Carolina Pulled Pork

4.97 from 31 votes

Carolina Pulled Pork is one of those classic Americana BBQ styles that everybody needs to try at least once! Rich, savory smoked pork shoulder is slathered with a thin, vinegar based sauce to bring a little bite to all that melt in your mouth meat.

Prep Time15

Cook Time8

Total Time8 15

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Barbecue

Keyword: Carolina Pulled Pork

Servings: people

Ingredients

6-7 pound bone-in pork shoulder (AKA Boston butt)

Rub

2 Tablespoons Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons coarse black pepper
2 Tablespoons smoked paprika

Mop Sauce

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup beer
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Vinegar BBQ Sauce

2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups water
½ cup ketchup omit for a more authentic East North Carolina sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

Preheat. Preheat your smoker for indirect smoking at 250 degrees F.
Season and smoke. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the rub and apply liberally on all sides of the pork shoulder. Place the rubbed shoulder in the smoker and close the lid.
Mop. In a glass bowl, combine all the ingredients for the mop sauce. Apply the mop sauce to the pulled pork every hour. Smoke the pork shoulder, while mopping hourly, for 8-10 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 200 degrees F.
Rest. Remove the shoulder from the smoker, cover tightly with foil, and allow to rest for an hour before shredding and serving.
Make the BBQ sauce. In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients for the BBQ sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Cool completely and set aside to serve with the pork.
Shred and serve. Remove the shoulder from the foil and shred. Discard the bone and any gristly pieces and pull the rest of the meat into shreds. Moisten the meat with some of the BBQ sauce and mix together. Serve with buns, slaw, and additional BBQ sauce.

Video

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