Eastern NC BBQ Tray

Before you start

• Cure the pork skin.

  Twenty-four hours prior to cooking, rub the crosshatched skin exclusively with the fine table salt to draw out moisture. Leave uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.

• Steep the vinegar dip.

  Combine 2 cups of the apple cider vinegar, the white vinegar, red pepper flakes, black pepper, 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt, and hot sauce in a jar. Shake aggressively and let sit at room temperature for at least four hours so the capsaicin blooms.

• Macerate the yellow slaw.

  Pulse the cabbage in a food processor until finely minced. Whisk the sugar, mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, and mustard in a bowl, then fold in the cabbage. Refrigerate for at least two hours until a sweet juice pools at the surface.

Ingredients

• bone-in skin-on pork shoulder8 lb
• fine table salt1 tbsp
• Kosher salt1/4 cup
• apple cider vinegar2 1/4 cup
• distilled white vinegar1/2 cup
• crushed red pepper flakes1 tbsp
• coarse black pepper1 tbsp
• Texas Pete hot sauce2 tbsp
• green cabbage1 med
• white granulated sugar1 cup
• mayonnaise1/2 cup
• Miracle Whip1/4 cup
• yellow mustard2 tsp
• fine-ground white cornmeal4 cup
• warm water4 cup
• lard1/4 cup

Method

1. 01

   Fire up the smoker with pecan wood.

   Set your pellet smoker or kamado to 250°F with pecan wood for a sweet, mild smoke. If using a charcoal kettle, deploy the snake method with unlit briquettes and pecan chunks. For an indoor oven workaround, roast at 300°F and spritz the meat with a mix of the remaining 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of liquid smoke.

2. 02

   Smoke the meat naked through the stall.

   Wipe excess moisture from the skin and rub the exposed flesh with 3 tablespoons of Kosher salt. Smoke the shoulder skin-side up. Do not wrap it in foil or butcher paper during the stall, or you will ruin the skin. Spritz the flesh with apple cider vinegar every two hours.

3. 03

   Pull at 195°F and rest in a faux Cambro.

   When a probe slides into the thickest part of the shoulder with zero resistance at 190°F to 195°F—usually 8 to 12 hours—remove the meat. Peel off the entire sheet of skin and set aside. Wrap the pork tightly in foil and rest it in an insulated cooler lined with towels for at least one hour.

4. 04

   Bake the authentic cornpone.

   Preheat your oven to 450°F. Place the lard in a 9x13-inch metal pan and heat in the oven until smoking. Whisk the white cornmeal, the remaining 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt, and warm water. Pour half the screaming-hot lard into the batter, stir rapidly, then pour the batter back into the sizzling pan. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes until deeply browned.

5. 05

   Blister the cracklins.

   While the meat rests, use a spoon to scrape the thick layer of unrendered fat from the underside of the reserved pork skin. Lay flat on a foil-lined baking sheet and blast under an oven broiler on high for 5 to 10 minutes until shatteringly crisp.

6. 06

   Pull, chop, and dress.

   Unwrap the rested meat and pull by hand, discarding the shoulder bone, cartilage, and massive fat veins. Take a heavy cleaver and roughly chop the cracklins into pea-sized bits. Fold the cracklins into the meat, give the entire mixture a rhythmic, coarse chop to integrate, and immediately dress with a cup of the vinegar dip.