North Carolina Barbecue Pork

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp kosher salt
• 1.5 tbsp black pepper (The source says pepper.)
• 6 lb bone-in pork butt roast (Boston butt; trim or select a roast with a 1/4-inch fat cap.)
• 1 recipe barbecue sauce (Prepare either Lexington-Style Barbecue Sauce or Eastern North Carolina-Style Barbecue Sauce. Use 2/3 cup to toss with the pork and pass the remainder separately.)
• 4 cup water (For the disposable pan.)

Steps

1. 1

   Combine the kosher salt and pepper in a bowl. Place the pork butt on a large sheet of plastic wrap and sprinkle it evenly on all sides with the salt mixture. Wrap the pork tightly in the plastic and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.

2. 2

   Open the bottom vent of the grill completely. Arrange 60 charcoal briquettes around the perimeter of the grill in a charcoal snake, two briquettes wide, overlapping them slightly so they touch and leaving a 6-inch gap between the two ends. Arrange a second layer of 60 briquettes on top, creating a snake two briquettes wide and two briquettes high.

3. 3

   Beginning 4 inches from one end of the snake, space the wood chunks evenly on top of the briquettes. Place the disposable pan in the center of the grill, with its short end parallel to the gap in the snake, and fill the pan with 4 cups water.

4. 4

   Light a chimney starter filled with 15 briquettes. When the coals are partially covered with ash, pour them over one end of the charcoal snake. Ensure that the lit coals touch only one end of the snake; use tongs to move any coals that touch the other end.

5. 5

   Set the cooking grate in place, then clean and oil it. Unwrap the pork and position it fat-side down over the water pan. Insert a temperature probe into the thickest part of the pork.

6. 6

   Cover the grill, positioning the lid vent over the gap in the snake, and open the lid vent completely. Cook without opening the grill until the pork registers 170°F, about 4 to 5 hours.

7. 7

   Place two large sheets of aluminum foil on a rimmed baking sheet. Remove the probe from the pork. Using oven mitts, lift the pork onto the center of one foil sheet, fat-side down. Wrap it tightly with the first sheet, minimizing air pockets, then wrap it with the second sheet. Add more foil if needed to make the package completely airtight. Mark the foil so you can identify the fat side.

8. 8

   Remove the cooking grate. Starting at the still-unlit end of the charcoal snake, pour 2 quarts of unlit briquettes about one-third of the way around the grill perimeter, over the gap in the snake and the spent coals. Replace the cooking grate.

9. 9

   Return the wrapped pork to the grill over the water pan, fat-side down. Reinsert the probe into the thickest part of the pork. Cover the grill and continue cooking until the pork registers 200°F, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer.

10. 10

    Remove the probe. Transfer the pork to a carving board, keeping it fat-side up, and let it rest in the foil for 1 1/2 hours.

11. 11

    Remove the bone. For Lexington style, chop the pork with a cleaver into 1-inch pieces. For Eastern North Carolina style, chop it into 1/4-inch pieces.

12. 12

    Toss the chopped pork with 2/3 cup barbecue sauce. Serve with the remaining sauce passed separately.

Notes

The recipe requires one 13-by-9-inch disposable aluminum pan and four 3-inch wood chunks. The authors developed it using a 22-inch Weber kettle grill. Plan ahead: the pork must be seasoned at least 18 hours before cooking. Lexington sauce is described as tangy and salty; Eastern North Carolina sauce as tangy and spicy. Carolina Red Slaw or Spicy Barbecue Slaw are suggested sandwich toppings.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• barbecue
• grilled
• smoked
• charcoal-grilled
• American
• make-ahead
• gluten-free