Cherry-Smoked Pulled Pork with Carolina Vinegar Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A weekend-long smoker project that asks almost nothing of you: one pork shoulder, a six-ingredient pantry rub, and cherry wood smoke at 250°F until the meat hits 203°F and shreds under a fork. A tangy Carolina-style vinegar sauce cuts the richness, and leftovers make a week of sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 5 lb bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup apple juice
• 4 chunks cherry wood chunks (fist-sized)

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. The night before or at least 1 hour ahead, pat the pork shoulder dry and rub it all over with the yellow mustard. Mix the brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl and press the rub onto every surface, including the underside and around the bone. Refrigerate uncovered until you are ready to smoke.
2. Set up your smoker for indirect cooking at 250°F and add 2 cherry wood chunks once the fire is settled and the smoke runs thin and blue. Fill the water pan if your smoker has one.
3. Place the pork fat-side up directly on the grate and smoke undisturbed for 3 hours, adding the remaining 2 cherry wood chunks about 90 minutes in. Keep the smoker between 240°F and 260°F.
4. After 3 hours, pour the apple juice into a spray bottle or small bowl and spritz or mop the pork every 45 minutes. Continue smoking until the internal temperature in the thickest part reaches 165°F and the bark is deep mahogany, about 3 more hours.
5. Wrap the pork tightly in two layers of heavy-duty foil with any remaining apple juice poured in, return it to the smoker, and cook until a probe slides into the meat with no resistance and the internal temperature reads 203°F, about 2 to 3 hours more.
6. Rest the wrapped pork in a dry cooler or turned-off oven for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, whisk the apple cider vinegar, ketchup, red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon of the leftover rub (or a pinch each of salt and pepper) together in a jar.
7. Unwrap over a tray to catch the juices, pull out the bone, and shred the pork with two forks. Toss the meat with the reserved juices and about half the vinegar sauce, then serve with the rest of the sauce on the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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