Oklahoma Barbecued Chopped Pork
By America's Test KitchenPublished on May 29, 2012
Time
7½ to 8½ hours, plus 30 minutes resting
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons paprika Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon white pepper 1 bone-in pork shoulder roast (6 to 8 pounds) (see note)4 cups wood chips (see note), soaked for 15 minutes
Before You Begin
If you can’t find bone-in pork shoulder, use a 4- to 5-pound boneless roast and begin checking for doneness after 1 hour in step 3. We like hickory wood chips best for this recipe; avoid mesquite. If you’re lucky enough to have pan juices at the end of step 3, you can defat them and add them back to the chopped pork.
Instructions
- RUB PORK Combine brown sugar, paprika, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoons black pepper, and white pepper in small bowl. Pat pork dry with paper towels and rub spice mixture all over pork. (Pork can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for 24 hours.)
- SMOKE PORK Tightly seal 2 cups wood chips in foil packet and cut vent holes in top of packet. Repeat with remaining chips. Open bottom vent on grill halfway. Place foil packet on 1 side of grill and cover with about 50 unlit coals. Place second foil packet on unlit coals. Light about 75 coals; when they are covered with fine gray ash, carefully pile on top of second foil packet. Set cooking grate in place and heat, covered, with lid vent open halfway, for 5 minutes. (For gas grill, add ½ cup ice cubes to 1 foil packet. Place both packets directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium-high and shut other burner[s] off. During grilling, adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature between 275 and 300 degrees.) Scrape and oil cooking grate. Arrange pork on cool side of grill and barbecue, covered, until pork is lightly charred and smoky, about 4 hours.
- MOVE TO OVEN Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer smoked pork to roasting pan and cover pan tightly with foil. Bake until pork is tender and pulls away from bone, 2 to 3 hours. Remove from oven and let rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
- CHOP PORK Uncover pork and place on cutting board. When meat is cool enough to handle, pull into large chunks. Roughly chop pork and transfer to large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. (Pork can be refrigerated in -airtight container for 3 days.) Serve with Oklahoma Barbecue Sauce and Relish.
Time
7½ to 8½ hours, plus 30 minutes restingYield
Serves 8Ingredients
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 bone-in pork shoulder roast (6 to 8 pounds) (see note)
4 cups wood chips (see note), soaked for 15 minutes
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 bone-in pork shoulder roast (6 to 8 pounds) (see note)
4 cups wood chips (see note), soaked for 15 minutes
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 bone-in pork shoulder roast (6 to 8 pounds) (see note)
4 cups wood chips (see note), soaked for 15 minutes
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Many recipes for Oklahoma-style barbecued pork called for gargantuan pork shoulders weighing in at around 16 pounds. We opted for the more modest pork butt in our recipe. To prevent the need to refuel every two hours, we used an untraditional method to build the fire. We dumped unlit coals onto wood chips on one side of the grill, added more wood, then placed lit coals on top.
Before You Begin
If you can’t find bone-in pork shoulder, use a 4- to 5-pound boneless roast and begin checking for doneness after 1 hour in step 3. We like hickory wood chips best for this recipe; avoid mesquite. If you’re lucky enough to have pan juices at the end of step 3, you can defat them and add them back to the chopped pork.
Instructions
- RUB PORK Combine brown sugar, paprika, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoons black pepper, and white pepper in small bowl. Pat pork dry with paper towels and rub spice mixture all over pork. (Pork can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for 24 hours.)
- SMOKE PORK Tightly seal 2 cups wood chips in foil packet and cut vent holes in top of packet. Repeat with remaining chips. Open bottom vent on grill halfway. Place foil packet on 1 side of grill and cover with about 50 unlit coals. Place second foil packet on unlit coals. Light about 75 coals; when they are covered with fine gray ash, carefully pile on top of second foil packet. Set cooking grate in place and heat, covered, with lid vent open halfway, for 5 minutes. (For gas grill, add ½ cup ice cubes to 1 foil packet. Place both packets directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium-high and shut other burner[s] off. During grilling, adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature between 275 and 300 degrees.) Scrape and oil cooking grate. Arrange pork on cool side of grill and barbecue, covered, until pork is lightly charred and smoky, about 4 hours.
- MOVE TO OVEN Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer smoked pork to roasting pan and cover pan tightly with foil. Bake until pork is tender and pulls away from bone, 2 to 3 hours. Remove from oven and let rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
- CHOP PORK Uncover pork and place on cutting board. When meat is cool enough to handle, pull into large chunks. Roughly chop pork and transfer to large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. (Pork can be refrigerated in -airtight container for 3 days.) Serve with Oklahoma Barbecue Sauce and Relish.
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