Carolina Pulled Pork with Mustard BBQ Sauce

The tangy yellow sauce here is pure South Carolina midlands, a Carolina Gold built on prepared mustard, cider vinegar, and brown sugar. A pork shoulder rubbed the night before and cooked low until it pulls apart gives you enough to feed a porch full of people.

Ingredients

• 1 bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt), 7 to 8 lbs
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1 cup yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar (for the sauce)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (for the sauce)

Instructions

1. The night before, combine the kosher salt, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and dry mustard. Pat the pork dry and rub the spice mix over every surface. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
2. Take the pork out an hour before cooking. Heat the oven to 300 degrees and set the shoulder fat-side up in a roasting pan.
3. Roast uncovered for about 7 to 8 hours, until the meat pulls easily from the bone and an instant-read thermometer reads 200 to 205 degrees at the center. Add a splash of water to the pan if the drippings start to scorch.
4. While the pork rests, make the sauce. Whisk the yellow mustard, cider vinegar, 1/3 cup brown sugar, honey, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in a saucepan. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring, then remove from the heat.
5. Rest the pork at least 30 minutes, then pull the meat apart with two forks, discarding the bone and large pieces of fat.
6. Moisten the pulled pork with a cup of the warm mustard sauce and toss. Serve the rest of the sauce alongside for people to add at the table.

Tips

• Pull the pork at 200 degrees or above, not the 145 the USDA lists for safety. Below 195 the connective tissue hasn't broken down and the meat shreds tough.
• The sauce tastes sharp straight off the stove and mellows overnight, so make it a day ahead if you can.