Drew’s recipe this month comes by way of Scott Peacock, renowned chef of Southern Cuisine, and there’s no better way to dive into the riches of Southern cooking than by diving into the riches of Pulled Pork. This recipe originally appeared in Better Homes and Gardens, July, 2014.
Ingredients: 
- (1) 6½ pound bone-in pork shoulder blade roast
- 3 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Preparation:
- Trim excess fat from pork, leaving fat cap about ¼ inch thick. Pat pork dry with paper towels. Place on a large piece of plastic wrap. Spread mustard on pork. In a small bowl stir together brown sugar, salt, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, and garlic powder. Coat pork with all of the spice mixture. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place on a tray. Chill at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a shallow roasting pan with foil. Place a rack in the pan. Unwrap pork; place on the rack. Roast, uncovered, 4 hours. Wrap pork with a double thickness of foil and return to rack. Roast 2 hours more or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in meat registers at least 190°F. Remove from oven. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Unwraq. Using 2 forks, pull pork apart, removing any large pockets of fat as you pull. Serve with pickles, onion slices, Spicy Vinegar, Barbecue Sauce, and/or buns.
- Makes 20 servings.
- If you plan to reheat the pork, pull the meat apart before chilling or freezing. This will make reheating much easier.
- Each serving: 146 cal, 5g fat, 60mg chol, 998mg sodium, 4g carb, 0g fiber, 19g pro.
Some extra advice from Scott:
Leave some fat- “Don’t be afraid of the fat- it adds so much flavor. It will melt and baste the meat as it cooks. You want to leave at least ¼” of fat.
Slather on Dijon- “Dijon has an intensity and punch that I love, and it’s a great foundation to build flavor on. Plus, a generous slather helps the rub stick.”
Rub generously- “You want to cover every inch of meat with the rub- use all of it. The combination of smoked paprika and chili powder gives such nice depth of flavor.”
Wrap and chill- “The plastic wrap holds the rub right against the meat. I prefer to chill overnight before roasting to give the seasonings a chance to penetrate.”
Let it rest- “This step makes a big difference. After the meat has roasted, it allows the outside crust to soften and gives you that buttery, tender-to-the-bone texture.”
Pull the pork- “When I pull, I refrain from going crazy to the point that the meat is stringy. I like to keep a little integrity to its structure with some bigger pieces.”
