"Take the day off" Pulled Pork

 This week, our neighbourhood was celebrating the 3^rd annual Grand Porch Party, a unique event where home owners in Uptown Waterloo offer up their front porches for musicians to play and entertain people walking by.  As usual, we decided to invite friends and neighbours to enjoy the music,  followed by a back-yard barbecue.

  

We like to work with different techniques and ingredients when we are preparing for gatherings. One thing is for sure, smoking a pork shoulder and whipping up some barbecue sauce for succulent pulled pork sliders is a terrific way to feed a crowd. You can really pack a punch with the moist, smoky meat cooked on the Broil King Keg, some tangy, spicy sauce, and a few salads.  Since pulled pork is one of our tried and true favorites, we needed to find a new technique, so headed directly to Adam Perry Langs “Serious Barbecue,” for a recipe that calls for injecting the pork butt roast with a sweet/salty fruit juice brine.

 “Take the day off” Pulled Pork

Remember to use a meat thermometer throughout the cooking procedure. Be careful that the tip of the thermometer does not touch the bone, to ensure an accurate temperature reading.

2-  7 lb Bone-in pork butt roasts (or 1- 15 lb whole pork shoulder)

Savoury/sweet  peach injection:

1 litre peach nectar

3 cups water

½ cup dark brown sugar

½ cup kosher salt

1 tbsp worchestershire sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

Mustard paste:

 6 tbsp prepared yellow mustard

6 tbsp water

1 ½ tbsp worchestershire sauce

1 ½ cider vinegar

Rub:

 ¼ cup chili powder

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 ½ tsp dry mustard

¾ tsp garlic salt

¾ tsp ground black pepper

Spray:

¼ cup canola oil

1 cup fruit juice spray

Wrapping mixture:

1 tbsp melted butter

¼ cup honey

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp peach (or any fruit) juice

1.       Combine injection ingredients in a large bowl and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Place the   Let stand for 2 hours, at room temperature.

Place the pork roast on a large, shallow roasting tray, inject the pork roast, using an injection syringe. Do not worry if some of the liquid escapes and pools in the bottom of the tray.

2.       Prepare the Broil King Keg and set to cook at 250°F.

3.       Combine the mustard paste ingredients. Combine the Rub ingredients. Set aside.

4.       Lift the pork roasts out of the roasting tray, pat them dry with paper towels, cover them with mustard paste and sprinkle on the rub. Gently spray with canola oil, using a spray mister.

5.       Place the roasts, fat side down, in the Broil King Keg, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 130°F, about 3 hours. Spray with fruit juice and cook for approximately 3 more hours,  spraying each hour, until the internal temperature reaches 160°F.

6.       Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the Wrapping Mixture.  Prepare to wrap the roasts by tearing off 4 large sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil and laying them over a large baking tray.   Remove the pork roasts from the Keg and place them skin side down, on the foil in the pan.  Pour the wrapping ingredients on top.  One sheet at a time, wrap the roasts and crimp the foil to seal them tightly. Transfer the wrapped pork roasts back to the Keg and cook until the internal temperature reaches 193°F, approximately 3 ½ to 3 ¾ more hours.

7.       Meanwhile, line a cooler with towels for increased insulation. Remove the roasts from the Keg and carefully unwrap them, drain off and discard the liquid. Rewrap the roasts in new sheets of heavy foil, then wrap them again in plastic wrap. Place them on a clean baking tray and place in the insulated cooler, cover with another towel. Close the lid and let rest for 1 hour.

8.       By this point, the pork will be very tender.  Unwrap the meat and place it on a flat rack or flat topper and return to the Broil King Keg for 30 more minutes.

9.       Remove from Keg, let cool for 20 minutes, then pull the pork, using large forks or your hands, being sure to leave some in a semichunk state.

10.   Mix with Barbecue Sauce and serve on soft buns with more sauce.  Dill pickles and hot pickled peppers make nice garnishes.

Adams Barbecue Sauce

½ cup canola oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 white onion, minced

2 tsp kosher salt

¼ cup bourbon

3 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

¼ tsp allspice

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups water

2 cups ketchup

½ cup blackstrap molasses

½ cup yellow mustard

½ cup cider vinegar

2 tsp hot sauce

½ cup apricot jam

1.       Heat canola oil in a large saucepan on Medium. Add garlic, onion, and salt. Cook, stirring gently, about 10 minutes, until softened.

2.       Pour in the bourbon and cook off alcohol for about 4 minutes.

3.       Combine chili powder, black pepper and allspice and add to pan. Cook another 3 minutes, stirring gently.

4.       Stir in the brown sugar, water, ketchup, molasses, cider vinegar, hot sauce and apricot jam. Bring to a boil, stirring to prevent burning.  Reduce and simmer for 45 minutes, until thickened.

5.       Adjust seasoning.