← Nouns Cooking · American

Ingredients

• 2.5 kg boneless pork shoulder, fat cap on
• 2 tbsp Brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Black pepper
• 2 tsp Garlic powder
• ½ tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)
• 250 ml water or apple cider
• 3 tbsp Cider vinegar
• 250 ml smoky barbecue sauce
• 10 soft white rolls (optional)

Method

1. Mix the rub ingredients. Pat the pork dry and massage the rub all over it. If you have time, leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight for an even better crust.
2. Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan) / 300°F. Sit the pork fat side up in a deep roasting tin or casserole and pour the water and vinegar around it, not over it.
3. Cover tightly with a lid or a double layer of foil and roast for 4 hours.
4. Uncover, baste with the pan juices and roast for 1–2 hours more, until the outside is dark and sticky and the meat reaches about 90–95°C (195–203°F), when a fork twists through it easily.
5. Rest the pork loosely covered for 20 min. Skim the fat off the pan juices.
6. Shred the meat with two forks, discarding any big lumps of fat. Toss it with a few spoonfuls of the pan juices and half the barbecue sauce, then serve in rolls with coleslaw and the rest of the sauce.

Tips

• It reheats beautifully: store it with some of the juices so it stays moist.
• Bottled barbecue sauces vary a lot; some contain wheat or gluten, so check the label if needed.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food RecipeTin Eats