Since I am a lover of all things food, once I found this new love for pork I couldn’t wait to start experimenting with different recipes.

Pulled pork is an absolute favorite of mine and this particular version tops the charts. The great thing about this recipe is that you don’t need a smoker and yet no one can tell that you didn’t use one. And here’s the secret: liquid smoke paired with an amazingly flavored BBQ sauce.

I’m sure you’ve already come to this conclusion. Nothing goes better with pulled pork than a nice cold beer.

Ingredients

For the pork

• 5 pounds pork butt, boneless & cut in half
• 1 cup salt
• ½ cup sugar
• ¾ cup yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika (sweet paprika is okay to use)
• 2 tablespoons ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the barbeque sauce

• ¼ cup light molasses
• 1 ½ cups ketchup
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce (1-2 more teaspoons if you like it really spicy)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper

For assemblage

• 6 torpedo rolls
• ½ cup butter, melted

Directions

For the pork

1. Brine pork by filling a large pot with water, the salt, and sugar. Brine for a least two hours. When ready remove pork and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Preheat over to 325°F.
3. Combine mustard and liquid smoke. Slather all over pork getting into all the crevices.
4. Combine the rest of the spices in a small bowl. Rub mix completely over every part of the pork butt – again getting every single crevice.
5. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack inside it. Place pork on the wire rack. Cover with parchment paper. Pour ½ cup water and 1 teaspoon liquid smoke into the pan. Cover tightly with heavy aluminum foil to prevent moisture loss.
6. Cook in the oven for 3 hours. Remove foil and parchment paper covering. Pour off liquid into a small saucepan. Return to the oven and cook for about 1 ½ more hours until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees.
7. When done, remove from oven. Let rest, covered, for 15-20 minutes.

For barbeque sauce

1. In a saucepan, combine molasses, ketchup, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Add 1 cup of the reserved liquid to the saucepan. If you prefer, you can de-fat the reserved liquid.
2. Heat sauce on medium high heat until just warmed.

For assembly

1. Preheat over to 350°F.
2. Liberally brush outside of rolls with melted butter
3. Put rolls in oven for 3-5 minutes until slightly browned. Remove from oven.
4. Pull apart pork into small pieces with two forks.
5. Place a small about of sauce onto the rolls and then stuff with pulled pork. Top with more sauce as desired and serve.