Chef notes

I chose this recipe for hickory-smoked pulled pork because I love to cook low and slow. It doesn't take a lot of time to prep, but you need to be patient to let the smoke do its thing and turn that pork into everyone's favorite dish — tender, moist, and packed with flavor. Living in South Carolina, pulled pork is found at every tailgate, backyard barbecue and graduation party — you name it — it's there to share with friends and family. It has even brought together on occasion SEC and ACC fans on a random Saturday in the fall. A lot of love goes into our South Carolina barbecue!

Technique tip: Make sure you soak your wood chips in order to get a good slow smoke.

Swap option: Brisket or turkey breast, time will vary on these options and their size.

Special equipment: Outdoor charcoal or gas grill.

Ingredients

Barbecue Blend (makes about 4¾ cups)

1 cup paprika
1 cup Montreal steak seasoning
1 cup ground cumin

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup kosher salt

Mopping Sauce

1 cup Barbecue Blend (recipe above)

2 cups apple cider vinegar

Pork

3 cups wood chips, soaked in water for at least 2 hours
1 (6- to 8-pound) bone-in pork butt or Boston butt
2-3 cups Barbecue Blend (recipe above)

1/4 cup kosher salt
Mopping Sauce (recipe above)

To Serve

yeast roll or buns, white bread or Hawaiian rolls

barbecue sauce of choice

Preparation

For the barbecue blend:

In a bowl, mix all ingredients until well combined.

For the mopping sauce:

In a bowl, mix the Barbecue Blend and vinegar until well combined.

For the pork:

Preheat grill to 220 F and set up for indirect-heat cooking.

Wrap your soaked wood chips in a foil pocket; set aside until time to load pork.

Rinse off whole pork butt and pat dry.

Use 2 to 3 cups Barbecue Blend to fully coat all sides of the pork butt.

Pierce center of pork butt halfway through and pour kosher salt in.

Put 10 to 12 holes into wood foil packet and place hole-side-up on hot charcoals or in corner of gas grill grates over direct heat. Once done smoking (2 to 3 hours), you can turn down that burner to keep in-direct heat going.

Place well-seasoned pork butt, fat-side up, in on grates over indirect heat, keep closed and temp at 220 F.

Mop with mopping sauce every 2 hours.

Once it reaches internal temp of 185 F, wrap in foil and return to grill for another 1 to 2 hours, reaching temp of 190 F to 195 F. The pork bone should easily pull out.

10.

Let rest for 20 to 30 minutes, then pull pork for sandwiches.

To serve:

Serve with your favorite bread and barbecue sauce.