South Carolina Pulled Pork Barbecue Sandwiches

I like to make my pulled pork with the mustardy, vinegary South Carolina type of barbecued sauce.

The recipe starts by making the dry rub. Make plenty of this at a time because you can use it all summer long on everything from ribs to hamburgers to anything you are making on the grill.

Dry Rub:

2 tsp. granulated garlic
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 T. celery salt
1/4 c. salt
1/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. chili powder
1/4 c. black pepper
1/4 c. cumin
1/2 c. smoked paprika


Trim off most of the fat on a pork shoulder with the bone in. This is about a 4 1/2 pound pork shoulder. Place it in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.



Bring it to room temperature and then sear over high heat in a bit of oil in a heavy pot. Sear each side until a deep brown crust forms.




This will lock in the juices and give you great flavor. Once it is seared, turn off the heat and add a couple cans of beer and some beef stock until the liquid reaches half way up the meat. Cover and place it in a 275 degree oven for 4 hours.





Meanwhile, make the sauce.


In a heavy pot place:

1/4 c. cider vinegar
3 T. dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. black pepper


Add some cayenne or hot sauce according to taste. I used very little. This should not be spicy.


I also used smoked paprika to add a bit of a smoky flavor since I roasted this in the house and not on the grill.


Bring the mix to a simmer and whisk until the brown sugar melts. Then stir in 1/2 cup of yellow mustard.


The roast should be falling apart after 4 hours.


Remove it from the pot and shred it, removing the bone and any big chunks of fat.


Place all of the shredded meat in a bowl.


Cover it with the mustard sauce. I also mixed in some of the juice from the pot to add more flavor.


Serve a heaping mound of the pork on a homemade bun and top the pork with coleslaw.

I will post the roll recipe and the coleslaw recipe in the next two days. This is a great Memorial Day and 4th of July recipe.