Barbecue Smoked Pulled Pork recipe - Carolina Style

An authentic barbecue smoked pulled pork recipe is always cooked low & slow, usually between 200F and 250F.

This recipe for pulled pork is also slow cooked but has a few twists that make it absolutely the best you'll find for pulled pork sandwiches.

This North Carolina pulled pork recipe includes a vinegar based sauce, also called a Mop, to baste the bbq pork while it cooks.

After it's cooked and shredded you'll use a special pulled pork barbecue sauce which keeps the meat nice and juicy.
pulled pork recipe sandwich
One of the twists to this recipe is in the original pulled pork slather or finishing sauce.

To give it extra flavor we include our Kansas City barbecue sauce recipe in the ingredients.

The second twist is borrowed from some of the popular pulled pork crockpot recipes.

After the pulled pork has been shredded, add it to the crockpot, pour in the sauce and either refrigerate until it's needed or serve it right away.

Using this concept from those crockpot recipes let's you make this pulled pork a day ahead and then keeps it the meat warm and juicy for as long as you're serving it.

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Home › BBQ Pork Recipes › Pulled Pork Recipe

Serves: 12 - 24

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours

In-direct Heat: 225F - 250F

For best results "marinate" in the rub up to 24 hours.

What you'll need:

1 pork butt approx 6-8lb (bone-in pork shoulder roast)

For the rub:

1/2 cup All American BBQ Dry Rub recipe

For the basting Mop:

1 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup beer

1 small onion chopped

1 jalapeno pepper chopped

1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For the final slather sauce:

2 cups cider vinegar (or less to taste)

2 cups Kansas City barbeque sauce recipe

3 teaspoons liquid hickory smoke

2 teaspoons tobasco sauce (or other hot sauce)

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

2 cups hickory wood chips or 1/2 cup hickory smoking pellets

Step 1:
Select a 6-8lb bone-in pork shoulder roast (also called pork butt) with a fat cap left on for this pulled pork recipe.

Begin rubbing the All American BBQ Dry Rub recipe over the entire surface of the roast.

Place the dry rubbed pork roast on a large pan or sheet and cover completely with plastic wrap.

Place in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours to allow the rub to season the meat.

Step 2:
In a medium glass bowl mix the ingredients of the basting Mop pulled pork sauce recipe described above.

You will apply this Mop after first putting the pork roast on the grill and once every hour during the cooking session.

Preheat the grill to a steady temperature of 225F.

Setup the grill for Indirect cooking.

Soak 2 cups of hickory wood chips in a 50/50 water/apple juice mix if using that or have on hand 1/2 cup hickory smoking pellets.

If using a gas grill to make this pulled pork recipe then prepare the smoking box or make the smoking pouches described on this smoker grill page.

Also, if using a propane gas grill for this make sure you've enough gas to last the cooking duration - could be over 8 hours!

Variation: If you can find them I recommend using the Jack Daniels smoking pellets.

Step 3:
Remove the pork roast from the refrigerator, keep it covered and allow it to come to room temperature while the grill is preheating to 225F.

Add 1/2 cup hickory smoking wood or a handful of smoking pellets to the fire.

Place an disposable aluminum pan filled with water under the grill.

Place the pulled pork roast fat side up on the grill over the pan of water.

If using a gas grill preheat the grill to high and add the smoker box or smoking pouches. When they begin to smoke, reduce the heat to 225F and place the pork fat side up on the grill over the pan of water.

Ensure you have the probe of a remote temperature monitor inserted to the middle of the pork roast but not touching the bone.

Set the alarm temperature on the monitor to 185F.

Step 4:
Monitor the temperature of the grill - it's important it stays within a range of 225F and 250F for this pulled pork recipe.

Once an hour open the grill and baste the roast with the mop.

If using a charcoal grill you may need to add additional charcoal every hour depending on your grill.

Add additional smoking wood or pellets each hour. Eventually the roast will develop a thick crust or bark and the smoking woods or pellets will have little effect.

Step 5:
Once the roast has reached an internal temperature of 185F it's time to remove it from the grill.

Transfer it to a large pan and cover with foil to rest at least 15 minutes.

If this pulled pork recipe is done properly it should look like this

carolina pulled pork

Step 6:
Now it's time to shred or pull the pork. Cut through the center of the meat to split it open or just use your hands to start prying the meat away from the bone.

It's natural to see a pink tinge to parts of the meat near the crust - this is called the smoke ring and it's the sign that the smoke you used during cooking penetrated the meat.

You'll be discarding the fat but make sure you pick through it well as there's always juicy chunks of meat attached.

For shredding the pork some of the options are:

two forks in the meat pulling away from each other

using commercial Bear Claws grilling tools shown mid-way down this page

using your fingers

I typically use my fingers but be very careful as the meat is hot. You may want to use some sort of rubber glove.

Always pull the pork when it's hot as it shreds more easily.

shredded pulled pork

Shred the meat either into a large aluminum pan or into a crock pot.

I recommend the crock pot with a removable pot as you can store it in the refrigerator and then heat it back up prior to serving (the next day for instance).