Smoked Pork Sandwich with Nectarine BBQ Sauce

I am a big fan of smoking meat, and this is the season to do just that. Recently I had my mind set on smoking a pork shoulder, as that, and brisket, are typically my favorite types of meat to smoke. My way of smoking a shoulder is completely rubbing it with standard yellow mustard and generously applying my homemade spice rub on it. After I have rubbed the pork shoulder completely with a great coating of the rub, I let it sit covered, overnight in the refrigerator. Depending on the size of your shoulder, it will take anywhere from 6 hours or longer to get a nice, tender shoulder.

Ingredients:

• 6 lb pork shoulder
• Yellow Mustard
• Your Favorite Spice Rub
• Hickory Chips, soaked in water for at least one hour
• Charcoal
• Smoker
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 large nectarine, peeled, and diced

Hours before, or if you have time, the night before, rub your pork shoulder with the mustard, then add the spice rub. Make sure you have a nice even coating on the pork shoulder. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to begin smoking the pork, remove it from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. During this time, light your coals and bringing them to a medium heat. If you have a water pan for your smoker, fill it up, placing it in the middle of your smoker.

Add your pork shoulder to the grill, cover, and let this go, low and slow for 6 hours or longer. I prefer to go about 8 hours on low. During the cooking process, add some smoke chips along the way; I typically do a handful every two hours, placing them on the coals, covering, and letting it smoke.

You can make the sauce now as well. Heat up the olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add in the onions and garlic, and saute until nice and tender. Add in the remaining ingredients, bringing to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and let this cook for about 20 minutes. Blend down the mixture into a nice, smooth sauce.

When the pork is finished, carefully remove it from the smoker and place on a large cutting board. The pork should literally fall apart. You should get a nice color from the smoke rings, and a nice bark, or crust. Chop it down, pack it onto your sandwich buns, or heck for that matter, tacos, and spoon on the sauce.

Trust me on the nectarine barbecue sauce, it rocks.