Years ago a buddy from North Carolina introduced me to a pulled pork sandwich topped with coleslaw. I didn't think I would like it, but the sweetness and moisture from the slaw on top of sweet pulled pork was an instant favorite.
In this recipe and video we add another North Carolina staple, Cheerwine, to make a delicious BBQ sauce. This classic southern, cherry soda is truly the cherry on top of this sandwich!
Meat Church How To YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/tKqc2ON_jqY
Be sure to check out our Traditional Pulled Pork recipe, our famous Mexican Pulled Pork which is an amazing savory option and No Wrap Pork Butt for other pulled pork options.
Ingredients
- 1, 8-10 lb bone in pork butt
- Meat Church The Gospel (sub Texas Sugar, Honey Hog, Holy Gospel, Honey Bacon or Deez Nuts)
- 1 bottle Cheerwine Cherry Soda for spritzing
- 1 T yellow mustard for slather
Tools
- Instant Read Thermometer
- 1 half steam pan & foil to cover
- Fat Separator
Prepare your Smoker
Prepare your smoker at a temperature of 250 degrees with hickory, pecan and or cherry. In this video we used a Traeger Ironwood 885 with cherry pellets.
Pork butt prep
Remove all excess fat from the pork butt. Only leave minimal fat on the fat cap.
Optional Injection
Mix Meat Church Hog Injection with a high quality juice (e.g., Martinelli’s apple juice, Welch’s White Peach Grape). Inject in a 1” x 1” grid pattern until the pork butt is nice and plump.
Slather & season the pork butt
Slather the pork butt in yellow mustard to act as a binder for the seasoning.
This will not affect the flavor. This allows the seasoning to adhere and also stay adhered during the cook.
Season all sides of the pork liberally with The Gospel.
Allow the pork butt to "sweat out" which just means let the season fully adhere.
Smoking the pork butt
This cook should take around an hour per pound.
Place the butt directly on the grate, fat side down.
Pour the bottle of Cheerwine into a spray bottle and spritz every hour. We are targeting a beautiful red color. This will occur just before the butt starts to turn really dark. Wrap after the pork butt has reached at least 170 internal temperature with an instant read thermometer. This should be around the 7 hour mark.
Cover the pan tightly with foil and return to the smoker. Continue smoking the butt until it is tender when probing with your thermometer. This will occur with an internal temperature above 200.
Remove the pan from the smoker and open the foil to stop the cooking process.
Finishing the pulled pork
Allow the butt to rest for 30 - 45 mins.
Pour all of the juice or "jus" in the pan into a fat separator. Set aside.
Shred or pull the butt.
After the fat has separated, pour the good juice (not the fat) back into the pulled pork and toss.
Taste the pork. Add The Gospel to taste. Adding raw seasoning on top of pulled pork enhances the flavor.
Build North Caroline Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Lay down the bottom half of a bun. Top with a heaping amount of pulled pork. Squirt your desired amount of Cheerwine BBQ sauce on the pork. Top with sweet coleslaw. Add the top bun.
Enjoy!