on pork butt (also called Boston butt)- I usually can cover two 5 to 7 -lb roasts with this amount. Prepare grill with hickory chips that have been soaked. We use a gas grill and put the chips in a little foil basket on one side, then place the meat on the other side so it gets indirect heat (only heat on low on the side with the chips). If using charcoal, toss 1 cup of the wood chips on the coals. You'll need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side every hour and toss more wood chips on the fresh coals; add about 1/2 cup per side every time you replenish the coals. Grill (smoke) pork for 3 hours, then cover a roasting pan with foil, put the pork in, cover the pan with more foil and put the lid on, and place in a slow oven overnight. I usually set my oven around 180 and it is in for about 12 hours. Shred the pork, removing any fat that hasn't melted off. Serve with the following sauce.

Traditional North Carolina Vinegar Sauce
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cracked black pepper

Makes 2 cups. Place in a bottle with a small neck that will allow you to shake it out a little at a time.

You can also serve with bbq sauce, if you'd prefer. I love mine in sandwich form with coleslaw on top. Pat prefers a pile of meat with the vinegar sauce. Definitely pull out all the stops and make potato salad and corn puddin'. Delish!