Jessica Cole's Southern Living at Home

Memphis Pork and Coleslaw Sandwich

If you've never eaten slaw on rather than with a sandwich, you're in for a treat. You'll need to start the pork and soak the wood chunks a day ahead; you can make the mustard-laced slaw a day in advance as well. If you'd rather not have sandwiches, serve the meat as is or use it to flavor baked beans.

Yield
13 servings (serving size: 1 bun, 3 ounces pork, about 1/3 cup slaw, and about 1 ½ tablespoons sauce)
Ingredients

Pork:
8  hickory wood chunks (about 4 pounds)
2  tablespoons  paprika
1  tablespoon  freshly ground black pepper
1  tablespoon  turbinado sugar
1 ½  teaspoons  kosher salt
1 ½  teaspoons  garlic powder
1 ½  teaspoons  onion powder
1 ½  teaspoons  dry mustard
1  (5-pound) bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)
1/3  cup  white vinegar
1  tablespoon  Worcestershire sauce
1  teaspoon  canola oil
1  (12-ounce) can beer
2  cups  water
Cooking spray

Slaw:
¼  cup  finely chopped onion
1 ½  tablespoons  prepared mustard
1 ½  tablespoons  white vinegar
1  tablespoon  reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 ½  teaspoons  granulated sugar
¼  teaspoon  salt
6  cups  chopped green cabbage

Remaining ingredients:
13  hamburger buns
1 2/3  cups  Memphis Barbecue Sauce

Preparation
To prepare pork, soak wood chunks in water about 16 hours; drain.

Combine paprika and next 6 ingredients (through dry mustard); reserve 1 tablespoon paprika mixture. Rub half of remaining paprika mixture onto pork. Place in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and refrigerate overnight.

Remove pork from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Rub remaining half of paprika mixture onto pork.

Combine reserved 1 tablespoon paprika mixture, 1/3 cup vinegar, Worcestershire, oil, and beer in a small saucepan; cook over low heat 5 minutes or until warm.

Remove grill rack; set aside. Prepare grill for indirect grilling, heating one side to medium-low and leaving one side with no heat. Maintain temperature at 225°. Pierce bottom of a disposable aluminum foil pan several times with the tip of a knife. Place pan on heated side of grill; add half of wood chunks to pan. Place another disposable aluminum foil pan (do not pierce pan) on unheated side of grill. Pour 2 cups water in pan. Coat grill rack with cooking spray; place grill rack on grill.

Place pork on grill rack over foil pan on unheated side. Close lid; cook 4 ½ hours or until a thermometer registers 170°, gently brushing pork with beer mixture every hour (avoid brushing off sugar mixture). Add additional wood chunks halfway during cooking time. Discard any remaining beer mixture.

Preheat oven to 250°.

Remove pork from grill. Wrap pork in several layers of aluminum foil, and place in a baking pan. Bake at 250° for 2 hours or until a thermometer registers 195°. Remove from oven. Let stand, still wrapped, 1 hour or until pork easily pulls apart. Unwrap pork; trim and discard fat. Shred pork with 2 forks.

While pork bakes, prepare slaw. Combine onion and next 5 ingredients (through ¼ teaspoon salt) in a large bowl. Add cabbage, and toss to coat. Cover and chill 3 hours before serving. Serve pork and slaw on buns with Memphis Barbecue Sauce.