Slow Smoked Pork For a Great Sandwich
Everyone knows the wonder of a good pulled sandwich. The tender, juicy, smokey pork covered in a rich barbecue sauce just can't be beat no matter how much of a barbecue snob you might be. And the best part about it isn't the amazing taste, but how easy it is to make this dish from home.
The convenience of a sandwich only gets more convenient when you learn how to make slow smoked pork. How do you make this recipe? What do you need to get started? We'll cover these and other important questions as we go over the details of how to make slow smoked pork for a great sandwich.
What You Need To Prepare This Smoked Pork Sandwich
In order to make slow smoked pork, you'll need to get a few things. Unlike with typical barbecue recipes, these ingredients will cover both the pork recipe itself as well as what you'll need to make sandwiches with it.
- Charcoal smoker
- Meat Shredding Claws
- Chunk charcoal
- Wood chunks or wood chips (details below)
- Instant read thermometer
- Aluminum foil
- Plastic spray bottle
- 1 gallon bucket or large other container
- Barbecue sauce of choice
- White bread rolls
- Coleslaw (optional)
- Apple cider
- Granulated white sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Kosher salt
- Pork shoulder roast or pork butt (~8 lbs)
The wood chosen for smoking is just as important to the overall success of a recipe as the kind of meat you choose to smoke. Traditional southern barbecue typically uses woods like hickory and white oak, though fruity woods like apple, peach, or pecan are also common. Find the woods and flavor combinations you like the best and go with that.
Smoked Pork Sandwich Recipe
Once you've gathered all your ingredients and tools, you can finally start cooking.
Step 1: Brining the Pork
To help retain moisture during a long smoke and to add extra flavor to your pork, take some prep time and soak it in a brine. Place pork shoulder into a large gallon bucket, stock pot, or other container big enough to fit it with some room to spare. Add in enough apple cider vinegar to cover the top (about a quart or so for the size listed in the What You Need section).
Next, for the bbq rub, combine five tablespoons white sugar and brown sugar with two tablespoons salt and paprika, and 1 tablespoon garlic powder, onion powder, and freshly ground black pepper, mixing until well combined. Add about a fourth of a cup of that mixture to the cider brine, stirring until dissolved and saving the rest for later. Let them brine sit covered in a cool location for at least 12 hours and up to 24.
Step 2: Seasoning the Pork
After the pork shoulder has finished its brine bath, remove it from the container and pour out the liquid, reserving about a cup and transferring that into a plastic spray bottle. Thoroughly pat the pork dry and proceed to liberally dry rub in the remaining spice mixture, letting the meat sit out at room temperature for half an hour (if you're using wood chips instead of chunks, you can begin soaking them in hot water around this time, too).
Step 3: Lighting the Smoker
As you wait for the meat to warm up, begin the process of warming up the smoker, too. Load in your charcoal and light, closing the lid to help it build up more heat. The target temperature for this smoke is about 215 degrees Fahrenheit, with a cooking time of close to 8 hours. After getting up to temperature, add on your wood and fill the water tank, placing your grate onto the heat and closing the lid once again to let the smoke and humidity build up inside the smoker.
Step 4: Smoking the Pork
Once both your pork and your smoker have come up to temperature, you can proceed to smoking. Place pork shoulder onto the center of the grill grate and close the lid. Over the long cooking period, make sure to carefully monitor the amount of charcoal, wood, and water left in the smoker, adding more of each as needed. Additionally, pay attention to the air vents to ensure that your heat remains consistent. If you suspect the meat may be starting to burn on top, you can tent it with aluminum foil for the duration of the cook or lower the temperature accordingly.
Every half hour or so, spritz the meat down with the reserved brining liquid you collected in the bottle, shaking well before each use. This will keep it moist and add extra flavor as it cooks, with the sugar caramelizing a bit on the outside, too. The pork is done once the internal temperature reaches somewhere around 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it reaches that target temperature, remove it from the heat.
Step 5: Resting the Pork
When your meat has finished cooking, place pork roast on a cutting board or into a large bowl, tenting loosely with foil and allowing it to rest for at least ten minutes. Resting the meat helps the cooking process finish completely, as residual heat within the protein passes through the whole of the shoulder evenly. The internal temperature will rise several degrees at this point, making it even more tender.
Step 6: Assembling the Sandwich
After your pork has had a chance to rest, you can finally move on to making your sandwich. Shred the pork apart either by hand or with a fork. Due to the degree of tenderness it's been cooked to, it should come apart with no problem. While it's not tradition, many people choose to toss the shredded pork in barbecue sauce at this point for extra flavor.
Split open a bun and pile on some of your delicious smoked pork. Top with coleslaw or dill pickles if desired and serve. Like you'd find at any restaurant, barbecue sauce should be provided on the side and used as a topping to bring some extra sweetness to the savory pork. If you want a more hearty meal, add some side dishes.
Conclusion
Now you've got the know how to make your own slow smoke pork sandwiches like a traditional barbecue pit master. Though the cook time isn't the shortest, the end result is more than worth it once you take your first bite of that delicious meat.
Did you like this recipe? Any tips on slow smoking pork or making barbecue sandwiches? Leave a comment down below and tell us, and don't forget to share this page with any friends who have yet to try an amazing pulled pork sandwich for themselves.
Slow Smoked Pork For a Great Sandwich
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8
Lbs
Pork shoulder roast or pork butt - Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated white sugar
- Apple cider
- Coleslaw (optional)
- White bread rolls
- Barbecue sauce of choice
Instructions
- To help retain moisture during a long smoke and to add extra flavor to your pork, take some prep time and soak it in a brine.
- Place pork shoulder into a large gallon bucket, stock pot, or other container big enough to fit it with some room to spare.
- Add in enough apple cider vinegar to cover the top (about a quart or so for the size listed in the What You Need section).
- Next, for the bbq rub, combine five tablespoons white sugar and brown sugar with two tablespoons salt and paprika, and 1 tablespoon garlic powder, onion powder, and freshly ground black pepper, mixing until well combined.
- Add about a fourth of a cup of that mixture to the cider brine, stirring until dissolved and saving the rest for later.
- Let them brine sit covered in a cool location for at least 12 hours and up to 24.
- After the pork shoulder has finished its brine bath, remove it from the container and pour out the liquid, reserving about a cup and transferring that into a plastic spray bottle.
- Thoroughly pat the pork dry and proceed to liberally dry rub in the remaining spice mixture, letting the meat sit out at room temperature for half an hour (if you're using wood chips instead of chunks, you can begin soaking them in hot water around this time, too).
- As you wait for the meat to warm up, begin the process of warming up the smoker, too.
- Load in your charcoal and light, closing the lid to help it build up more heat.
- The target temperature for this smoke is about 215 degrees Fahrenheit, with a cooking time of close to 8 hours.
- After getting up to temperature, add on your wood and fill the water tank, placing your grate onto the heat and closing the lid once again to let the smoke and humidity build up inside the smoker.
- Once both your pork and your smoker have come up to temperature, you can proceed to smoking.
- Place pork shoulder onto the center of the grill grate and close the lid.
- Over the long cooking period, make sure to carefully monitor the amount of charcoal, wood, and water left in the smoker, adding more of each as needed.
- Additionally, pay attention to the air vents to ensure that your heat remains consistent
- If you suspect the meat may be starting to burn on top, you can tent it with aluminum foil for the duration of the cook or lower the temperature accordingly.
- Every half hour or so, spritz the meat down with the reserved brining liquid you collected in the bottle, shaking well before each use.
- This will keep it moist and add extra flavor as it cooks, with the sugar caramelizing a bit on the outside, too.
- The pork is done once the internal temperature reaches somewhere around 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it reaches that target temperature, remove it from the heat.
- When your meat has finished cooking, place pork roast on a cutting board or into a large bowl, tenting loosely with foil and allowing it to rest for at least ten minutes.
- Resting the meat helps the cooking process finish completely, as residual heat within the protein passes through the whole of the shoulder evenly.
- After your pork has had a chance to rest, you can finally move on to making your sandwich.
- Shred the pork apart either by hand or with a fork.
- Split open a bun and pile on some of your delicious smoked pork.
- Top with coleslaw or dill pickles if desired and serve.
Nutrition
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