The making of some Pulled Pork BBQ suggests there’s a crowd coming for dinner or a family celebratory event. Either way, it will be memorable feast filled with satiated smiles and laughter! Pair it with this incredible Creamy Coleslaw for a true BBQ experience! For the pork, I adapted a recipe my in-laws used at Christmas for our annual gathering.from Epicurious.com for Lazy Texas Brisket which included a link for Broncbuster’s Barbecue Sauce. I felt it could be adapted to use pork instead of a beef brisket, so I chose to give it a try on Super Bowl Sunday 2019. With a few minor adjustments to the recipe, we anxiously awaited for it to be complete by game time.
The rub ingredients were mixed and ready for application. But before you start, there’s a couple of things you need to do. First, rinse off and pat dry the pork roast. Place a few layers of alternating sheets of foil down. Now you are ready. Pat the rub EVERYWHERE, including the bottom. Now, wrap it tightly with the foil. If needed, place more on top to secure coverage in all areas. Place it on a rack in a roasting pan to help it cook more evenly by allowing heat to circulate around the bottom in a preheated 250 degree oven.
About a half hour prior to its expected finish time, prepare the BBQ sauce. My adjustments to this recipe included using dark brown sugar and doubled the amount to 1/4 cup instead of the 2 tablespoons since it tasted a bit too tangy for me. I also used Dijon instead of dry mustard and smoked paprika instead of just plain paprika. Feel free to make this ahead of time and just warm it up prior to serving.
After the 8 hour time period, Take your instant read thermometer and poke it into the meat through the foil. If done, it should be registering an internal temperature between 190-205 degrees. That is considered fork tender. When I inserted mine, it felt like it was going through a soft loaf of bread. Perfect!
This literally fell apart as I was snipping the string holding it all together. Take a couple of forks and start separating the meat and removing any loose fat. Place the pulled pork on a platter with the BBQ sauce on the side so individuals can either serve it up plain (who would do that), or top it off with a big spoonful of sauce to their liking. Accompanying it should be maybe some toasted rolls and of course, the coleslaw mentioned above. It’s great on the buns with the Pulled Pork BBQ ! After all, isn’t that how the south serves it up?
Enjoy this self-serve meal while you watch the game!
Pulled Pork BBQ
Ingredients
Rub:
- 1 T chili powder
- 1 t smoked paprika
- 1 t salt
- 1/2 t cumin
- 1/2 t rubbed sage
- 1/2 t sugar
- 1/2 t oregano
- 1/4 t cayenne
- 1/4 t black pepper, freshly ground
Pork:
- 4 lb Pork Boneless Half Butt Roast
BBQ Sauce:
- 1 T extra virgin olive oil
- 2 T butter
- 1 medium onion, finely choppped (1 1/4 c)
- 1/2 c water
- 1/2 c chili sauce
- 1/2 c ketchup
- 1/4 c apple cider vinegar
- 2 T fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 c dark brown sugar
- 2 T Worcestershire sauce
- 1 T molasses
- 2 t Kosher salt
- 1 T Dijon mustard
- 1/2 t black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 t smoked paprika
Instructions
Rub/Pork:
- Combine all rub ingredients and pat it on all exposed areas of the pork roast which has been rinsed off and patted dry.
- Wrap pork tightly in layers of foil and place on a rack inside the roasting pan.
- Cook in a 250 degree oven for 8 hours. Check the internal temperature. It should be between 190-205 degrees to be fork tender. Unwrap foil, cut the string ties off and begin to pull apart the pork using a fork and removing any excess fat. Plate the pork on a platter with BBQ sauce on the side or combine sauce with the pork.
BBQ Sauce:
- Melt butter in pan with olive oil. Add the diced onions and cook until translucent for about 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Adding a little pinch of sugar to help them caramelize and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until they begin to brown.
- Whisk in the remaining ingredients and bring to a low boil. Reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes,stirring frequently.
- Serve it on the side of the pork to be added to it separately or combine it with the pulled pork
