Backyard BBQ Tray with Pulled Pork and Hot Links

Name: Backyard BBQ Tray with Pulled Pork and Hot Links
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 720 min
Total time: 765 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 1 (8 to 9 lb) bone-in pork shoulder, Boston butt; 3 tbsp plus 1 tsp kosher salt, divided; 2 tbsp coarse black pepper; 2 tbsp sweet paprika; 3 tbsp dark brown sugar; 1 cup apple cider vinegar, for mopping; 2 lb hot links; 1 large red onion, thinly sliced; 1 cup white vinegar; 2 tbsp granulated sugar; 6 ears corn, husked; 12 dill pickle spears; 12 soft dinner rolls, warmed; 4 chunks hickory wood

A full backyard spread built around smoked pork shoulder: pulled pork, snappy hot links, charred corn, quick pickled onions and pickle spears, piled onto a paper-lined tray with soft rolls.

4.7 1388 cooks rated this

Prep: 45 min
Cook: 12 hr
Serves: 12
Level: Hard

Free recipe Jump to method

A barbecue tray is how Texas joints and Carolina pits feed a crowd: butcher paper, a heap of meat, pickles, onions and bread, no plates needed. This one centers on pork shoulder, the most forgiving and affordable cut in the case, with hot links that join it on the smoker for the final hour. Leftover brisket or ribs can go on the same tray. With pork butt, time does the work, not heat. Hold 250 F and pull it only when the blade bone slides out clean.

Ingredients

Serves 12

Method

Mix 3 tbsp salt with the pepper, paprika and brown sugar. Rub it into every side of the pork shoulder and refrigerate uncovered overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
Done
Bring a smoker to 250 F with the hickory chunks. Smoke the pork fat side up for 8 hours, mopping with cider vinegar every hour after the fourth, until the bark is dark and the internal temperature passes 170 F.
Done
Meanwhile pack the onion slices into a jar and cover with the white vinegar, 1/2 cup hot water, the sugar and remaining 1 tsp salt. Chill for at least 1 hour.
Done
Wrap the pork in foil and cook 2 to 3 hours more, until it reaches 203 F and the blade bone wiggles free. During the last hour, lay the hot links on the grate beside it.
Done
Rest the wrapped shoulder in a cooler for 1 hour. Grill the corn over a hot fire, about 500 F, for 10 to 12 minutes, turning until charred in spots.
Done
Pull the pork into chunky shreds with two forks, discarding the bone and soft fat, and toss with the juices from the foil.
Done
Line a large tray with butcher paper. Mound the pulled pork, slice the hot links on the bias, and add the corn, pickled onions, pickle spears and warm rolls.
Done

Hands turning pieces of meat on a grill through drifting smoke — Turning meat slowly through a haze of smoke

Charcoal chimney starter with flames rising over the coals — Charcoal chimney roaring before the cook starts

05 Hanging next to it

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