Neelys’ If-You’ve-Got-a-Smoker BBQ Pork
If you’ve got a smoker or kettle grill, here’s your recipe—you’ll make much more pulled pork than you need for the nachos, but are you complaining? Ever heard of that Memphis classic, a pulled-pork sandwich? Make some Neely’s coleslaw (see page 150), BBQ sauce (see page 37), and toasted hamburger buns, and go to town with the leftovers.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 12
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Mix together the Neely’s barbecue rub, pepper, and salt.
Step 2
Rinse the shoulder or butt thoroughly, pat dry with paper towels, and massage the seasoning mixture into the meat. Cover the meat with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 1 day in advance.
Step 3
Following the manufacturer’s instructions, and, using lump charcoal and 1/2 cup of soaked and drained wood chips for the smoker (or 1 cup for the kettle grill), start a fire, and bring the temperature of the smoker or barbecue grill up to 275 degrees F.
Step 4
Place the pork on a rack in the smoker or on the grill. Cover, and cook the meat until a thermometer inserted into the center registers 165 degrees F, turning the pork every hour or so, about 6 hours total. Add more charcoal as needed to maintain the temperature, and more drained wood chips to maintain the smoke level.
Step 5
Transfer the pork to a rimmed baking sheet (this is important—you’ll want to catch all the flavorful juices), and allow it to stand until cool enough to handle. Shred the pork into bite-sized pieces, and mound on a platter. Pour any juices from the baking sheet over the pork. At this point the pork can be served immediately, or covered with foil and refrigerated for a day.
Step 6
If you chill the pork, rewarm it, covered, in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes.
