Here is a convenient way to duplicate succulent, hickory-smoked pork barbecue with only a fraction of the fuss. Just pop a pork butt in the oven, then finish it off quickly on the grill for smoky flavor, and voilà: a tender heap of slow-cooked, vinegar-spiked meat that you’d never know hadn’t spent the whole day over the coals.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Step 2
Rinse the pork, pat dry, and season with the red pepper flakes and salt and black pepper to taste, massaging the seasoning into the meat. Place the pork, fatty side up, in a large Dutch oven and add the vinegar and water to the bottom of the pan. Cover with a tight-fitting lid or foil and roast, undisturbed, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until tender.
Step 3
Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill and let the coals burn to a gray ash; if using a gas grill, heat the grill on the lowest setting. Pour Say’s Vinegar Barbecue Sauce over the pork and transfer the meat to the grill. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes per side, until slightly charred all over and smoky in flavor, baking with the same sauce while cooking.
Step 4
Remove the pork from the grill and let rest, loosely covered, for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Using a fork, pull the meat into large pieces, remove any extra-large chunks of fat, and serve warm with more barbecue sauce.
Sara’s Swaps
Step 5
For an even easier no-fail approach to pulled pig, use my mom’s go-to method. Place the pork butt in a plastic oven bag and pour the vinegar and 1 cup water over and around the meat. Season the meat by rubbing with salt and pepper and seal the bag by tying the open end tightly with kitchen string. Place in the middle of a preheated 325°F oven and roast, undisturbed, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the meat is fork-tender (see Know-how, page 172) and falling off the bone. Serve warm with West Tennessee Thick and Sticky BBQ Sauce (page 307) spooned on top.
