Apple Cider Pulled Pork

I'm excited to share this recipe with you all, it's definitely my best pulled pork to date. I am now a big believer in injecting meats.

It's copy and pasted from my blog.




Thank you BBQ Gods! This was my best BBQ pulled pork yet…it was moist, tender and melted in my mouth. I finally made pulled pork I’m proud of and it was a result of one thing I added to my recipe…the injection.


I’ve tried the mustard slather and I’ve tried the mopping, but the pork shoulder was still dry on the inside. There was no change in my pork with or without mustard. In addition, mopping the meat eliminated a perfectly good bark, it turns out mushy instead. I no longer do either of those things…it is a waste of time. My new approach is to inject flavor directly into the meat and let it marinate for a day or two.



Is my butt too big?



Essentially, I took the same approach I did with the Smoke Cuban Pork.

I start with a traditional flavor pairing for pork…apples. Actually, I’m using apple cider which is bountiful towards the end of summer and into the fall. To compliment not only the flavors, but the season too, I added a pumpkin spiced rub:


1 tbsp Pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp Brown sugar
1 tbsp Granulated garlic
1 tsp Paprika
Black and white pepper


The Injection

• 2 cups Apple Cider
• 2 tbsp Pumpkin Spiced Rub

Instructions

1. Boil the ingredients in a sauce pan until the rub dissolves. Let it cool.
2. Fill the needle and start injecting the liquid into the meat.
3. Place the pork in the refrigerator up to 48 hours, I marinated it for about 36 hours.

The Rub
Use any kind of rub you want, I recommend a sugar based rub so it caramelizes on the meat and the surface will get a deep dark mahogany bark. I opted for:

• Penzey’s BBQ 3000
• Penzey’s Cajun Rub

Instructions

1. Mix both rubs together until blended.
2. Remove the pork shoulder from the fridge and gently start applying the rub. Don’t push out injection!
3. Let the shoulder sit at room temp for at least 30 minutes or until the rub looks wet, like a glaze.
4. Setup the smoker for 225 degrees, I used up the last of my cherry wood.
5. Place the shoulder on the grill.
6. Cook until internal temp reaches 200 degrees.
7. Remove pork from the grill and cover with a sheet of foil for about an hour or until it cools enough to handle.

Apple cider injected shoulder on the left.

I pulled the butt right at 197 degrees, a total cook time of 11 hours. I only peaked at it once and that was to pull the Cuban pork. This bad boy was done, I loosened the bone up and it came right out!








The meat was still hot, but I couldn’t wait any longer so I put the smoked pork in a 2 gallon zip lock back….just like did with the Cuban pork and smashed the heck out of it with my heavy cast iron skillet until succulent shreds of pork are achieved.











I was 2 for 2 on pork butts, this was just as tender, moist and delicious as the Cuban pork. Even after eating a legendary Cuban pork sandwich, I snacked on the pulled pork until I hit the food wall.





I wouldn’t change anything about this recipe, I just hope I can repeat the results…one of the toughest skills to achieve in BBQ is consistency.

rookiedad said:

man that stuff looks good! i like the spiced cider and pumpkin pie spice ideas. you can have pumpkin ale, why not pumkin pork! i also will try the smashing method, if only to release anxiety! hopefully there will be someone around if things get ugly!

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I would totally try a pumpkin beer injection! Go for it!

Pappy said:

Did you just leave the fat in it and what about the fat cap?

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I got these pork butts from Costco...they had no fat cap. I left the fat on the pork, I didn't trim it at all. The fat rendered down to almost none. I got lucky I guess.

gtr said:

Never seen that pan smashing thing - very interesting!

It all looks fantastic :clap2: - glad it worked well for you. Thanks for posting! :thumb:

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I learned the pan smashing technique from fellow brethren, Grillinfool.