BBQ Combo Meat Plate with Pit Beans, Slaw and White Bread

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A true two-meat barbecue platter you can actually pull off at home. One meat is the long-haul project — a rub-crusted pork shoulder smoked low until it shreds under a fork — and it's made a day ahead, which is the whole trick. The second meat is a coarse smoked sausage that hits the grill in 12 minutes while you're plating. Add pit beans built on the pork drippings, a sharp buttermilk slaw, pickles, raw onion and two slices of plain white bread, and you've got the $30 combo plate for a fraction of it. A full timing plan is built into the steps.

Ingredients

• 7 lb bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 3 tbsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 chunks hickory or oak wood chunks (or 3 cups soaked wood chips)
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water

• 2 lb coarse-ground smoked sausage or hot links (6 links)
• 1 tsp neutral oil

• 2 tbsp reserved pork drippings or bacon fat
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 3 cans (15 oz each) pinto or navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup shredded smoked pork (from above)

• 1 lb green cabbage, cored and shredded (about 8 cups)
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp molasses
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp yellow mustard
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 12 slices plain soft white sandwich bread
• 1 1/2 cups dill pickle chips
• 1 small white onion, sliced into thin rings
• 4 pickled jalapeños or sport peppers, for serving

Instructions

1. DAY BEFORE, 6:00 PM — Season the pork. Pat the shoulder dry and smear it all over with the yellow mustard. Combine 3 tbsp salt, 3 tbsp black pepper, 2 tbsp brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne, then press the rub onto every surface, including the underside and the seam around the bone. Set the pork on a rack over a sheet pan, uncovered, and refrigerate 12 to 18 hours so the surface dries and cures.
2. DAY OF, 7:00 AM — Set up for low smoke. Take the pork out of the fridge. For a kettle grill, bank 40 to 50 lit briquettes on one side, add 2 wood chunks, and set a foil pan of water on the empty side. For a pellet or electric smoker, set it to 250°F and load hickory. For the oven-only route, see Tips. Target a steady 250°F to 275°F at the grate.
3. 7:30 AM — Smoke fat-side up. Put the pork on the cool side of the grill, close the lid with the top vent over the meat, and smoke for 4 to 5 hours. Add 6 to 8 briquettes and a wood chunk about every 45 minutes to hold temperature. Combine the 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup water in a spray bottle and mist the pork every hour after the first 2 hours.
4. 11:30 AM — Wrap at the stall. When the pork reads 165°F to 175°F in the thickest part and the bark is deep mahogany and set (it shouldn't smear when you touch it), double-wrap tightly in heavy foil with 1/4 cup of the vinegar spray poured in. Return to the smoker or move to a 275°F oven.
5. 1:30 PM — Cook to feel, not just temperature. Continue until the pork reads 200°F to 205°F and a probe slides into the meat with no resistance, 2 to 3 more hours. Total cook is typically 7 to 9 hours for a 7-pound butt.
6. REST — Vent the foil for 5 minutes, then rest the wrapped pork in a cooler or turned-off oven for at least 1 hour and up to 3. Pour the foil juices into a fat separator or measuring cup; reserve 2 tbsp of the fat from the top for the beans and save the defatted juices to moisten the meat.
7. PULL — Remove the bone (it should slide free) and shred the pork with two forks or gloved hands, discarding hard gristle and tossing the chopped bark back through the pile. Moisten with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the reserved juices and a pinch of salt. Set aside 1 cup for the beans. If working a day ahead, cool and refrigerate; reheat covered with a splash of juice at 300°F for 25 minutes.
8. T-MINUS 2 HOURS — Make the slaw. Toss the cabbage and carrot with 1 tsp salt in a colander and let drain 30 minutes, then squeeze gently and blot dry. Whisk mayonnaise, buttermilk, 2 tbsp vinegar, sugar, celery seed and pepper, fold into the cabbage, and refrigerate at least 1 hour so it firms up rather than weeps on the plate.
9. T-MINUS 90 MINUTES — Make the sauce. Simmer the ketchup, 1/3 cup vinegar, molasses, 2 tbsp brown sugar, Worcestershire, mustard and hot sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring, until it coats a spoon. Season with salt and thin with a spoonful of pork juices if you like. Keep warm or serve at room temperature.
10. T-MINUS 75 MINUTES — Build the pit beans. Heat the 2 tbsp reserved pork fat in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium. Cook the onion and bell pepper 7 to 8 minutes until soft. Stir in the beans, ketchup, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, smoked paprika and the reserved 1 cup pulled pork.
11. Bake the beans uncovered at 325°F for 45 to 55 minutes, until the top is glazed and darkened and the sauce has tightened around the edges. Let them sit 10 minutes off the heat; they thicken as they cool.
12. T-MINUS 20 MINUTES — Grill the sausage. Wipe the links with a little oil. Grill over medium-direct heat (or in a dry cast-iron skillet over medium) for 10 to 12 minutes total, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, until the casings are blistered, snappy and lightly charred and the centers read 160°F. Rest 3 minutes, then cut on a sharp bias into 1-inch coins or halve lengthwise.
13. PLATE — Give each plate 5 to 6 oz of pulled pork and one sausage link's worth of coins. Add a scoop of beans, a scoop of slaw, 2 slices of plain white bread laid flat under or beside the meat, a small pile of pickle chips, a few raw onion rings and a pickled pepper.
14. Serve the sauce on the side in a small pitcher or squeeze bottle so guests can dress their own meat — pitmaster's rule, and it keeps the bark crisp.
15. LEFTOVERS — Refrigerate pork in its juices up to 4 days or freeze in 1-pound portions up to 3 months. Reheat in a covered skillet with 2 tbsp water over medium-low, 8 to 10 minutes.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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