Name: Cuban-Style Barbecued Pulled Pork with Mojo Sauce on a Charcoal Grill
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Cuisine: CaribbeanLatin America & Caribbean
Ingredients: 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper; 9 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 3 tablespoons); 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar; 1 tablespoon dried oregano; 1 tablespoon table salt; 1 (6- to 8-pound) bone-in pork roast (preferably shoulder or Boston butt roast)

Cuban-Style Barbecued Pulled Pork with Mojo Sauce on a Charcoal Grill

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 21, 2007

Yield

Serves 8

Ingredients

Garlic Rub

1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper 9 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 3 tablespoons)3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon table salt

Pork

1 (6- to 8-pound) bone-in pork roast (preferably shoulder or Boston butt roast)

Before You Begin

Pulled pork can be made with a fresh ham or picnic roast, although our preference is for Boston butt. Preparing pulled pork requires little effort, but lots of time. Plan on 10 hours from start to finish: 3 hours with the spice rub, 1 hour to come to room temperature, 3 hours on the grill, 2 hours in the oven, and 1 hour to rest. Wood chunks, a traditional flavoring for pulled pork, is not traditional in this dish. You will need a disposable aluminum roasting pan that measures about 10 inches by 8 inches as well as heavy-duty aluminum foil and a brown paper grocery bag. Mojo sauce (see related recipe) is a citrus-flavored sauce popular in Cuba. Rice with black beans is an excellent accompaniment to this dish.

Instructions

Mix all rub ingredients in small bowl, set aside.

If using a fresh ham or picnic roast, remove skin (see illustration below). Massage dry rub into meat. Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (For strong flavor, the roast can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

At least 1 hour prior to cooking, remove roast from refrigerator, unwrap, and let it come to room temperature. Meanwhile, light a large chimney starter filled a bit less than halfway with charcoal briquettes (about 2 1/2 quarts, or about 40 briquettes), and burn until all the charcoal is covered with a layer of fine gray ash.

Empty the coals into the grill; build a modified two-level fire by spreading the coals onto one side of the grill, piling them up in a mound 2 or 3 briquettes high, leaving the other half with no coals. Open the bottom vents completely. Position the cooking grate over the coals, cover the grill, and heat until hot, about 5 minutes (you can hold your hand 5 inches above the coals for 2 seconds). Use a grill brush to scrape the cooking grate clean.

Set unwrapped roast in disposable pan (see illustration below) and place it on grate opposite the fire, (see illustrations below). Open grill lid vents three-quarters of the way and cover, turning lid so that vents are opposite coals to draw smoke through the grill. Cook, adding about 8 briquettes every hour or so to maintain an average temperature of 275 degrees, for 3 hours.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place roast in pan and wrap with heavy-duty foil to cover completely. Place pan in oven and cook until meat is fork-tender, about 2 hours.

Slide the foil-wrapped pan with the roast into a brown paper bag. Crimp top shut; rest roast 1 hour. Transfer roast to cutting board and unwrap. When cool enough to handle, "pull" pork by separating roast into muscle sections (see illustration, below), removing fat, if desired, and tearing meat into thin shreds with fingers. Place shredded meat in large bowl. Serve with mojo sauce passed separately.