Grillin' With Wolf: Pulled Pork

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill started enrolling students in 1795 and was the first state university in the United States. Since then they have been irrelevant in football. The South's Oldest Rivalry is a game between the Tar Heels and our beloved Hoos. They played for the 116th time this season. Even though we both hate of UVA, I still haven't gotten over the 2009 Thursday night loss. So how do we prepare for another Thursday night game in Blacksburg, one with ACC Championship implications on the line? Well, we get up early, start the grill, and grab the Wild Turkey 101*. Today we are making my favorite food from the state of North Carolina, pulled pork. You can add sauce if you want (North Carolina sauces depending on where you are can be vinegar or tomato based), but man up and eat some pulled pork that can stand on its own. Since I decided to not grill goat I included a quick goat cheese asparagus recipe as a side.

Ingredients

• A Pork Butt (aka Boston Butt or Pork Shoulder)
• Spicy Brown Mustard
• Paprika
• Brown Sugar
• Salt and Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• Ancho Chili Powder / Chipotle Chili Powder
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Beer
• Garlic Flakes
• Crushed Red Pepper
• Goat Cheese
• Asparagus
• Olive Oil
• 4 Minced Garlic Cloves
• Buns
• Cole Slaw

To start, create the rub. Mix 1/3 cup paprika, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons pepper, 2 tablespoons salt, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 2 teaspoons ancho chili pepper and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper together. Adjust to taste.

For the best flavor rub the pork down with spicy brown mustard and then apply a thick coat of rub. Wrap it in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or better yet, leave it over night). You will be slow smoking the butt at 250 degrees, so give yourself plenty of time to grill. It's the perfect meal for an all-day tailgate.

Place the butt fat side up over a drip pan filled with water, beer, or apple juice. Grill over an indirect heat. Add wood chips or chunks of wood on top of the charcoal in order to add smoke flavor to the meat. Apple, oak, peach, hickory, or maple are great choices. The greener the wood the more smoke it will add. Check the butt every hour or so to keep an eye on your wood, and to mop it with a mix of: cup apple cider vinegar, 12 oz beer, 1 tablespoon garlic flakes or minced garlic, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon black pepper.

The pork is done around 180 degrees if you want to chop it into cubes. However, if you are looking for that fall off the bone finish then let it cook to 190 degrees. For an 8 lb pork butt you can expect it to take around 8 hours (a good estimate is an hour to an hour and a half each pound). When you are about 5-10 degrees away from the final desired temperature, wrap the butt in aluminum foil and put back on the grill. This last hour or so wrapped in foil will help evenly cook the meat and retain moistness. Allow the finished butt to rest for at least 15 minutes.

Spear asparagus with a kabob stick and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and minced garlic on the asparagus and cook on a hot clean grill. Add goat cheese and serve up as a delicious side dish or appetizer.

*Wild Turkey 101 is the official unofficial bourbon of thekeyplay.com for the 2011 football season.