The Sports Headquarters

As the Super Bowl approaches and I admittedly have been slacking through the playoffs, I figured there are going to be parties abound.

So I am here to help out with all of your Game Day Culinary needs.

With complete honesty I am going to try and get a couple of these up this week and then a couple up next week, so you can have a nice plethora of selections to choose from to WOW your Super Bowl guest.

And the first installment will be a fantastic pulled pork recipe that I made for Championship Game Sunday this last weekend.

Now I want to first say that the best pulled pork in the world is done on a smoker, but if you are financially challenged like myself or live back east where going outside to cook is not really an option, then this is the recipe you have been looking for and it is here, after the jump.

First you need to pick out the proper meat, and in this case, a Pork Butt/shoulder is what we are looking for.

I recommend getting one with the bone in, but realize that this will take away from the amount of food that is available as the bone is factored into the weight of the shoulder.

A pretty accurate way of knowing how much you will need is to have about half a pound of pork per person. 

Now if you like to eat, like I do, you usually go closer to a pound per person and then keep the leftovers for yourself.

On Sunday we had a 15 people over, and had a 13lbs shoulder, with a small bowl of meat all that was left over, so do with this information what you will.

After you pick out your shoulder, you want to make sure you get a good rib rub on it (recipe to follow).

Rub the pork shoulder and leave it out to get to room temperature.

Once the rub has had time to set in, you want to prepare for the very long cooking instructions.

Next, turn your oven on to the deliciously low 225 degrees F.  This low temp means you need a long time to cook the shoulder, mine went for 8-10hours.

Place the shoulder fatside up, on a baking rack with a baking dish under it to catch any possible fat that may drip out.

The pork will look like it is burning, it is not, that is the “bark” which is the caramelization of the rub you put on earlier.

After about 8 hours, pull the pork out, wrap it in some plastic wrap and then tightly in aluminum foil, which will allow it to lock in the moisture of the meat.

Once it reads 165 degrees F you are ready to allow it to set and then to unwrap the goodness and shred it.

Pull the pork with two forks, or if you like to get in close with your food use your hands to shred the pork.

The next step depends on you.

My guests always make sandwiches with homemade BBQ sauce (Recipe Below) and then coleslaw on top.

Anyways, let me know what you think and if you want a great coleslaw recipe to top this off, feel free to ask.

Rub Recipe: