Brooklyn Jerk Pulled Pork Sliders

By Marge Perry & David Bonom
Jamaican jerk sauce traditionally includes allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers. Its mix of piquant flavors has deep roots in West Africa. Wherever the Caribbean diaspora spread across the globe, Jerk cooking and seasoning followed along. This recipe was inspired by the flavors and rhythms of Brooklyn’s vivacious Caribbean communities.
  • Cuisine: American
  • Course: Lunch
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INGREDIENTS

  • bone-in pork shoulder roast (Boston Butt)
  • brown sugar
  • can tomato paste
  • Cider vinegar
  • garlic cloves
  • Green onions
  • Ground Allspice
  • ground thyme
  • hickory wood chunk
  • kosher salt
  • packed dark light brown sugar
  • piece peeled fresh ginger
  • Rub:
  • Sauce:
  • scotch bonnet pepper
  • Smoked Paprika
  • soy sauce
  • Water
  • Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS

  1. For the rub, combine the sugar, paprika, allspice, thyme and salt in a small bowl. Evenly rub the mixture over the pork to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes.
  2. Set up grill for medium-low indirect heat cooking (275°F- 300°F). Place an aluminum pan, half filled with water, on the charcoal grate under where the pork will be.
  3. Place the wood chunk on the lit charcoal. Set the pork, fat side up, on the grill grate over the aluminum pan and close the lid. Grill, adding enough charcoal to maintain temperature after each hour, until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the pork without touching the bone registers 160°F, about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Wrap the pork in a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and return to the grill over indirect heat. Close the lid and cook until the internal temperature reaches 195°F about 1-2 hours longer. Remove from the grill and let rest in foil for 30 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, combine the green onions, garlic, ginger, scotch bonnet pepper, allspice, thyme, sugar, tomato paste, vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, water, and salt in a blender
  5. Unwrap the roast and if cool enough to handle, shred the meat, discarding any large pieces of fat. Transfer pork to a bowl and stir in the sauce until well mixed.
  6. Top slider rolls evenly with pork.