Barbecue is one thread of American food culture that ties together Americans across regions and cuisines. In the "Southern BBQ Trail" episode of the "Experience America"-themed season 9 of Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern experiences the southern style of 'cue in hot spots across Georgia and South Carolina. One of these places, Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q in Atlanta, an icon in smoky southern barbecue, inspired him to craft his own recipe for classic barbecue pork. Watch the video and find directions for Andrew's barbecue pulled pork sandwich below. 

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 bone in pork shoulder, roughly 5-6 pounds

The rub 

1 tablespoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons kosher salt
¼ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ cup paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

The Basting Sauce 

1 ½ cups cider vinegar
1 small onion minced
1 teaspoon hot red chile flakes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

The Sauce 

3 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
1 cup Heinz chile sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons Crystal hot sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons red chile flakes, or more to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

To Serve

Buns, for serving
Coleslaw, for serving

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rub ingredients. Massage pork shoulder with the rub and let sit overnight in the refrigerator. 

Combine the basting sauce ingredients, whisking until sugar and salt are dissolved, set aside.

If you are going to roast the pork shoulder in the oven, preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Cook the pork in the oven for 5 to 7 hours, depending on the size of your shoulder, mopping with the basting sauce every 30 minutes. The pork is ready when a knife or fork inserted into the meat twists freely. 

If you are using an outdoor grill, grill the pork over indirect medium low heat, using smoking chips if desired to establish a deeper smoke flavor. You will want to keep adding hardwood or charcoal every 40 minutes or so to maintain a medium low heat of roughly 275 degrees F. For gas grills, you also want to maintain a temperature of roughly 275 degrees and cook over indirect heat. Cook the pork for 5 to 7 hours, mopping with the basting sauce every 30 minutes. The pork is ready when a knife or fork inserted into the meat twists freely. 

While the pork is cooking, make the sauce. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. When simmering, lower heat to maintain simmer and gently cook until the barbecue sauce coats the back of a spoon. Cool and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve the pork with the barbecue sauce, plenty of buns and your favorite vinegar-based coleslaw.

Recipe compliments of Andrew Zimmern. Visit AndrewZimmern.com for more recipes like this.