Mike's BBQ Shack

Alright , since we have already established how pigs (pork) came

over here to America, let's keep moving on. The pigs were just

left to wander the wild. The weather conditions were such that

it just was not very conducive to raising cattle; most of them

perished and died back east in that climate so raising pigs

became the norm.

So we have now established that pork is the featured BBQ meat

of the South. We call it Southern Style BBQ Pork. But what exactly

is true barbecue?

This way of cooking is so old and every part of the region has

its own way of doing things, it is hard to deliver on a definition

of exactly what 'pulled pork' is. Because when you are talking

Southern Style BBQ Pork you almost always come to the conclusion

that you are talking about 'pulled pork.'

At its very lowest level of definition, pulled pork is pork that is

cooked very slowly over a low, smoky fire. This is cooked to the

point where the pork can be 'pulled' apart with the hands.

In other words, Southern Style BBQ Pork is just Southern Style

barbecue or as they call it: pulled pork. We can call it

smoked pork.

My wife and I have trtaveled in every state and eaten BBQ in every

state except Maine. We know BBQ. We know pork. (MAINE is on the

agenda for 2010) In our travels we have found that this pulled

pork can be delivered to you in many different ways.

It can be pulled apart by hand. It can be chopped, sliced, diced.

It can be shredded as they do for BBQ burritos or enchiladas.

Now that is an interesting combination: Southern Style BBQ and

Mexican cooking.

However you define it, Southern Style BBQ is way more than just

food or a meal. It is just simple a way for people to gather and

have fun. Whether it be for a social occasion, political, a BBQ

after church on Sunday. My wife and I even went to one after

church one Sunday back in the Carolinas where after the porky

meal they put on a Civil War Enactment.

Here is one difference that you can have even in the same town:

it is the difference or various types of sauces, rubs, wood you

BBQ on. Some cooks swear by a specific type of wood to smoke by

and others vary it up. Others use just salt and pepper and let the

true flavor of the meat come through. And still other cooks

use BBQ rub very liberally.

Final destination: You just take a pork shoulder and if you

chose to use BBQ rub, put it on there liberally, then put it

in your smoker and let er rip! s l o w l y .

Hours and hours and hours until the internal temperature reaches

165 degrees F., which is the correct temperature for pork. We do

not need anyone getting sick on us.

That is the first benchmark for safety, however, you can cook it

longer so that it will be easier to pull apart and it will definitely

be more tender, but do not exceed 190 degrees F.

After you have removed the pork shoulder from the smoker allow it

to rest for a minimum of thirty minutes. The temperature will

continue to climb for about another 10 degrees. That is ok.

The reason you cook it this way is to melt all the fat away and

the tough connective tissues which are called collagen have

broken down. And now the pork should be so tender as to enable

you to pull it apart by hand easily.

Remember, though, you can just as easily slice it. You can

shredd it. You can chop it. Most estabishments down South

serve it with white bread or rolls. If you happen to be in

the Carolinas they will put the pulled pork on a hanburger

bun and top it with coleslaw. Yeah, that's right, coleslaw

right on top of the pulled pork – in the sandwhich.

Fantastic! …and as my good friend, Alton Brown, would

say, "That's Good Eats!."

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1. Southern Style BBQ Pork

Tags: pulled pork, southern style bbq