Classic Southern-Style Pulled Pork Sandwich with Honey Gold Coleslaw

Rich, unctuous and sweet pork piled with crisp, tangy coleslaw makes for the perfect pairing. Serve it on a soft potato bun for a heaven-on-a-plate experience.

Cook time: 5-6 hours
Suggested wood: Pecan wood chunks

Coleslaw instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine cabbage, red onion, pickles, LNB Honey Gold, mayonnaise, honey and sugar.
2. Taste, and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
3. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

1. Trim excess fat from the pork shoulder, leaving the fat cap on the bottom. Pat dry with paper towels and season liberally with Everything Rub. Set aside.
2. Set up your grill for indirect cooking (see below). Fill a charcoal chimney with lump charcoal and light it with a fire starter cube. When the coals have turned gray, dump them into the grill on the side opposite the aluminum pan. Replace the cooking grate, close the lid and open the top and bottom vents until the grill temperature reaches 275 degrees F. Continue to monitor the grill, adjusting the vents as needed until the cooking temperature reaches between 300 degrees F and 325 degrees F. About 15 minutes before cooking, place one or two pecan wood chunks directly on the hot coals, the close the lid.
3. When the grill reaches desired temperature, place the shoulder fat-side down in the indirect side of the grill over the drip pan. Close the lid and cook for two hours. Open the lid and flip the shoulder over so it is fat-side up. Close the lid and cook for another hour.
4. On your counter or workspace, position two sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil about four times the length of the shoulder in a plus-sign shape. After three hours of cooking, remove the shoulder and center it on the aluminum foil, fat-side down. Crimp the foil around the shoulder and pour the apple juice around it. Tightly wrap the foil around the shoulder and return it to the indirect side of the grill. Close the lid and cook for another hour and a half. Open the lid, rotate the shoulder 180 degrees and test the texture by inserting an instant-read thermometer into a few different places throughout the shoulder. You want the probe to easily slide into the meat with very minimal to no resistance. The internal temperature should be between 203 degrees F ad 206 degrees F. If the texture is tough and hard to probe, replace the grill lid and cook for another 20 minutes. Then test it again.
5. When the shoulder is probing smoothly, remove it from the grill and let it rest in a pan for 30 minutes to an hour. Keep it wrapped in the foil.
6. After resting, open the foil, remove the shoulder and place it in the pan used for resting. Pour the juices from the foil over the shoulder. Using two forks, shred the pork and integrate it into the juice. For added flavor, sprinkle in more Everything Rub.
7. To serve, place a heaping pile of pulled pork on each bottom bun and top with a large scoop of the coleslaw. If desired, drizzle with more LNB Honey Gold BBQ sauce, set the top half of the bun and dig in!

Smitty’s tip: “The meat will tell you when it’s ready.” With large cuts like pork shoulder and beef brisket, the “feel” is especially important. You want that probe to slide into the meat like warm butter. To achieve that, during the resting period, you can place the foiled pork into an empty cooler lined with a towel.

Indirect fire setup:
For an indirect fire set up, will half the charcoal basket or grate with lit charcoal from a chimney lighter and place a disposable aluminum pan on the other side to create a two-zone cooking area. The pan can be used as a heat deflector, to catch rendered fat and drippings, and, when water is added, it will also create a moist cooking environment. Alternatively, the pan can be placed in the middle of the charcoal grate with the coals on each side.

For a gas grill, light your grill as recommended by the manufacturer. If you have more than one burner, set half the burners to an even temperature, leaving the other burner(s) off. For two burners, turn one on and leave one off. For a three-burner grill, turn one on and leave the other two off. You will need to adjust the burner higher or lower based on the grill’s internal temperature until it reaches your desired cooking temperature.