Pulled - P'Butt [CP] 'North Carolina
By Kwasome
*ATK" Use full-flavored, fatty Boston Butt for the best flavor. Cut the roast open to expose as much surface area as possible and rub every inch thoroughly with a spice rub. Fold the meat back together to fit it into the slow cooker.
Add ham hocks to the cooking liquid for an authentic-tasting smoky flavor. Liquid smoke couldn’t come close to the flavor lent by the deeply smoky, rich-tasting hocks. Once cooked, shred the hock meat and combine it with the shredded Boston Butt.
Simmer the pork in chicken broth for a rich, but not intrusive, flavor.
Boil the cooking liquid down to a rich-tasting base for the barbecue sauce. The meat is pretty dry after the long simmer and will soak up the sauce like a sponge. A little liquid smoke added to the finished sauce will boost its smoky flavor.
Ingredients
- Spice Rub
- 4 tablespoons paprika
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons table salt
- Pork
- 3 smoked ham hocks
- 1 boneless pork butt (Boston butt), 5 to 6 pounds, prepared as shown in photos 1 and 2
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Sauce
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons hickory or mesquite liquid smoke
- Tabasco sauce for serving
Preparation
Step 1
STEP BY STEP Seasoning to the Max
1. Using a sharp knife, slice lengthwise down the center of the roast and pull the two sides apart.
2. Cut a horizontal slit into each lobe of meat so the roast will sit flat on
the cutting board.
3. Apply the spice rub with your hands, massaging the spices deep into the meat.
4. Loosely reshape the meat back to its original size so it will fit in the slow cooker.
For the spice rub:
1. In small bowl, combine paprika, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, pepper, and salt.
For the pork:
2. Place ham hocks in bottom of slow-cooker insert. Set aside. Following photo 3 on page 10, thoroughly coat pork butt with spice rub. Following photo 4, reshape pork butt and place on top of ham hocks, tucking meat down into slow cooker as far as possible. Cover insert with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
3. The next morning, discard plastic wrap and set insert into slow- cooker base. Pour chicken broth over pork, cover with lid, and cook on low until pork is very tender, 8 to 10 hours.
4. Using 2 large spoons, carefully transfer pork butt and ham hocks to rimmed baking sheet. Using two forks, separate pork butt into large chunks. Set aside to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, shred pork butt and ham hocks, discarding excess fat from both as well as small bones from ham hocks.