It is best to start cooking the day before serving. The simplest meat to produce on a small scale is boston butt. For larger audiences, use a shoulder or a complete shoulder (which consists of a shoulder plus the Boston butt). The sauce that is skimmed from the top is extremely spicy and can be utilized to prepare extremely spicy chicken wings.
| Prep Time: | 1 day |
| Cook Time: | 12 hrs |
| Total Time: | 1 day 12 hrs |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 16 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 cups apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- ¼ pound butter
- 1 quart water
- 5 pounds Boston butt roast
Instructions
- In a non-reactive saucepan, combine the cider vinegar, salt, brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and butter. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Mix in the water, and return to boil. Sauce the pork before smoking, and then every hour or so while it cooks.
- Start the pork butt on a slow smoker using hardwood coals or charcoal briquettes and mesquite or apple wood chips. Smoke the pork for at least 6 hours and up to 10. The longer the smoke time, the deeper the ‘smoke ring’, a red ring of flavor, will penetrate.
- After the meat has smoked for 6 to 10 hours, use aluminum foil to wrap the meat. Fold the edges of two sheets together to form a watertight seal. Place the meat in the center and bring the edges up to the top, cupping the meat. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the meat and then seal the foil tightly around the roast.
- Place the meat package back on the smoker, or in a 350 degree oven (175 degrees C). If it is on the smoker, increase the heat. Cook the package until the meat pulls easily from the bone. This can be checked easily by pushing on the top of the foil package with an oven-mitted hand to test for softness. It will take up to 2 hours.
- Once the meat is done, remove it from the smoker or oven and let it cool. Pull the pork from the bone and discard the fat and gristle. Pull the meat apart in large chunks about 1 inch wide by 4 inches long.
- Place the meat chunks in a pan and pour about one cup of sauce for every 4 pounds of meat, or to taste. Heat until simmering. Serve immediately or let marinate for several days. The meat can also be pulled into smaller pieces using 2 forks, this is locally known as ‘shredded pork’.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 363 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 106 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 28 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 119 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 24 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Hey there Allrecipies member, Came to Heart of Dixie about 40 years ago. Have had a pork sandwich or two in that time. NEVER as good as this turned out to be. I shortened the smoking time just a bit for convenience but otherwise follow your recipe. A note to the weekend smokers out there…you have GOT to try this. Thanks so much for the recipe.
I thought the vinegar flavor was much to intense.
Excellent recipe. For the reviewer who said “too much vinegar”…that is the point! Not all BBQ sauce is thick, sticky, and loaded with sugar. This is north Alabama pulled pork at it’s best. I followed the recipe exactly. I did use a digital meat thermometer while finishing in the oven to let me know when the meat hit 195 degrees.
This is my go-to for pulled pork. I usually start to marinate the meat a day before putting it on the smoker, then slightly crisp it up after shredding. I love the spice of the cayenne, but I’ll typically throw in some onion powder and garlic powder for extra flavor. Apple wood gives it a bit more sweet smokiness, than just the brown sugar alone.
I have made this recipe for the past 4 years and now and not once has it turned out badly. Every time I’ve made it people have loved it with the exception of those that don’t like spicy/hot foods. However, the vast majority of people love it and sadly, there is seldom any left to take home after an event for which I made it.
My new go-to pulled pork recipe. Bye bye dry rub!
Holy Moly! This is the BEST BBQ I have ever made. So easy. Will definitely be making again. I am not a hot/spicy person so I reduced the Cheyenne to 1 teaspoon instead.
Too much salt and vinegar for most tastes that ate it, and some said too much pepper (which I don’t think there is such a thing. I have since made it cutting back on the salt and vinegar and it came out perfect. When done right, you won’t need any bbq sauce!
This was SO GOOD! Fork tender and shredded apart perfectly for sandwiches. I used a sweet baby ray’s bbq sauce to finish it and my family loved it. I found the recipe on a list of 101 recipes here – https://bbqonmain.com/101-smoker-recipes/
The best pulled pork I have ever had. Everyone LOVED it. Followed the recipe exactly. It does have some heat so you might want to cut back on the cayenne if that is an issue.
I tried this recipe 2 years ago. Since then, that’s the only way I’ve been doing it. Everyone rants and raves about the how it taste. I won’t do it any other way.
this is the only recipe I use now
WINNER, WINNER, PULLED PORK DINNER! The sauce smelled awful but it is well worth smelling up the house, it was delicious.
Major props on this, i love using Hickory and Apple wood mixture while smoking and i marinade my pork the night before with just a dry rub of stuff ill post later this week… I tried yours hopefully you will try mine
This is my first time reviewing a recipe, because this is absolutely amazing! The closest to my beloved BBQ joint in VA that shut down I’ve tried! I am a HUGE vinegar sauce fan, and this does not disappoint. I made the suggested serving size for 9 people for the 4th of July, each person was able to have AT LEAST 2 sandwiches, some people even had 3! There was enough leftover for an additional 4 for lunch the next day. Make more that you think you need, because people will LOVE it and you’ll be sad when there are no leftovers! Along with some other reviews I altered this to my situation. There was no smoker or grill of access to me, so for a just shy of 5pnd butt it took about 6 hours at 275 (thanks to the other reviewers who suggested this oven only method, they were lifesavers!) I also decreased the cayenne to 1tbs, but will use the suggested amount next time as I like more spice than I thought I did! I couldn’t find liquid smoke as some suggested in Lieu of smoking, and it was absolutely amazing regardless. Your house will absolutely smell like vinegar, if you find that completely offensive wait for a day you can have the windows open to make this. I also did marinate it in the sauce after shredded for some extra flavor for around 30min on the stovetop. If you love vinegar based BBQ, you HAVE to try this!
Too hot! Really not that good as a spice. Will look at it again to modify.
Simply outstanding. I cook mine in the oven every time @375′ and several hrs later it is sooooooooo scrumptious!!!!!! I follow the recipe exactly and increase as needed depending on the size of my meat. My family loves it!!!!!
The flavor and tenderness of this is amazing! I also cheated because I do not have a smoker. After reading the reviews, the charcoal grill is something I would have never thought of….next time! I used a boneless 4 1/2 lbs pork butt & cooked in the oven tightly covered with foil at 275 for 6 hours. Removed the foil and cooked at 350 for an additional hour basting it a few times. Then allowed it to rest and then shredded it. I used less cayenne & about a tbs. of liquid smoke, it was still pretty spicy, but really good! I had to put BBQ sauce on the kids to counter the heat. This dish was amazing!
Authentic Alabama pulled pork! This is our go-to recipe. We have made this numerous times and it is always delicious!
I smoke this with hicory chips for church functions and it’s always a hit, and never any leftovers 🙂
I was concerned about the cayenne in this recipe as my family usually complains I make spicy dishes too hot, so I cut the cayenne in half. I was not afraid of the vinegar though as I love ACV and pork together. I did do the oven step (4) but skipped the final step of immersing the meat in the sauce (6). We have a Traeger smoker and I used apple wood for smoking. This was FANTASTIC! It will be my go-to smoked pork recipe from now on! It was not too hot for the kids at all as long as you skip the final step, and I may make it with the full cayenne next time. Thank you for such a great recipe!!!