Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons dark brown sugar (2 1/4 ounces; 2¼ oz)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume or the same weight
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed
• large pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 whole bone-in or boneless pork butt (5 to 7 pounds; 4 lb 15 oz to 6 lb 10 oz)
• 1 cup ketchup (8 ounces; about 8 oz)
• 1/2 cup dark molasses (4 ounces; about 4 oz)
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar, divided
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon high-quality liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely minced (about 6 ounces; 6 oz)
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock or water

Method

1. Heat the oven to 300°F with a rack in the lower third.
2. Mix the brown sugar, salt, paprika, cumin, black pepper, coriander, fennel seed and cayenne; rub 2 to 3 tablespoons over the pork and reserve the rest.
3. Whisk the ketchup, molasses, half the cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, mustard and hot sauce with the reserved spice mix and set aside.
4. Brown the pork on all sides in the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes total.
5. Add the onion and cook about 2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits.
6. Pour in the bourbon off the heat, return to the heat and cook until any flames die down, about 2 minutes.
7. Set the pork fat side up, add half the sauce and the stock, cover and cook in the oven about 4 hours.
8. Uncover and cook about 1 hour more, until a fork twists in the meat with very little resistance and a dark bark has formed.
9. Rest the pork, shred it, discarding large pieces of fat, and toss with the remaining sauce and the remaining cider vinegar to taste.

Total: 5 h 30 min

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data