The weather is getting warmer; you have cleaned your grill and now it is time to start planning those outstanding summer recipes that you want to serve.

My favorite family and guest meal is my pulled pork served with a purple apple slaw. The cooking time is on this is long, 10 hours before service. Plan accordingly, put it in the oven or grill and let it go.

As you know, slow and easy is the only process for great barbecue and my pulled pork recipe is no different. Slow cooking allows the rub and pork marbling to tender the meat and make it perfect for a tender juicy finish.

I am so conscious of serving dry pulled pork, and I have tweaked recipes to make sure that does not happen. If the temperature is right, the rub is right and the pork is cooked nice and slow, you will get an outstanding pulled pork dinner that you and your family and guests will enjoy.

I like using a dry rub that you can make or there are good, bottled barbecue rubs that work very well. I finish with my favorite barbecue sauce while hot, before serving, I give the barbecue sauce time to settle into and marry the pork.

When making pulled pork everybody uses the shoulder cut of pork. The entire shoulder runs on average about 12 – 13 pounds. Most of the people I know who compete in pork competitions use the “butt” cut or “picnic” cut for cooking.

That is what I recommend for you.

When selecting a shoulder butt cut, find one with a good amount of fat on the outside of the cut. This fat will “melt” slowly in the oven, grill, or smoker. We will be cooking this pork for close to 10 hours. If you have an option of “bone in” take the cut with the bone since the meat is always sweeter and more moist right by the bone.

What You’ll Need:

1 large pork shoulder or butt cut, 6-8 lbs. in size excess fat trimmed. Do not trim any fat that is fully surrounding the meat. 2 cups of rub (I use Butch’s but here’s a rub recipe that I’ve used before that works well)

Big Joe’s Emergency Rub

1cup paprika

1 1⁄2 cups brown sugar

1⁄2 cup garlic powder

1⁄4 cup sea salt or Kosher salt

1⁄2 cup onion powder

1⁄2 cup chili powder

1⁄4 cup black pepper, freshly ground

1⁄4 cup cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon white pepper

2 tablespoons of dried thyme

2 tablespoons of dried oregano

1⁄4 cup ground cumin

1 1⁄2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

Butch’s Doctored Barbecue Sauce, Big Joe Style

1 bottle 18 oz of Butch’s Mild Barbecue Sauce

1 bottle 18 oz of Butch’s Pyro Barbecue Sauce (if you can’t get Butch’s try an upscale Barbecue sauce)

2 tablespoons of habanero infused honey

1⁄4 cup of orange juice

1⁄2 cup of bourbon liquor (optional)

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 package of potato rolls (hamburger style)

How to:

Take the pork “butt” out of the refrigerator one hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Generously rub the shoulder with the dry rub. Make sure to get into the crevices, crannies, and rub under the flaps of the shoulder. Be generous with the rub and take the time to really get in there.

Place the now rubbed shoulder butt on a rack in a roasting pan. Cover the shoulder with aluminum foil. Make sure that the aluminum foil is not touching the sides of the pork, but that it is fully wrapped. I like to add a 1⁄2 can of beer to the bottom of the pan. Make sure that the beer doesn’t touch the meat. The beer guarantees that the pork will retain moisture.

Cook the pork for approximately 8 hours. Remove foil and cook for 2 more hours. Make your oven time 10 hours. After removing the foil, and the pork is back in the oven, make the barbecue sauce.

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, add just a 1⁄4 of one bottle of barbecue sauce to the pan, add garlic and orange juice, let reduce for about 5 minutes, add the honey and stir well with a wooden spoon. Add the bourbon and remainder of the barbecue sauce. Let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

After the ten hours have elapsed remove the pork and let stand for 1 hour. After standing using two forks, shred pork in strips putting pulled pork in serving dish. After pork has been pulled add approximately 1⁄2 – 3⁄4 of the barbecue sauce and mix pork well. Save the other half for sauce on the side.

Big Joe's Purple Apple Slaw

I love coleslaw! It’s a staple during the summer and adds a refreshing side to your summer BBQ’s. Here’s a simple recipe that you’ll enjoy. I use the purple cabbage, which is sweeter than the green cabbage. The more that these ingredients get to hang out, the better the flavor. Make it the morning of your BBQ and let it hang out in the fridge all day covered in plastic. You can’t even go wrong making this the day before.

You’ll need:

1/2 a head of red cabbage (finely shredded)

1/4 cup minced white onion

2 Fuji apples, peeled, core,d and finely diced

1 cup of Hellman’s mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. sugar

2 tbsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp. milk.

How to put it together:

In a large bowl, mix together the cabbage, onion, and apples. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayo, salt, pepper, sugar, lemon juice, and milk. Pour dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss to coat. Chill until serving.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.

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