Welcome to episode two of the Love Logs Winter Barbecue, the series where I show you how to make comforting, slow cooked winter BBQ food like chillies, braised rib of beef, pulled pork, and loads more... without spending loads of time outside.
Pulled pork was always going to feature... pork shoulder is the most forgiving cut in BBQ so it's very hard to get it wrong! We fancied tacos, so I paired the pulled pork with some fresh homemade coleslaw and corn tortillas.
Video Recipe - Smoked Hot and Fast Pulled Pork
Obviously we'd love you to watch the whole video, but if you're looking for something specific to help with your hot and fast pulled pork, you can use the scroll bar in the video to jump forward to the chapters below:
0m00s - Introduction
0m24s - Ingredients
01m21s - Prepping the pork
02m46s - What does a BBQ rub do?
03m31s - BBQ setup
04m13s - When to take the pork off the BBQ
05m19s - Checking in on the bark
05m51s - What temperature to cook pulled pork to
06m20s - Making the coleslaw
08m04s - Resting the pork
08m22s - Making tortillas
08m47s - Will the pork pull?
Ingredients
Makes 8-10 portions of pulled pork... 6 if you've got big appetites!
- 2.5kg pork shoulder joint, allow approx. 200g raw pork per person as part of a meal, or 300g for four tacos
- Butcher's string
- Off the shelf spice rub, I used Shropshire Lad House Rub
- 100g butter
- Runny honey
- Hot sauce, I used Cholula
- 1 large carrot
- Small red cabbage
- 2 limes
- Fresh coriander
- Quality sea salt
- Black pepper
- Apple cider vinegar
- Masa flour, or shop bought corn tortillas
Method
- Remove the rind leaving as much soft fat on the pork shoulder as you can, and set the rind aside for using later - it makes amazing crackling!
- Apply a good layer of your chosen rub all over the shoulder joint, and tie it back together using butcher's string - it doesn't need to be overly neat or precise, just form it back into one single mass of meat.
- Light your BBQ and using a snake method with lumpwood charcoal, bring the temperature up to 150-160°C. With my Weber, this means having the lid thermometer read roughly 190-200°C, but you can use a pit probe if you like. Add some wood chunks and wait until the first one is burning cleanly before you add the meat.
- Add the pork to the grill and head inside, most of the outside work is done! Keep an eye on your BBQ temperature and make small vent adjustments to increase or decrease temperature.
- After 3 hours of consistent smoke, bring your pork inside and double wrap it in foil with some liquid - I used butter, hot sauce and honey, but you can use your favourite BBQ sauce, sometimes I mix BBQ sauce and whisky.
- Add a probe and cook the pork at 175°C until the internal temperature is ready 95°C. Pull the pork out and use a meat probe to check for doneness, the pulled pork is ready to rest when the probe goes through the joint like it would go through butter.
- Rest your pork for half an hour covered and another half hour uncovered, these times can be significantly extended if you like - if your pork is ready hours ahead, wrap it in towels and place it in a cooler or your microwave to stay warm for as long as possible.
- While your pork rests you can get everything else done - I made a super fresh coleslaw and some corn tortillas.
- After an hour it's time to pull your pork, bear claws and forks are useful to avoid burning your hands!]
- Taste the pork... not only have you earned it, chef, but this is the perfect time to see what else you need to add - mine needed some more hot sauce but you might find yours needs sweetness or acidity.
- Gloat to your partner that you cooked the pulled pork on time, then assemble your tacos and enjoy!
Sustainable BBQ Fuel
If you still aren't sure which charcoal or smoking wood to buy, just send us an email on info@love-logs.com and we'll do our best to help!
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