Detailed instructions and recipe for Barbecue Pork. This BBQ is slow cooked on a smoker/grill and the results will earn you the title “Grill Master”
If you want to get Southerners fired up just ask them this question. “What is the best Barbecue around?” Everybody has an opinion, and the truth is, there are lots of good barbecues — some pork, some chicken, some beef. They are cooked in smokers, charcoal grills, pits in the ground — you name it. To us “barbecue” means barbecue pork.
For a look at Southern Food traditions and where they came from, what they mean, and where they’re going you’ll want to read Southern Food Then & Now.
And then there is the sauce. There’s ketchup based, mustard based, vinegar based. Heck, I’ve even heard they make white bbq sauce over in Alabama. I like most all of them, though I’ve never tried the white.
We prefer a mustard (and ketchup) based sauce. Buddy and his brother, David, got the recipe many, many years ago from an old lady who ran a barbecue joint in our hometown, Columbus, Georgia. The recipe card for the sauce is beneath the card for the pork, if you scroll on down.
Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama (which sits right across the river) have some of the best pork bbq you’ve ever tasted. There are a few mom-and-pop places in the area that have been in business over 50 years. They mostly cook over hickory wood in that area. Apple wood is our favorite, but hickory is good, as is mesquite (hello Texas).
Now, buckle up, because what we have for you here is absolutely the best way to cook pork barbecue on a charcoal grill.
Tips for Making the Best Barbecue Pork:
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- We cook our barbeque pork on a Big Green Egg, but a Kamado Joe grill, (or any similar ceramic grill) should produce delicious results
- Boston Butt is our preferred cut of meat
- If you cut your roast into 2 or 3 smaller pieces it gives you more outside meat, or “bark”
- Cooking on a V rack keeps the meet off the grill surface, and cooking more indirectly
- Soak wood chips in water for 8-12 hours to produce the best smoke
- Cooking long and slow cooks out more fat, which produces a leaner meat than typical Boston Butt
- The best side dishes ever for your Barbecued Pork? Traditional Southern Style Baked Beans and Macaroni and Cheese like Mama Made
Barbecue Pork
Ingredients
- 5-7 pounds Boston Butt Pork Roast
- Butt Rub Seasoning, to taste
- Wood chips, soaked in water 8-12 hours
- Your favorite sauce
Instructions
- Cut roast into 2 pieces (3 if it’s large)
- Press butt rub into all sides of roast pieces.
- Allow charcoal fire to burn until evenly covered with a light ash.
- Wait until temperature gauge of grill reads 250 degrees.
- Put seasoned meat on V rack over indirect heat.
- Use a drip pan under meat to catch drippings.
- Cook 6 to 8 hours or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.
- Chop meat as finely as you prefer.
- Service with your favorite sauce.
Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 pint ketchup
- 1 pint mustard
- 1 lemon, squeezed
- 1 cup worcestershire sauce
- hot sauce, to taste
- 1 pint apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients well.
- Store leftovers covered and refrigerated.
Notes
Southern Food Then and Now is all about traditions, regions and the origins of our favorite cuisine!
When the pork is done and the grill is still hot throw on Veggie Foil Packs for an easy cook-outdoors side dish.
Did you know barbecue can be used in appetizers? Everyone will love these Southern Appetizers with Barbecue and Cheese Grits
Products Needed for Grilling Barbecue Pork
- Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe Grill or similar (if you’re in the market for a Kamado Joe Grill you’ll want to check out this review article from Seriously Smoked).
- V Rack for Grill
- Wood chips (apple, hickory or mesquite)
- Season with a good Butt Rub
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More Biscuits and Burlap Recipes for the Grill
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Marinated & Grilled Chuck Roast 
Grilled Cajun Wings 
Grilled Fish Tacos 
Grilled Shrimp Skewers 
Marinated & Grilled Pork Tenderloin 
A collection of Grilled Fish & Seafood Recipes 
Skillet Potatoes
What is the best barbecue are fighting words in the south but I love it all. I only have a small grill but I will need to give this recipe a try. It sounds and looks so good. Pinned
You’ve got that right, Debra!
We love our Big Green Egg! Always nice to find a new recipe. 🙂
I’ve had ALL the different kinds of barbecue sauces (born in TN; have lived in MS, AL, and NC). The white is. . . different. Tasty, but not what you’d want to make a steady diet of. I’m a vinegar girl!!
That’s kind of what I figured about the white sauce, too. Otherwise, I like them all!
Mmmm… This sounds delicious! Thank you for the recipe! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Thanks, Marci. We appreciate you stopping by.
Thanks for the recipe!…We definitely want to get that Big Green Egg!
You’ll love it. We had one at our last house that got sold with the house, but we had to have a new one!
This is such a great recipe! Can’t wait to try it. I am big into pork and barbecue.
Maria
Hope you enjoy it, Maria!
Photo looks delish. I’m from Alabama, but have never heard of or eaten white BBQ sauce. Your recipe sounds sooo yummy.
Thanks, Florence. You got me curious about the white BBQ sauce, so I looked it up. Not sure what part of Alabama you’re from, but what I found said it is common in northern Alabama.
I would love to try this sometime. Never made anything like it but it looks delicious! It must smell heavenly
Thanks for sharing the sauce recipe as well. This looks like a site I will visit often and there are a lot of tasty recipes here that I have seen and will be trying out. I will be doing the barbeque on a pellet smoker, but those things do great cooking.
Thanks so much, David. We’re happy to be able to now offer the sauce recipe as well. We’ve heard great things about the pellet smokers, though we’ve never cooked on one ourselves. Let us know how your barbecue turns out!