There were going to be about 20 people for dinner on the first night of our Family Reunion gathering. Nancy and I signed up to prepare the meal and we chose BBQ, and no store-bought BBQ. It had to be the real thing.
Most think of hickory smoking when it comes to making a batch of BBQ, but I think the method below is better. It brings out the pure, sweet, natural taste of a slow cooked shoulder, and with the right sauce, it makes spectacular BBQ.
My close friend and fellow foodie, Terry Tigner, has perfected the slow cooking part and it’s quite simple. All you need is a shoulder (Boston Butt), a roll of Saran Wrap, Kosher Salt, Coarse Black Pepper and about 8 or 9 hours.
Terry begins by prepping the shoulder (I used two so we would have leftovers. It’s really better the second day) the night before. She thoroughly, and I stress thoroughly, laces the meat with salt and pepper on both sides, then double wraps it in Saran Wrap and puts it in the refrigerator over night.
The next morning, remove the meat and allow it to rest at room temperature for at least an hour. Unwrap and place the shoulder on a rack on top of some parchment paper (makes clean up easier) and the then put it, uncovered, in a 280 oven for at least 8 hours.
When you take it out, most all the grease has dripped away, the skin is nice and crunchy and it’s falling-off-the-bone tender. Instead of chopping, pull the pork into small strips. It makes me hungry just to think about it.
Next comes the Charlie Mills BBQ Sauce.
Charlie Mills has developed an Eastern North Carolina Bar-B-Que Sauce Mix that is the best. All you need do is to add a couple tablespoons of the mix to a 16-ox jar of cider vinegar and water – about three to one in ratio. Shake it up, douse it on the pulled pork and “pig out!”
A few stores in the Carolinas stock the sauce mix. I now order mine from Agri Supply (https://www.agrisupply.com/). It’s about $6 a bag and I order extras, which make great gifts. If you want to make some really, really, really good BBQ, try this recipe
Company BBQ
1 or more Boston Butt Pork Shoulders
Tons of Kosher Salt and Coarse Pepper
Saran Wrap
Charlie Mills Bar-B-Que Mix (to taste)
Cider Vinegar
Water
