The first step in this recipie is finding a butcher you can rely on. I frequent Victor's meats, where on any given day you can find three men behind the counter who have devoted themselves to the pleasures of the flesh. We require a pork shoulder aka picnic shoulder aka Boston butt. Since my plan was to rotisserie the beast, I had them take the bone out - but if you are going to use a traditional grill or smoker, leave the bone in. Here's what we are dealing with:
The pork shoulder is a wonderous and frightening piece of meat. It demands a slow cooking time to encourage it to give up all its porky goodness - so be ready to commit. First things first - remove any of the twine the holds the roast together and give it a good washing in cool water. Then, dry it all over with paper towels, and do a good job because wet meat won't sear properly. If you use the crappy brand x variety, the towels will stick and make a big mess - go with the Kirkland from Costco - they haven't failed me yet.
Rub equal parts of fresh ground black pepper, coarse salt, and sweet paprika onto the shoulder, and make sure you get it into every crevice - you'll thank me later. Now comes the real challenge - hustling this thing onto the spit. Make sure you get it though the middle so the weight will balance when it rotates, and secure any flip-flaps with some bamboo kabob skewers. If you are planning a big barbeque and you've accidentally invited people who don't eat pork, prepare a chicken in the manner described above and stick that on the spit, too.
To make a fire that will burn slow and smoky, first prepare a bed of regular old briquets that have ashed over completely and let them burn down a bit. Next, adjust the vents on the bottom and lid of the kettle so they are both a quarter of the way open, and add the spit with the meat(s). Place a few big lumps of Mesquite charcoal on the bed of coals, and gradually add a few more every hour. If you don't have a rotisserie, you can always sear the meat over the hot coals and then place it off to the side - fat side up, over a pan of water. Be patient, and try not to take the lid off too often. After two hours, you can add a few handfuls of hickory wood chips to amp up the flavor. Let them smoke for about a half hour, and then take the chicken off the spit, and add a few more handfuls of hickory chips to finish the pork. The goal is to get the pork shoulder to 195 degrees in the middle. It takes 3-4 hours.
When your meat thermometer tells you the pork is 195, take it off the spit and set it aside to rest. In the meantime, combine 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar, 1/2 cup cold water, 1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes, 1 small onion thinly sliced, 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to make your sauce. Next, seperate the pork into chunks and discard the obvious huge pieces of gristle. From here the best way to proceed is by hand; finish pulling apart the meat while leaving the delicate stands in tact. Add your sauce and mix to combine, pile the pork high on hamburger buns and serve with coleslaw. Wonderwife invented this sauce for our experimental pulled chicken: 1/3 cup katsup, 3/4 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon salt. Prepare your chicken in the same manner as the pork, and if you dare, pile that on your sandwich right on top of the pork. Now you've basically got a whole barnyard on a bun. Enjoy!
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