Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Pulled Pork sandwiches are a staple in Austin, TX and being an Austin, TX bed and breakfast we figured it was about time to give the Texas BBQ classic a try. We went to work on it last night and served it for lunch today to the corporate group from spreadfast.com. We were honored to have the social media experts attend a retreat here at the Inn Above Onion Creek bed and breakfast. The plates came back clean so we thought we would share the recipe with ya'll. I'll get on chef to get us the recipe asap. He created it in house and getting a chef to write down a recipe is like peeling a tub of potatoes. It takes work.

Pulled Pork

Ingredients

Dry Rub:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup garlic powder
• ½ cup onion powder
• ½ cup paprika
• ½ cup ancho chile powder
• ½ cup cayenne powder
• ¼ cup mustard powder

(This will make plenty of rub.  Make sure to store in an airtight container for future use)

Bone-In Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt)

Directions:

1. Apply rub on all sides of the pork shoulder. It’s best to do this the day before. However, it will still be very good if seasoned right before cooking.
2. Preheat the smoker to 200-250 degrees.  We use oak and mesquite because it’s readily available to us, but any wood like pecan or hickory will do fine.
3. Place the shoulder as far away as possible from the heat source.  The idea here is to infuse the meat with the smoke for half its cooking time.  The other half will be done in the oven.  The reason for this is not to over smoke the meat.  Pork shoulder is a tough cut of meat that needs to cook low and slow; leaving it to smoke the entire time would result in meat that is overwhelmed by the smoke.  However, some people like a strong smoke flavor, so it’s totally up to you.  Three to four hours in the smoker should be plenty of time.
4. After the meat is properly smoke, put it in a 225 degree oven for about four hours or until a fork slides in easily. When the shoulder is done, let it rest for 15-twenty minutes.  Use two forks to “pull” the meat into bite-sized chunks.  Make sure to put some of the pan drippings (make sure to skim the fat) back into the meat.  The rest of the drippings can be used to fortify your favorite barbeque sauce.  Any barbeque sauce will do, however, I like the flavor of the meat itself.
5. Serve the pork on toasted rolls or buns with sliced onion and pickles and enjoy.

Innkeepers Inn Above Onion Creek