This is Dillon's go-to for a crowd — an overnight-rubbed pork shoulder that goes low and slow in the oven until it's fork-tender, then gets crushed by hand and folded into a vinegar-and-spice sauce with just enough sweetness to round it out.
What You'll Need
- 1 (10 lb) pork shoulder, preferably a butt — not a picnic
- ½ cup salt
- ¼ cup black pepper
- 3 tablespoons cayenne
- 2 tablespoons garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon onion salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ stick butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon ground onion
- 4 tablespoons crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons cayenne
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 tablespoons Texas Pete hot sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
The Method
Mix the salt, black pepper, cayenne, garlic salt, onion salt, and brown sugar together in a small mixing bowl. Generously rub the mixture over the entire pork roast.
Place the roast in a baking dish, wrap tightly with foil, and refrigerate for 8 hours to let the rub work its way in.
Preheat the oven to 225°. Put the baking dish with the pork — fat side up, uncovered — into the oven and cook for 6 hours.
Remove from the oven, wrap the roast in aluminum foil, and return it to the oven for another 2 to 4 hours.
It's done when a fork slides all the way through the meat with no effort. When you think it's done, it probably isn't yet — don't worry about drying it out, the barbecue sauce will moisten everything back up.
Once the pork is finished, remove it from the oven and let it rest in the foil for 30 minutes.
With clean food-safe rubber gloves on, remove any bone and crush the roast with your hands until it completely falls apart. No gloves? Shred with two forks instead.
Combine the butter, brown sugar, garlic salt, ground onion, crushed red pepper, cayenne, paprika, salt, black pepper, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, Texas Pete, ketchup, and apple cider vinegar.
Add half of the barbecue sauce to the pork and continue mixing with your hands. Keep adding sauce and mixing until you reach your desired consistency and flavor.