Eggtoberfest '02 Pulled Pork

BillB

Eggtoberfest '02 Pulled Pork[p]The ingredient list for both the rub on my Pulled Pork and the Vinegar sauce came from "The Barbecue Bible" by Steven Raichen (look for "Elizabeth Karmel's [p]North Carolina Style Pulled Pork"). I highly recommend you purchase this book (even though it is geared towards grilling instead of smoking). Mr. Raichen's [p]recipes are absolutely magnificent. [p]And, due to my concern over posting what is possibly a copywrited recipe, I am not going to repeat the recipe in the forum. However, for those of you that do [p]not have your copy at hand, someone has posted ingredient lists for the rub and the vinegar sauce out on the web that are remarkably similar to Mr. Raichen's [p]recipes (errr...how about an exact copy?) Browse to http://barbeque.allrecipes.com/az/nrthcrlinstylplldprk.asp to refer to the ingredients as I describe how [p]I adapted his recipe to be used on my Green Egg.[p]Ingredient Notes:
Rub:
Make sure that you use Light Brown Sugar, as opposed to Dark Brown Sugar. The dark brown sugar contains more molasses and tends to clump up in the rub. In [p]addition, the amounts are really for a 5 lb. pork butt/roast. When I make Pulled Pork, I typically smoke at least 15 lbs. of meat and triple the rub [p]ingredients.[p]Meat:
I recommend using Boston Butts (AKA the pork shoulder, not to be confused with the "pork picnic shoulder" or "pork arm", which is the lower part of the pigs' [p]front legs and has a lot of bone). They can be found for less than a $1/lb when dual packed in "cryopacks" (the grocery store does not package them in store). (In fact, I've heard that Sam's Club sells them for $.79/lb!.) In addition, there is very little waste from bone (they B. Butt has a shoulder blade bone, whereas the Pork picnic or arm has a large bone and joint) but quite adequate amounts of marbled fat (which will render down and soak into the meat! YUMMMMMMMMM!)[p]
1) Combine all the ingredients of the rub and mix. Rub this mixture into the butt on all sides, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least [p]3 hours, but preferably 2 to 3 days.[p]2) Clean all old lump charcoal and ashes out of the smoker (keep any good charcoal for putting back in). Fill the firebox within 3" of the top with lump [p]charcoal. Try to use big chunks of lump on the bottom that will take longer to burn down (and block oxygen from getting in through the grate). Set up the smoker for indirect cooking - use a plate setter or fire bricks to block the direct heat and use a V-rack with a drip pan (to prevent the meat from dripping on the coals and fanning the flames).[p]3) Once the fire has established itself, use hickory chunks (not chips!) to fill the space between the top of the charcoal and bottom of the grid. Place the pork butt, fat side up, on the V-rack over the drip pan. Cook the butt at ~210 for approximately 16 to 18 hours. The internal temperature of the pork butt will plateau around 170-180F. Bring up the smoker temperature to ~260F to 280F to get the final internal temperature to 195F to 205F (This is absolutely critical! Bringing it up to 195F breaks down the meat so that it can be torn apart into the moist shreds).[p]4) Transfer the cooked pork butt to a cutting board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes. If you can pull the pork near a running cold water faucet, go ahead and set up there. Otherwise, prepare a pot of ice water (you will dip your hands into this to remove any superheated fat on your hands.) Put on two sets of disposible latex gloves on each hand (the fat will not adhere to the latex as well as it would to your skin) After the resting period, pull off and discard any skin, hunks of fat, or bones from the meat. Pull the pork into shreds 1 to 2 inches long and 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide. Transfer the shredded pork to a nonreactive roasting pan. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the vinegar sauce, enough to keep the pork moist.[p]5) To serve, mound the pulled pork on the hamburger buns, and top with coleslaw (either a mayonnaise style or a quick vinegar slaw (~ 1 lb of shredded cabbage and 1 cup of the vinegar sauce.