North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork

Who doesn't like a good pulled pork Sammy? I've always had traditional BBQ pork sandwiches. You know, the kind with the red BBQ sauce. And they were good. But then I found out about this other kind of sauce. The vinegar based "Carolina-style".  And I was hooked! Mine is a bit spicy, but that makes it so much better.  My girls absolutely love the sauce.... They would love to drink it, lol!  Not really, but they do load the sandwiches up with extra sauce.  Make sure to let it rest overnight for added flavor.
I make the a large pork shoulder and double the sauce. It serves a nice dinner for 8-10 and leftovers.
I use my gas grill, but if you do use a charcoal grill, you may want to add seasoned wood chips.  And you need to cook it over indirect heat. Indirect heat is as the name suggests, the food is placed next to,not directly over the fire.  This method is used for cooking larger pieces of meat that require long, slow cooking at a low or moderate temperature(275-350). My grill has 3 burners and I light the two outside and put the meat on the center burner.  It works perfectly.  
I found a great way to shred the pork, place it in a mixer bowl and gently mix with the paddle attachment. It takes only a few minutes.


Pulled Pork

1 8 pound bone-in pork shoulder, with skin
1 head of garlic, peeled and separated
3/4 cup Memphis Shake
2 batches North Carolina-Style BBQ Sauce
8-10 round rolls

Make small holes all over the meat with a sharp knife and insert the cloves of garlic.  Rub the meat with the Memphis Shake,  cover and allow to sit in the fridge overnight.
Prepare an outdoor grill with an indirect medium-hot fire. Place the pork on an aluminum pan, skin side up with 1 1/4 cups of water. Place the pan on he cooler part of the grill. 
Make sure that the grill stays at a medium-hot temperature. Rotate the pork in about 3-4 hours. This will ensure that it is cooking evenly.
Cook the meat until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork registers 180 degrees, about 6 hours.
Set aside 1 quart of the sauce. With the remaining 1 quart of the sauce you will mop the surface of the pork with the sauce every 20 minutes until the instant read thermometer reads 200 degrees, 1-2 hours more.
Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for a good 15 minutes.  Remove the outside skin and dis guard.  Cut large chunks from the meat and shred. Toss with the reserved sauce. About 1 cup sauce to every 3 cups meat. Pile the pork on the rolls and enjoy.  

Memphis Shake
Whisk 1/4 cup sweet paprika
          3 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
          2 tbsp dried oregano
          2 tbsp granulated garlic
           1 tbsp ancho chili powder
           2 tsp kosher salt
           1 tsp celery salt

store in an airtight container.


North Carolina-Style BBQ sauce

3 cups cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 TBSP crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Heat the vinegar and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients.  Makes about 1 quart.