Lexington-Style Pulled Pork For Charcoal Grill
By America's Test KitchenPublished on March 11, 2013
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Spice Rub and Pork
2 tablespoons paprika 2 tablespoons ground black pepper 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon table salt 1 boneless pork shoulder roast (4- to 5-pound)4 cups wood chips, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drainedLexington BBQ Sauce
1 cup water 1 cup cider vinegar ½ cup ketchup 1 tablespoon sugar ¾ teaspoon table salt ½ teaspoon ground black pepper ½ teaspoon red pepper flakesBefore You Begin
Pork butt (often labeled Boston butt) is usually sold boneless and wrapped in netting but is sometimes available on the bone. If barbecuing a bone-in roast, or if your pork butt weighs more than 5 pounds, plan on an extra 30 to 60 minutes of oven cooking time.
Instructions
- For the spice rub and pork: Combine spices, sugar, and salt in small bowl, breaking up any lumps as necessary. Massage entire pork roast with spice mixture. (Roast may be wrapped tightly and refrigerated for up to 1 day.) Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips in foil packet and cut several vent holes in top.
- Open bottom grill vents. Light large chimney starter filled halfway with charcoal briquettes (about 50 coals) and burn until charcoal is covered with fine gray ash. Pour coals into pile on one side of grill. Place wood chip packet on coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and let grill heat up 5 minutes. Scrape grate clean.
- Position pork on cooler side of grill. Cover, positioning half-open lid vents directly over meat, and cook until meat has dark, rosy crust and charcoal is spent, about 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer pork to large roasting pan, wrap pan and pork tightly in foil, and roast in oven until fork inserted into pork can be removed with no resistance (see related Tip), 2 to 3 hours. Remove from oven and rest, still wrapped in foil, for 30 minutes.
- For the sauce: Whisk together all ingredients until sugar and salt are dissolved. Using hands, pull pork into thin shreds, discarding fat if desired. Toss pork with 1/2 cup vinegar sauce, serving remaining sauce at table.
Yield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
Spice Rub and Pork
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon table salt
1 boneless pork shoulder roast (4- to 5-pound)
4 cups wood chips, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained
Lexington BBQ Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup cider vinegar
½ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Spice Rub and Pork
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon table salt
1 boneless pork shoulder roast (4- to 5-pound)
4 cups wood chips, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained
Lexington BBQ Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup cider vinegar
½ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Spice Rub and Pork
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon table salt
1 boneless pork shoulder roast (4- to 5-pound)
4 cups wood chips, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained
Lexington BBQ Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup cider vinegar
½ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Traditional vinegar-based Lexington-style pulled pork recipes take hours to prepare. We wanted to simplify this recipe without sacrificing flavor. To do so, we used a combination of grilling and oven-roasting to reduce the cooking time from all day to just a few hours. To infuse our Lexington-Style pulled pork with ample smoke flavor despite the abbreviated cooking time, we doubled the amount of wood chips we used.
Before You Begin
Pork butt (often labeled Boston butt) is usually sold boneless and wrapped in netting but is sometimes available on the bone. If barbecuing a bone-in roast, or if your pork butt weighs more than 5 pounds, plan on an extra 30 to 60 minutes of oven cooking time.
Instructions
- For the spice rub and pork: Combine spices, sugar, and salt in small bowl, breaking up any lumps as necessary. Massage entire pork roast with spice mixture. (Roast may be wrapped tightly and refrigerated for up to 1 day.) Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips in foil packet and cut several vent holes in top.
- Open bottom grill vents. Light large chimney starter filled halfway with charcoal briquettes (about 50 coals) and burn until charcoal is covered with fine gray ash. Pour coals into pile on one side of grill. Place wood chip packet on coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and let grill heat up 5 minutes. Scrape grate clean.
- Position pork on cooler side of grill. Cover, positioning half-open lid vents directly over meat, and cook until meat has dark, rosy crust and charcoal is spent, about 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer pork to large roasting pan, wrap pan and pork tightly in foil, and roast in oven until fork inserted into pork can be removed with no resistance (see related Tip), 2 to 3 hours. Remove from oven and rest, still wrapped in foil, for 30 minutes.
- For the sauce: Whisk together all ingredients until sugar and salt are dissolved. Using hands, pull pork into thin shreds, discarding fat if desired. Toss pork with 1/2 cup vinegar sauce, serving remaining sauce at table.
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