Marialisa Calta's Pulled Pork
This recipe is a hybrid. The rub comes from Plainfield’s River Run
restaurant and River Run Cookbook (HarperCollins, 2001) by Jimmy
Kennedy, Maya Kennedy and me. The recipe for the rub was actually
developed by Josh Grinker, who used to cook at River Run and is now
chef/owner of the acclaimed Stone Park Café in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
The inspiration for the barbecue sauce recipe came from a recipe by
former NECI chef Benjamin Cevello. The method of cooking the pork
comes from my research for “Al Roker’s Big Bad Book of Barbecue.”
(Scribner, 2002).
If you don’t have a grill, see the oven directions at the end of the
recipe.
For the rub:
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons ground cumin
4 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chili powder
8 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the pork:
5 pounds fresh (NOT smoked) pork butt, bone-in (look for the cut sold
as “Boston Butt”)
For the barbecue sauce:
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and minced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 and 1/4 cups ketchup
1 cup strong, brewed coffee (don’t use a flavored roast)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Louisiana-style hot sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Make the rub: Mix all of the rub ingredients together. Measure out
about 1/3 cup and store the rest in a tightly covered jar. It will keep
for several months.
Place the pork butt, fat-side up, in a disposable aluminum roasting pan
and sprinkle the rub all over it, making sure all sides are coated. You
can grill it immediately, or you can cover it with plastic wrap and
refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. This is preferable; the flavors will
have time to soak in.
Soak about 5 cups wood chips (hickory, oak or apple) for at least 1/2
hour in cold water.
Prepare a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill for indirect grilling over
low heat. Add the wood chips according to your grill manufacturer’s
instructions.
Put the pork, in the pan, on the grill and cover the grill. Cook without
turning until the skin is crispy and an instant-read thermometer
inserted in the thickest part of the meat reads 190 degrees F. This will
take 4 to 5 hours, depending on the heat of your grill. Don’t forget to
add more wood chips, as needed, and, if using charcoal, more coals.
Meanwhile, while the pork is cooking, make the barbecue sauce. Melt
the butter in a medium-sized saucepan set over medium heat. Add the
onion and sauté, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes, until softened but not
browned. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the
remaining ingredients and cook over low heat, with the saucepan
partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the sauce to cool to
room temperature. Taste and add more hot sauce, salt and pepper, if
needed. (You can make this sauce in advance and store it, covered, in
the refrigerator, for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the sauce in an
airtight container for up to 2 months.)
Remove the pork from the grill and place it on a cutting board. Allow
the pork to cool enough so that you can handle it. Pull it apart with
your hands, discarding bits of fat and the bone, and place the
shredded meat in a bowl. Chop the crispy skin and add it to the pulled
pork.
In a large saucepan, mix the pork with about 3 cups of BBQ sauce and
warm slowly over medium heat until heated through. In a separate,
small saucepan, warm the remaining 2 cups of sauce.
Yield: About 10 pulled pork sandwiches or 8 platter servings
Oven directions (from River Run Cookbook):
Set your oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking pan large enough to hold the pork with heavy-duty aluminum foil (this makes cleaning up easier). Put the meat in and evenly sprinkle the spice rub onto the pork. Cover the pan with a tent
of heavy-duty aluminum foil, folded over the edges to seal it. Slow
roast 8 to 9 hours; you know it’s done when you poke at the meat with
a fork and it falls off the bone. Continue as directed.
restaurant and River Run Cookbook (HarperCollins, 2001) by Jimmy
Kennedy, Maya Kennedy and me. The recipe for the rub was actually
developed by Josh Grinker, who used to cook at River Run and is now
chef/owner of the acclaimed Stone Park Café in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
The inspiration for the barbecue sauce recipe came from a recipe by
former NECI chef Benjamin Cevello. The method of cooking the pork
comes from my research for “Al Roker’s Big Bad Book of Barbecue.”
(Scribner, 2002).
If you don’t have a grill, see the oven directions at the end of the
recipe.
For the rub:
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons ground cumin
4 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chili powder
8 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the pork:
5 pounds fresh (NOT smoked) pork butt, bone-in (look for the cut sold
as “Boston Butt”)
For the barbecue sauce:
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and minced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 and 1/4 cups ketchup
1 cup strong, brewed coffee (don’t use a flavored roast)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Louisiana-style hot sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Make the rub: Mix all of the rub ingredients together. Measure out
about 1/3 cup and store the rest in a tightly covered jar. It will keep
for several months.
Place the pork butt, fat-side up, in a disposable aluminum roasting pan
and sprinkle the rub all over it, making sure all sides are coated. You
can grill it immediately, or you can cover it with plastic wrap and
refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. This is preferable; the flavors will
have time to soak in.
Soak about 5 cups wood chips (hickory, oak or apple) for at least 1/2
hour in cold water.
Prepare a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill for indirect grilling over
low heat. Add the wood chips according to your grill manufacturer’s
instructions.
Put the pork, in the pan, on the grill and cover the grill. Cook without
turning until the skin is crispy and an instant-read thermometer
inserted in the thickest part of the meat reads 190 degrees F. This will
take 4 to 5 hours, depending on the heat of your grill. Don’t forget to
add more wood chips, as needed, and, if using charcoal, more coals.
Meanwhile, while the pork is cooking, make the barbecue sauce. Melt
the butter in a medium-sized saucepan set over medium heat. Add the
onion and sauté, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes, until softened but not
browned. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the
remaining ingredients and cook over low heat, with the saucepan
partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the sauce to cool to
room temperature. Taste and add more hot sauce, salt and pepper, if
needed. (You can make this sauce in advance and store it, covered, in
the refrigerator, for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the sauce in an
airtight container for up to 2 months.)
Remove the pork from the grill and place it on a cutting board. Allow
the pork to cool enough so that you can handle it. Pull it apart with
your hands, discarding bits of fat and the bone, and place the
shredded meat in a bowl. Chop the crispy skin and add it to the pulled
pork.
In a large saucepan, mix the pork with about 3 cups of BBQ sauce and
warm slowly over medium heat until heated through. In a separate,
small saucepan, warm the remaining 2 cups of sauce.
Yield: About 10 pulled pork sandwiches or 8 platter servings
Oven directions (from River Run Cookbook):
Set your oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking pan large enough to hold the pork with heavy-duty aluminum foil (this makes cleaning up easier). Put the meat in and evenly sprinkle the spice rub onto the pork. Cover the pan with a tent
of heavy-duty aluminum foil, folded over the edges to seal it. Slow
roast 8 to 9 hours; you know it’s done when you poke at the meat with
a fork and it falls off the bone. Continue as directed.