'Sooooo Good' Southern Style Pulled Pork

This pulled pork is tender and delicious, it just melts in your mouth. 

The best piece of meat for pulled pork is a 4-7 lb whole boston butt.

You’ll need a 3″ deep roasting pan that’s big enough to hold your pork shoulder with room to spare ...

2 gallon ziploc bag to brine the roast in....and meat thermometer.

 Dry Rub

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp ground pepper

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together well and store in an air tight container.

Cover it and set it aside

Brine Solution

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 qts cold water

3 tbsp dry rub mix

2 bay leaves

*Add salt to cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. *Add the brown sugar and dry rub and stir well to combine.
*Rinse the pork shoulder in cold water and place in a 2 gallon ziploc bag (or a     container big enough so the shoulder is completely covered in brine solution).

*Carefully pour in the brine solution…

*Add two dried bay leaves.

*Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.... 24-36 hours is best.

At least 12 hours later…

*Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. (Yes, 225 degrees,)
*Remove the pork shoulder from the brine solution and place in the roasting pan.

*Pat the skin dry with paper towels so you’ll get a nice, crisp crust.

*Generously cover the WHOLE thing in your dry rub mix....and massage it thoroughly into that skin  

*Make sure the fat layer is facing UP and stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone.

*Place uncovered in a 225 degree F oven on the middle rack.*Stick thermometer into center of meat. The center of the shoulder should be at least 200 degrees before you remove from oven ( shoulder will probably take between 1.5 to 2 hours per pound )A large shoulder could easily take 13-16 hours to cook.*When shoulder has reached 200 degrees, turn off the oven and let the roast rest for about 2 hours before removing from the oven....keep the thermometer in the meat, so you can monitor the temperature. *If the bottom of the pan is dry (or crusted with dried spices) cover the shoulder with tin foil

*After a couple hours, when the temperature drops to 170 degrees or slightly lower, remove the shoulder from the oven.

Remove the large sheet of crusted fat on the top. Using two large forks, begin pulling the meat apart. It will fall apart .

 
Add any leftover seasoning if you like it spicy.

You won't need to add any other sauce or condiment

Slap it on a Kaiser

Sometimes we add some sautéed onions or a bit of coleslaw

Goes well with sweet potato fries

Many thanks to -  Kevin & Amanda

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/

Thoroughly enjoyed it