THE HOGFATHER

My idea of the perfect day is spending time with the people I love, and waiting all day for a few bites of perfect, juicy, tasty meat. That being said, my first Father's day was a huge success! I spent the whole day hanging out with family and smoking some pulled pork on the barbecue.

The pork preparation began at 10:30 in the morning... I massaged a gorgeous 4 pound pork shoulder with a blend of paprika, kosher salt, new mexico and chipotle chili powders.

I tied the shoulder up with some kitchen twine to help it hold its shape, and let it rest for a good 30 minutes while the coals got going. Once things were properly heated up, I added some mesquite chips and the pork to the grill.

With the pork over a pan of water and very low indirect heat, I checked the meat every hour, and let it cook for about 7 hours.. adding a few coals and adjusting the vents every now and then to maintain the temperature. It cooked to about 180 degrees in the center.

This is what it looked like about two-thirds of the way through cooking:

and here it is fully cooked, before shredding...

Now, I know the meat might look a little burned in the pictures, but I assure you that it was far from it... The black crust that you see is what defines real barbecue... it's called bark, and I think it is the tastiest thing on the entire planet... its kinda like crunchy, smoky, caramelized, bacony heaven. The bark is not only delicious, but it helps contain the deliciousness inside the pork shoulder.

If you click on the pictures and view them full size, you can see where little rivers of bliss have broken through the crusty bark!

From this point, the meat rested for a bit, was shredded, and had some tangy barbecue sauce added to it... We served the meat with coleslaw on a Kaiser roll, and red chard on the side... it was to die for! The only critique I can come up with is that we could have chosen a better bun: the kaiser rolls were a little dry... and something a bit moister and fluffier would have been just the ticket.

In all honesty, this was some of the best tasting meat I've ever eaten. I think the chard, coleslaw, bun, plate, and fork were all just distractions... I would've eaten this meat straight from the grill with both hands tied behind my back if it was my only option.

I think this Father's day thing is really going to work out well for me...