Root Beer Pulled Pork BBQ

Prepare yourselves for this recipe, it is time consuming, but it is soooooo good and so worth it! The upside to your efforts is that this recipe is for an entire pork butt, which is quite a lot of meat. I made it for a wedding this weekend and all reports were highly favorable. I will tell you, that the meat freezes really well, so your time investment is totally worth it with this recipe. Don't take any short cuts with the pork, the smoking process makes such a significant difference in the end, that it's totally worth your time.

A little education on pork butt. A pork "Butt", or "Boston Butt" is actually part of the upper shoulder of the pig. Once it's cut down, it's considered a "butt". This cut requires a long and slow cooking process, as it contains a fair amount of marbling. If you try to quick cook this meat, you will end up with some unsavory bites of fat and the meat won't be very tender, however, given a long and slow cooking process, it really melts in your mouth. If you can't find a pork butt, you can substitute a shoulder or picnic roast.

And let me tell you about the BBQ sauce. My favorite type of BBQ sauce is a Memphis sauce. I love that's its tangy and slightly spicy, but the kind of spice that comes from mustard, rather than chili. I also like that Memphis sauces aren't overly sweet. Kansas City sauce is the more common type of sauce that you would see used as a standard in restaurants and bottled sauces. To me, they are generally a bit too sweet and can sometimes be overly smokey. Having such intense flavor, tends to disguise the natural flavor of the meat. I like my meat to taste like meat ;-) It's almost like putting ketchup on a steak...criminal I tell you (unless you're eating steak at a buffet). That being said...this sauce is such a good compromise. The root beer lends a subtle bite that's wholly different than the bite from the cayenne. so it's complex and smooth overall. It's sweet, but not cloying and it's got a nice vinegar punch that is oddly complimented by the bite of the root beer. This is the kind of recipe that's perfect for a lazy summer day.

My favorite way to serve this is on a nice kaiser roll and a healthy scoop of the Spinach Cole Slaw in the previous post.

Pork Ingredients:

1/4 cup Kosher Salt 1/4 cup Black Pepper 1/4 cup Chili Powder 1 Tbs. Dried Oregano 1 Tbs. Dried Thyme 1 tsp, Cayenne 1 Boston Butt (will be in the neighborhood of 6-9 pounds)

Pork Directions:

Mix together all of the seasonings in a bowl and set aside.

Place chunks of wood in a foil packet - use two layers of foil. Bundle the packet leaving a hole at the top so that the smoke can escape.

Preheat one side of the grill to med-high. Place the smoke packet over the fire and place a drip pan under the unlit side (this is so that the dripping fat doesn't cause too much flaming. I did not do this, but did keep an eye on the pork to make sure it didn't flare in the process).

Pat the pork butt dry and rub it well with the seasonings. I like to do a little massage treatment on my butt (hahah, that sounds naughty). Making sure that the spices really get blended well on the surface of the meat. Also, don't be shy. Pack as much on there as you can.

Place the pork of the drip pan (yes, the side that is unlit) and grill for 3 hours. Check every hour or so to make sure there is plenty of smoke, but avoid opening the bbq any more than necessary or you'll lose that smoke in the process. If the chips stop making smoke, add more to your packet, or replace with a new packet of chips. I did so 2 or 3 times in my smoking process. This smoking process will take 3 hours, so plan ahead...In other words, get beer at the store too :-)

Once the smoking is complete, wrap the pork in two layers of aluminum foil, crimping edges to seal in moisture. Return it to the grill and cook for an additional 2 hours (You can also do this in a 400* oven). After 2 hours, insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. You want to hit 180*. Once you do, remove it from the heat and let it rest (inside of the foil) for 30 minutes. At this point, you can uncover it and start to pull the meat.

Once it's pulled, coat it with BBQ sauce.

Root Beer BBQ Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 (2 litre) Bottle of Root Beer Soda (No diet, sorry) 1 1/2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar 1/2 cup Ketchup 1/4 cup Yellow mustard 2 Tbs Lemon Juice 1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce 1 Tbs Tabasco 1 tsp Kosher Salt 1 tsp Black Pepper 2 Tbs Unsalted Butter

Directions:

In a large saucepan, over low heat, reduce the entire bottle of Root Beer to 1 cup of total liquid. The key here is to keep the heat as high as you can without making the root beer foam up and boil over. This might take up to an hour.

Add the remaining ingredients (except the butter) and stir well to combine. Keep heat on low and simmer for 20 minutes more.

Turn the heat off and finish the sauce by stirring the butter into it for a little extra body and flavor.

EnJoy!