South of the border Tinga Pulled Pork Shoulder 🍎🍺🐷💦💨🔥🐗🍖🌶️🍅❤️

South of the border Tinga Pulled Pork Shoulder Recipe

Serves: 12-14 | Prep time: 20 mins. | Cook time: ~6-8 hours

Ingredients:

4-5 lbs. pork shoulder (adjust recipe for larger pork shoulder)

Rub:

2 tbsp smoked paprika

3 tbsp coarse sea salt

2 tbsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp garlic power

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp gran luchito smoked fajita rub

For the rub to stick:

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp honey

Glaze:

380g bottle gran luchito tinga taco

180g honey

2 tbsp gran luchito smoke fajita rub

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp gran luchito chipotle paste

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Mop mist:

Bottle of dry/medium cider

3 tbsp Apple cider vinegar

Equipment:

BBQ smoker

Water pan

Meat thermometer

Lumpwood charcoal

Wood chunks (I recommend apple and Oak)

Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Light your smoker and stabilize temperature at 225°F-250°F.

Step 2: Remove pork from packaging, rinse under cold water, and pat dry.

Step 3: Remove the skin and trim the fat leaving an even coating of fat that keeps the pork moist during the cook. 

Step 4: Mix the dijon mustard with the honey and coat the entire piece of meat very lightly. This is going to add just a little sweetness to the pork but is mostly used as a binder for the rub and to help form that incredible bark.

Step 5: Combine the ingredients for the rub in a bowl and mix well. Coat pork generously with rub. As you can see below, don’t be shy with this rub. It’s going to add some amazing flavor to your pork.

Step 6: Drop wood chunks onto hot coals and place pork on the top rack of your smoker, place your water pan **filled with water** directly underneath the meat to catch the dripping fat and add some moisture to the air. Insert your meat thermometer into the thickest portion of the meat to enable you to monitor the internal temperature of the meat.

Step 7: While pork is cooking, combine the glaze ingredients in a pan over a low flame, mixing thoroughly, allow to thicken slightly and set aside to cool.

Step 8: Remove the pork when internal temp reaches 160°F, this will take about 2-3 hours. You will notice how the fat is starting to render down and baste the meat.

Step 9: Place pork on a double layer of tin foil. A double layer is really important to avoid a mess on your grill. Add your Tinga glaze to the pork. When wrapping your pork shoulder, it’s important to do so as tightly as possible to prevent the pork from steaming—this will adversely affect your bark.

Step 10: Return to cooker until the internal temperature reaches 198°F-200°F (the pork will continue to cook after removing and the internal temperature should reach 205°F, this is important to achieve a breakdown of the collagen inside the pork. At this point, the pork should be probe tender (a toothpick should easily slide in and out of the pork with little to no resistance).

Step 11: Open the foil and let steam out. Let the shoulder sit open for about 20 minutes.

Step 12: At this point you can pull the pork, but if you have the time once the steam has dissipated, recover with foil let it rest for a couple hours in an insulated cooler. Simply wrap the foil covered pork in an old, but clean, towel to keep it warm while it rests.

Step 13: Pull the pork and ensure the juices that formed are mixed thoroughly into the pulled pork. Spray down with some of the apple cider mist to help cut the fattiness of the pork or some of the leftover tinga glaze.

Step 14: Serve hot on a roll with some raw slaw/dill pickles—or both.

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