Pulled Pork Sandwich with Carolina-Style Sauce

About 16 sandwiches

You need to allow at least two days for this – or three, if you're not willing to get up at 4:00 am on smoking day. 

Ingredients

• 1 pork butt, bone-in, about 6 pounds, with skin (see note, below)
• 16 hamburger buns

For the rub (see note)

• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons black pepper -- freshly cracked
• 1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 4 tablespoons paprika

For the Carolina-style sauce (makes about 2 cups):

• 1 cup yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup granulated no-calorie sweetener, such as Splenda
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 T chili powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, cracked
• 1 teaspoon white pepper, cracked
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon hickory flavored "liquid smoke"

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients of the rub. 

2. Score the pork butt skin in a 1/2" diamond pattern. Cut deeply into the fat under the skin but try not to penetrate to the meat below. Apply the rub to all exposed surfaces. Place on a plate and refrigerate overnight. 

3. Take the pork out of the refrigerator several hours before you intend to put it in the smoke, to allow it to warm up. 

4. Set up smoker for indirect smoking (I use the "water method" - see Grilling Basics for setup) and fire it up. I use about 2/3 regular charcoal, such as Kingsford, and 1/3 hickory chunks that have been soaked a couple of hours. Oak or fruitwood is also good. To my taste mesquite is not the right smokewood for pulled pork. Set the pork on the rack with the skin side up. If any rub is left behind on the plate, slather it on the skin.

5. Smoke the pork for about 12 hours -- with the smoker temperature between 210º and 240º -- until the internal temperature of the pork is 190º. There are some who say that the smoke effect is minimal after the first 6 or so hours, so if you want you can experiment with finishing it in the oven set at 230º. Personally I think long smoking is the key to real satisfaction. Pork is safe to eat at 160º, but it doesn't fall apart the way we want it too for pulled pork unless it gets to 190º. And then it's only good if it gets there very slowly. Scrabble, euchre, Jim Beam, a Star-Trek marathon on cable are all are good options when you're waiting for the pork to smoke. 

6. While the pork is smoking make the sauce: Combine the mustard, sweetener, brown sugar, vinegar, water, chili powder, and the three peppers. Simmer 30 minutes. Add the soy sauce, oil and liquid smoke and simmer for 10 minutes more. Sauce should be fairly thin when cooled -- add water if it''s too thick.

7. When the internal temperature of the pork has been achieved, remove the pork and let it rest, wrapped in foil, for about half an hour. Remove the skin and any fat remaining under it and set it under a broiler until crispy. Drain the skin on paper towels and chop.

8. With two forks, pull the pork into shreds. Traditionally the cracklings (the crisp skin, broiled and chopped in Step 7) are added and tossed with the meat. I serve cracklings on the side so people who need to keep their fat intake under control can choose to forgo it. 

Serve immediately or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, put the pork in a slow-cooker set on low for about 2 hours. Alternatively, cover it tightly with foil and put it in the oven on about 140º for about 2 hours. The key to reheating is is to keep it tightly covered (to avoid drying) and heat very slowly. The slow cooker is good for a crowd because it keeps it warm and moist while people eat and then come back for more. 

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Notes:

Pork butt. The foreshoulder of the pig includes the upper leg and shoulder joint and typically weighs 12-18 lb. It's normally divided into the boston butt (the shoulder joint) and the fresh picnic ham (leg portion). Both are suitable for pulled pork. (Most picnic hams available in the supermarket, however, are cured and so not eligible for pulled pork.) The butt typically weighs around 6 pounds and I find this is adequate for about a dozen people, assuming some are the hungry type who will eat two portions.  

Getting the butt with the skin on is generally not possible in a supermarket, which is a good thing because it gives you further incentive to seek out your local organic pig farm where you can order the cuts you want the way you want them. (Factory-farm pork is not only tasteless but morally suspect, in my view. I've made my peace with the idea that animals have to die to become my food but I'm not comfortable with the idea that they have to suffer while they are alive for my sake.) Pulled pork is only as good as the pork that goes into it, so the best choice is pork from a farm that raises the pigs humanely and feeds them the traditional pig diet, heavy on whey and forage. I buy mine from Simon and Jane Frost, who operate Thirty-Acre Farm in Whitefield, Maine. I met them at my local farmers' market, which is a good place to start your search.

Rub. The rub used in this recipe is a traditional formulation that was popularized as "All-South Barbeque Rub" by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby in their excellent book The Thrill of the Grill.

Nutritional Estimate (Pork with Bun): 16 Servings (4 ounces pork each). Per serving: 383 Calories; 22 g Total Carbs; 1 g Dietary Fiber; 4 g Sugars; 16 g Fat; 102 mg Cholesterol; 290 mg Sodium; 33  cg Protein. Weight Watchers: 9 points.

Nutritional Estimate (Carolina Sauce): 32 Servings (1 tablespoon each). Per serving: 20 Calories; 2 g Total Carbs; 0 g Dietary Fiber; 2 g Sugars; 1 g Fat; 0 mg Cholesterol; 91 mg Sodium; 0 cg Protein. Weight Watchers: 0 points.