Barbecue Pork Shoulder Recipes

CHINESE BARBEQUE PORK (CHAR SIU)

Steps:

• Place soy sauce, honey, rice wine, hoisin sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, five-spice powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and curing salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat; reduce heat to medium-high. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
• Cut pork roast in half lengthwise. Cut each half again lengthwise forming 4 long, thick pieces of pork.
• Transfer cooled sauce to a large mixing bowl. Stir in red food coloring. Place pork sections into sauce and coat each piece. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 to 12 hours.
• Preheat grill for medium heat, 275 to 300 degrees F (135 to 150 degrees C) and lightly oil the grate. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove sections of pork from marinade and let excess drip off. Place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste.
• Transfer pork sections to grate over indirect heat on prepared grill. Cover and cook about 45 minutes. Brush with marinade; turn. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 185 and 190 degrees F, about 1 hour and 15 minutes more. Do not use any more marinade on cooked meat until after you boil it.
• Place leftover marinade in saucepan; bring to a boil; let simmer 1 minutes. Remove from heat. Now you can use it to brush over the cooked pork.

BARBECUED PORK SHOULDER (BOSTON BUTT)

Steps:

• Soak your hickory chips for at least 8 hours.
• Place the charcoal on one side of the grill, place a pan of water on the other side (under the grilling rack). Fire up the coals, and spread them out once they are white and ashy (about 20 minutes). Place your grilling rack on the grill, and let it sit for about 5 minutes covered.
• While the charcoal is getting hot, saute the onion and garlic in butter in a medium saucepan until tender. Stir in the brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, water, Worcestershire sauce, lemon rind, lemon juice, hot sauce and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove sauce from heat.
• Insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, making sure it doesn't touch bone or fat. I usually just insert the thermometer after it has cooked a while to check for doneness. Place the meat (fat side up) on the grill over the pan of water (this will keep your meat moist). Toss some hickory chips over the charcoal to create some great smoke. Cover with the lid, and make sure the vents are open over the meat to draw the heat and smoke towards the meat. Cook over low coals for 3 hours, turning the roast halfway through the cooking time. You will need to add charcoal and hickory chips about every 30-40 minutes to keep the fire and smoke going. I slip them in the side and flick them over to the active charcoal with a tong! After cooking for 3 hours, baste the roast with the sauce. Cover and cook an additional hour or until the thermometer registers 160 degrees. Baste frequently with the sauce.
• Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
• Serve sliced with potato salad or cole slaw, or you can put it on sandwiches.

SLOW COOKER PULLED PORK BARBEQUE

Steps:

• Stir celery, onion, barbeque sauce, ketchup, water, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper together in a slow cooker. Place roast into the mixture.
• Cook on Low for 7 hours (or High for 5 hours). Shred the meat with two forks and stir into the liquid; cook for 1 hour more.

CHAR SIU (CHINESE BBQ PORK)

Steps:

• Cut the pork into long strips or chunks about 2 to 3 inches thick. Don't trim any excess fat, as it will render off and add flavor.
• Combine the sugar, salt, five spice powder, white pepper, sesame oil, wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, molasses, food coloring (if using), and garlic in a bowl to make the marinade (i.e. the BBQ sauce).
• Reserve about 2 tablespoons of marinade and set it aside. Rub the pork with the rest of the marinade in a large bowl or baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours. Cover and store the reserved marinade in the fridge as well.
• Preheat your oven to 'bake' at 475 F (246 C) with a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven. (If you only have a convection oven, keep in mind the oven not only heats more quickly, your char siu will roast faster than what we have described here). It's amazing how oven temperatures can vary-from model to model, in different spots in the oven, and in how ovens pre-heat and maintain heat. Using an oven thermometer to double-check the actual oven temperature is a great safeguard to monitor your food (I say double-check because even oven thermostat calibrations vary and can sometimes be incorrect). Regardless, be sure to check your char siu every 10 minutes, reducing or increasing the temperature as needed.
• Line a sheet pan with foil and place a metal rack on top. Using the metal rack keeps the pork off of the pan and allows it to roast more evenly, like it does in commercial ovens described above. Place the pork on the rack, leaving as much space as possible between pieces. Pour 1 ½ cups water into the pan below the rack. This prevents any drippings from burning or smoking.
• Transfer the pork to your preheated oven. Roast for 25 minutes, keeping the oven setting at 475 F for the first 10 minutes of roasting, and then reduce your oven temperature to 375 F (190 C). After 25 minutes, flip the pork. If the bottom of the pan is dry, add another cup of water. Turn the pan 180 degrees to ensure even roasting. Roast another 15 minutes. Throughout the roasting time, check your char siu often (every 10 minutes) and reduce the oven temperature if it looks like it is burning!
• Meanwhile, combine the reserved marinade with the maltose or honey (maltose is very viscous--you can heat it up in the microwave to make it easier to work with) and 1 tablespoon hot water. This will be the sauce you'll use for basting the pork.
• After 40 minutes of total roasting time, baste the pork, flip it, and baste the other side as well. Roast for a final 10 minutes.
• By now, the pork has cooked for 50 minutes total. It should be cooked through and caramelized on top. If it's not caramelized to your liking, you can turn the broiler on for a couple minutes to crisp the outside and add some color/flavor. Be sure not to walk away during this process, since the sweet char siu BBQ sauce can burn if left unattended. You can also use a meat thermometer to check if the internal temperature of the pork has reached 160 degrees F. (Update: USDA recommends that pork should be cooked to 145 degrees F with a 3 minute resting time)
• Remove from the oven and baste with the last bit of reserved BBQ sauce. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing, and enjoy!

BBQ PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Combine dry rub ingredients and rub all over pork shoulder. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Combine ingredients for basting sauce and mix thoroughtly; cover and refrigerate overnight to blend flavors.
• Preheat oven to 250. Place pork shoulder in roaster pan with a rack underneath. Brush some of the basting sauce over pork. Cook for 8-9 hours or until pork falls apart, basting every hour.
• Meanwhile, combine barbeque sauce ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Serve with pork.
• It would be great served on buns with the sauce.

PULLED PORK BARBECUE

Steps:

• Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the pork in a roasting pan and roast it for about 6 hours. An instant-read thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the pork should register 170 degrees F, but basically, what you want to do is to roast it until it's falling apart.
• While the pork is roasting, make the barbecue sauce. Combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Take it off the heat and let it sit until you're ready for it.
• When the pork is done, take it out of the oven and put it on a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While it's resting, deglaze the pan over medium heat with 3/4 cup water, scraping with a wooden spoon to pick up all of the browned bits. Reduce by about half. Pour that into the saucepan with the sauce and cook 5 minutes.
• While the pork is still warm, you want to "pull" the meat: Grab 2 forks. Using 1 to steady the meat, use the other to "pull" shreds of meat off the roast. Put the shredded pork in a bowl and pour half of the sauce over. Stir it all up well so that the pork is coated with the sauce.
• To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom half of each hamburger bun, and top with some slaw. Serve with pickle spears and the remaining sauce on the side.
• Combine the cabbage, carrots, red onion, green onions, and chile in a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix. Season the cole slaw with the celery seed, hot sauce, salt, and black pepper. Chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

BARBECUE PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• In small bowl, whisk together sugar, tomato paste, mustard, vinegar, chile powder, hot pepper sauce, and salt. Set aside.
• In heavy, medium skillet over moderately high heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add onion, pepper, jalapeño, and garlic, and sauté until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape into slow cooker.
• Add pork cubes, bacon, tomatoes and their juices, and bay leaf and stir to combine. Pour sauce over mixture. Cover and cook on low until meat is very tender, 8 to 10 hours. Remove bay leaf and use fork to break up meat before serving on rolls.

BARBECUE PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• 1. Place all of the dry spice ingredients in a bowl together and mix well. Place the pork shoulder in a bowl and sprinkle the spice rub on the surface of the meat, cover and allow to rest in the fridge overnight. 2. To barbecue, prepare an indirect heat barbecue by stacking the coals to one side of the pit and placing a heatproof tray filled with water on the other side - this creates an area which will gently cook and smoke the meat. Light the coals, place the grill over the barbecue and preheat for 30 minutes. 3. Oil the grill and place the pork shoulder on the cooler side of the grill (over the water tray) skin side up. Cook for 4 hours, adding more coals if necessary. The water tray should be constantly simmering - add more water if required. 4. Double wrap the joint with aluminium foil and place back onto the barbecue for a further 4-6 hours until the meat is falling apart. 5. Alternatively, to cook conventionally, preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Place the pork on a rack over a large roasting tin half filled with hot water. Roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 100ºC, gas mark ½ and cook for a further 3½ hours. Double wrap the joint with foil and place back on the rack in the oven to roast for a further 4 hours until the meat is falling apart. 6. To finish, pull the meat apart by shredding with 2 forks and serve with the barbecue sauce.

PORK SHOULDER BARBECUE

Steps:

• For the pork, in a small bowl, mix the salt and sugar until combined. One to three days before you plan to grill, generously sprinkle the salt-sugar rub over the entire pork shoulder, covering every surface. You may not need the full quantity of rub. (A good rule of thumb is two teaspoons per pound of meat.)
• If you're lucky enough to have a shoulder with skin on it, score the skin in a crosshatch pattern, leaving an inch or so between the lines. Try to work some of the rub into the scorings. Refrigerate the pork shoulder uncovered. Bring to room temperature before you put it on the grill.
• Soak the wood chips in water for about 30 minutes; set aside.
• Prepare a gas-powered barbecue for smoking. On a section of the grill that won't receive direct heat, place a disposable pan or tray beneath the cooking grate and directly on the bottom bars or lava rocks (whichever your grill has). Fill the pan about halfway with water; this will catch drippings and keep the inside of the grill moist.
• Set the cooking grate back on the grill. Adjust the burners so the temperature in the grill is somewhere between 95C/200F and 150C/300F. Keep the burners under the drip pan off, and those not under it on.
• Drain the wood chips and place them in a smoker box. If you don't have a smoker box, you can make one by piercing holes all over a shallow and narrow foil-covered aluminium pan.
• A few minutes before putting the meat on the grill, set the smoker box directly over the heat source. (Smoke works best early in the cooking process.)
• Place the shoulder on the grill above the drip pan, skin or fat side up. Cover the grill and roast the pork shoulder for 4 to 6 hours. The time it takes will vary depending on your piece of meat, the grill, and the cooking temperature. Lower temperature is better but takes much longer to cook. Whichever temperature you choose, check occasionally to make sure it does not exceed 150C/300F or fall below 95C/200F. When the temperature of the interior of the meat is 90C/195F, it should be done.
• Don't be alarmed if the temperature of the pork shoulder rises quickly and then stays at 150°F for a long time (sometimes for several hours). This is called the "stall." Be patient and wait for it to reach 90C/195F. Check to see if the meat feels relaxed to the touch or if you can pull it apart with a fork. If it resists, give it another 30 minutes. The meat should by now be a deep brown color.
• If the outside of the shoulder doesn't have some dark, crispy areas (i.e., bark or, if you started with skin, crackling), crank up the temperature to 260C/500F for a few minutes. (Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn.) Remove the meat from the grill and let it rest for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
• For the vinegar-BBQ sauce, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, hot pepper flakes, and black pepper in a medium-size bowl and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved; set aside.
• Either pull the pork shoulder apart with a fork or roughly chop with a cleaver, incorporating crispy bits of crackling (if you have it) or bark. Mix in a generous splash of the vinegar BBQ sauce; adjust the seasoning, making sure there's enough acid (vinegar) and salt. Put the remainder of the sauce in a pitcher on the table. Serve with soft rolls. Coleslaw and beans and rice make good accompaniments.