Cherrywood Smoked Pulled Pork

We love the BBQ. Let's smoke a pork butt and make some Cherrywood Smoked Pulled Pork.

1 bone-in Boston butt, about 7-8 pounds

1/4 cup yellow mustard

BBQ seasoning (I use Silver Spice's Dune Dockers BBQ Rub)

Apple juice or apple cider vinegar, for spritzing

Heat a smoker to 275°F. I used a pellet smoker with cherrywood pellets.

Pat the meat dry and spread a thin layer of mustard all over the pork butt. Liberally sprinkle all sides of the pork with BBQ seasoning.

Place meat (fat side up) directly on the rack in the smoker and smoke, with full smoke, for 8-10 hours. Maintain the smoker at 275°F the entire time. The approximate smoking time is 90 minutes per pound at 275°F.

Start spritzing the meat with apple juice (I do 2 parts apple juice to 1 part apple cider vinegar) in a spray bottle, at 2-3 hours in. Spritz once an hour until the internal temperature of the meat is between 165°- 175°F. At that time, remove meat and wrap with pink butcher paper or aluminum foil. Tightly wrap meat and return to smoker. Continue smoking meat until the internal temperature is 205°F. Remove meat from smoker and let rest for 30 minutes.

Remove bone and shred meat.

Smoked Lemon Asparagus

1 pound fresh, Michigan asparagus

1 lemon, cut in half

1 tablespoon avocado oil

Cherrywood Smoked Seasoning (I use Silver Spice's Michigan Cherrywood Smoked Seasoning)

Heat smoker to 275°F.

Place asparagus and lemon on a grill pan, then drizzle with oil and seasoning.

Smoke for 30 minutes, or until tender-crisp.

I place the asparagus on the smoker after removing the pork. The asparagus takes approximately 30 minutes and the pork needs to rest for 30 minutes. This way, everything will be done at the same time.

Happy BBQ Day!

There are several ways to use the pulled pork, here are a few of our favorites!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Pulled Pork Tacos

Pulled Pork Nachos

If you want to make Pulled Pork in a slow-cooker, then this recipe is for you! This recipe is featured in my cookbook, Meals From the Mitten: Celebrating the Seasons in Michigan.

Apple and Onion Pulled Pork

Serves 8 to 10

1 cup ketchup

1 cup brown sugar

⅔ cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon mesquite seasoning

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 large apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

5- to 6-pound bone-in pork shoulder roast

Slaw (see below)

Hamburger buns or potato rolls

In a medium-size bowl, add ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and mesquite seasoning, and stir to combine. Divide the mixture in half. Place half in the refrigerator; set aside the other half.

In a slow cooker, add onion, apple and pork. Pour unrefrigerated half of mixture over pork. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours, or on low for 8 to 9 hours. (Note: Pork will be done when the bone pulls away from the meat.) Discard the bone and place pork on a cutting board, then shred the meat using two forks. (Note: If pork doesn't easily shred, it needs to be cooked longer.)

Strain the remaining liquid from the slow cooker; reserve ½ cup liquid and discard the rest. Make sure to also reserve onion and apple. Add onion and apple back to the slow cooker along with the shredded pork and reserved ½ cup liquid. Mix in the remaining ketchup mixture and heat for 15 to 20 more minutes. Keep on warm and serve with slaw and hamburger buns or potato rolls.

Pulled Pork Nachos

1 (16-ounce) bag of tortilla chips

2 cups Apple and Onion Pulled Pork (See Recipe Above)

2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

½ cup pickled jalapeños

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 cup diced tomatoes

½ cup diced green pepper

¼ cup sliced black olives

Dollop each of salsa and sour cream

Preheat oven or grill to 375ºF.

Add chips to a foil-lined baking sheet. Cover chips with pulled pork and shredded cheese, then top with jalapeños. Bake or grill for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and top with remaining ingredients.

Slaw

Slaw Dressing

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 teaspoons sugar

¼ teaspoon celery seed

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon pepper

Slaw

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup shredded red cabbage

½ cup matchstick carrots