Lexington Pulled Lamb Shoulder

Total Time: 7 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 6 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 4 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 (5 -7 lb) boston butt
• 10 -12 hamburger buns
• 2 1/2 cups cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (crystal hot sauce)
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 4 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 medium head green cabbage
• coarse salt
• 4 -6 cups wood chips, soaked for 1 hour in water to cover, then drain (hickory chips, preferred)

Recipe

• 1 make the rub: add all the rub ingredients to a small bowl; stir to mix; set aside 1 ½ tablespoons of the rub for the lexington vinegar sauce.
• 2 sprinkle remaining rub all over the lamb, patting it onto the meat with your fingers.
• 3 set up grill for indirect grilling; for gas grill, place all of the wood chips in the smoker box; run the grill on high until you see smoke, then decrease heat to medium-low.
• 4 when ready to cook, place the lamb, skin side up, in the center of the hot grate, over the drip pan and away from the heat; cover the grill.
• 5 cook the lamb until darkly browned on the outside and very tender inside, 4-6 hours (instant read thermometer should read 195°; if the lamb starts to brown too much (and it probably will), cover it loosely with foil, but remember that those browned bits are good, too.
• 6 make the sauce: add sauce ingredients plus 1 ½ tablespoon reserved rub to a large nonreactive bowl along with ½ cup water.
• 7 whisk until the sugar and salt dissolve; store in refrigerator until ready to use; bring to room temperature before using.
• 8 make the slaw: remove core from the cabbage and discard.
• 9 cut cabbage into 8 chunks; finely chop cabbage in a food processor using the metal blade and pulsing the motor; work in several batches so you don’t overcrowd the processor bowl.
• 10 transfer cabbage to a large bowl; stir in 2 ½ cups lexington vinegar sauce; taste for seasoning, adding more vinegar sauce as necessary; can be made up to 4 hours ahead; store in the refrigerator covered.
• 11 when lamb is done, transfer to a cutting board, cover it loosely with foil; let rest for 20 minutes.
• 12 then pull the lamb into large pieces, discarding any bones or lumps of fat.
• 13 using a fork, pull each piece of lamb into thin shreds; transfer pulled lamb to a large foil pan and stir in 1 to 1 ½ cups vinegar sauce—enough to keep the meat moist.
• 14 to serve: mound the pulled lamb onto hamburger buns; top with coleslaw and let everyone add more vinegar sauce to taste.