This recipe came from a recent obsession with Southern US barbecue. I’ve written before about the pseudo meat-monks that will religiously tend a fire from dawn till dusk. This recipe recreates that flavour with a style of worship that is much more hands off. An overnight spice rub and a two hour smoke creates a beautiful exterior and it is finished in the oven, low and slow, for much easier temperature control.
Most home cooks don’t have a big, stable, trailer sized barbecue smoker that can hold temperature longer than a day of test cricket. So this method uses the science of diffusion and the 80/20 rule to get most of the smoke flavour, and all the tenderness with much less devotion. Served with pickles, bread, beers and a beetroot slaw, this fall apart meat is a perfect end to a day in the sun.