Chef Tom's Carolina pulled pork recipe is smoked with charcoal and pecan wood and then mop-glazed in a tangy vinegar and tomato based Lexington-style sauce.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Rubbing a thin layer of Tarheel Tang sauce onto the pork before the dry rub gives the seasoning something to grip, rather than falling off a bare surface through hours of smoke
- Mopping the pork every hour instead of leaving it untouched builds up thin layers of vinegar-tomato flavor gradually, rather than relying on one heavy application
- Reserving some of the mop sauce before it touches raw pork keeps a portion clean for serving at the table, rather than needing to make a second batch
- Dicing the removed fat cap and mixing it back into the shredded meat redistributes rendered fat and flavor throughout the pulled pork, rather than discarding it entirely
Carolina Pulled Pork
Tom Jackson
Rated 4.6 stars by 18 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
20
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
7 hours 3 minutes
Calories
684
Chef Tom fires up the Kamado Joe Classic III Ceramic Grill for this charcoal and pecan wood smoked Carolina Pulled Pork, mopped in a vinegar and tomato based sauce, in the Lexington style.
Ingredients
- 10 lb Boston butt pork shoulder
-
Killer Hogs TX Brisket BBQ Rub
-
Plowboys BBQ Tarheel Tang
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
-
4 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper
For the mop sauce:
Directions
- Build a large charcoal base in the Kamado Joe Classic III. Stabilize the temperature at 300ºF, set up for smoking. Add two large chunks of pecan wood to the charcoal.
- Trim the surface tissue (not meat) from the crevice of the pork butt. Rub a thin layer of Plowboys BBQ Tarheel Tang sauce on the surface of the pork. Season generously with Killer Hogs TX Brisket BBQ Rub.
- Transfer the pork to the grill. Smoke for one hour before mopping.
- To build the mop sauce, combine the vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt and crushed red pepper in a quart sized mason jar. Place a lid on the jar and shake well. Reserve some sauce for saucing the pork after the cook, if desired.
- Using a sauce mop, mop the pork every hour with the sauce, until the pork is tender enough to pull the blade bone out by hand. The internal temperature will be about 205ºF.
- When the pork is cool enough to handle, shred by hand. Remove the fat cap and dice into small pieces and mix into the shredded pork.
- Serve the Carolina Pulled Pork with Plowboys BBQ Tarheel Tang, or reserved mop sauce.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why rub a thin layer of Tarheel Tang sauce onto the pork before applying the dry rub?
The sauce gives the Killer Hogs TX Brisket Rub something to stick to, helping it build a real crust through the smoke rather than falling off a bare, unseasoned surface.
Why mop the pork every hour instead of applying the sauce just once or twice?
Repeated mopping builds up thin layers of the vinegar-tomato sauce gradually over the full cook, rather than relying on one heavy application that might not penetrate as deeply or evenly.
Why reserve some of the mop sauce before it's used on the raw pork?
Setting aside a portion before the sauce touches raw meat keeps it clean for serving at the table afterward, rather than needing to mix a completely separate batch.
Why dice the fat cap and mix it back into the shredded pork instead of discarding it?
Chopping it into small pieces and folding it back in redistributes rendered fat and flavor throughout the pulled pork, rather than losing that fat entirely once it's trimmed away.
What internal temperature should the pork butt actually reach?
This recipe smokes it until the blade bone pulls out by hand, at an internal temperature of about 205°F, well above the USDA minimum of 145°F for whole-muscle pork. That higher target is what breaks down the connective tissue for pulling, not a food safety requirement.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
1 out of 5 — this is a 7.5-hour cook built entirely around a charcoal grill's low, steady wood smoke and hourly mopping. An oven can render the pork tender, but you'll lose the bark and smoke flavor this recipe is built around.
Recipe Highlights
Sauce-based binder: Helps the dry rub build a real crust through the smoke.
Hourly mopping: Builds sauce flavor gradually over the full cook.
Reserved clean sauce: Keeps a portion safe for serving at the table.
Redistributed fat cap: Mixes rendered fat back into the shredded pork.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 4 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 684
- Carbs
- 4 grams
- Protein
- 53 grams
- Fat
- 49 grams
- Sodium
- 323 milligrams
