Carolina Pulled Pork
Slow-braised pork shoulder and tangy vinegar-mustard sauce.
Maui's an app that plans a whole week of dinners like this one. See how it works ↓
Sauce at the table, not in the pot. Carolina-style is about TANG. If you drown the meat in advance, the bright vinegar bite dies. Pass the sauce; let each plate get sauced fresh.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 6 servings.
- 4 lbboneless pork shoulderpatted dry
- 2 tbspbrown sugar (for rub)
- 1 tbspsmoked paprika
- 1 tbspgarlic powder
- 1 tbsponion powder
- ½ tspcayenne
- 1 largeyellow onionthickly sliced
- 1½ cupsapple cider vinegar
- ¼ cupyellow mustard
- 2 tbspketchup
- 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
- 1 tspred pepper flakes
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 1 tbspkosher salt
- 1 tspblack pepper
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 819calories
- 53gprotein
- 13gcarbs
- 60gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Pat pork shoulder bone-dry.
- Mix brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tsp pepper in a small bowl for the rub.
Rub
Drizzle pork with olive oil. Sprinkle rub all over - pat to adhere. Get into the cracks and fat lines.
4 min · hands onSear
Heat dutch oven over medium-high. Sear pork on all sides until deeply browned, about 3 min per side (5 sides). Remove to a plate.
15 min · hands onBuild braising liquid
Add sliced onions to the pot, cook 4 min. Pour in apple cider vinegar and yellow mustard and Worcestershire and 0.5 cup water, scraping bottom. Nestle the pork back in (liquid should come 1/3 up the meat).
6 min · hands onBraise
Cover dutch oven. Transfer to 300°F oven. Braise 5-6 hr until pork shreds with a fork (look for 195-203°F internal). Flip the meat at the 3-hr mark.
300 min · hands offVinegar-mustard sauce
While pork finishes: combine remaining apple cider vinegar, remaining yellow mustard, ketchup, red pepper flakes, salt, brown sugar in saucepan. Simmer 5 min over low, off heat.
5 min · hands onShred and sauce
Pull pork to a cutting board. Skim fat from braising liquid (most floats; spoon off). Shred pork with 2 forks, discarding any large fat pockets. Return to pot, toss with 0.5 cup of the strained braising liquid and 0.5 cup vinegar sauce.
10 min · hands onServe
Pile pulled pork onto a platter. Pass the remaining vinegar sauce at the table - Carolina-style is meant to be sauced at the plate, not pre-soaked.
2 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Toast brioche buns; pile pork and sauce and slaw. Adds about 5 minutes.
Cook white rice during the last hour of braise. Adds about 20 minutes.
What keeps
Tastes better day 2 - flavors meld. Keeps 5 days, freezes 3 months in its own juices.
Reheat low and slow with extra vinegar sauce. Great over rice, on sandwiches, in tacos.
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