Smoked Sliced Pork Shoulder with Huckleberry Rub and Arkansas Mop Sauce
Eastern Arkansas barbecue holds a style all its own—built around hickory smoke, tender sliced pork, and a sauce that walks the line between tang and spice. In this part of the Delta, barbecue means pork shoulder smoked low and slow, then sliced instead of shredded. The secret? A bold vinegar-based mop sauce that’s basted over the meat throughout the cook, layering flavor and helping that signature bark develop. The pork gets a deep rub with our I'm Your Huckleberry Cowboy Rub—packed with chili powder, garlic, coffee, and black pepper—to bring out the bold, rustic character of the region.
Smoked Sliced Pork with Eastern Arkansas Mop Sauce
10
15 minutes
7 hours
425
American
Main Dish
This recipe is a nod to Eastern Arkansas’s unique take on barbecue—where pork is smoked, sliced, and sauced with purpose. Instead of pulling the meat, we stop the cook at 180 degrees so the pork holds its shape and can be sliced clean. The mop sauce—made first and used throughout the cook—is a vinegar-forward blend of spice and acidity that lifts the richness of the pork without overpowering it. Every hour, that sauce hits the surface, building flavor into every layer of bark. After the smoke, the pork rests for a full hour to reabsorb juices and settle, resulting in clean slices and full flavor. And as tradition calls for, serve it up with a scoop of cool, crunchy coleslaw to complete the Arkansas experience.
Ingredients
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- 1 boneless pork shoulder (5 to 6 pounds), or 6 to 7 pounds bone-in pork shoulder
- 3 tablespoons Revolution Barbecue I'm Your Huckleberry Cowboy Rub
- Butcher’s twine, for trussing
- Hickory wood chunks or chips, for smoking
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- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons black pepper
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 cups ketchup
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 1 small onion, finely diced
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Tangy Coleslaw, for serving
Directions
- Debone the Pork Shoulder (if needed): Using a sharp boning knife, cut along the shoulder blade to remove the bone while preserving the shape of the roast. Trim excess fat and reshape the meat into a uniform cylinder.
- Truss the Pork: Roll or fold the pork shoulder tightly and secure with butcher’s twine at 1-inch intervals to help it cook evenly and hold together for slicing.
- Season the Pork: Rub all sides of the pork generously with Revolution Barbecue I'm Your Huckleberry Cowboy Rub, pressing it in well. Let the pork rest at room temperature for 30 minutes while the smoker preheats.
- Smoke the Pork: Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit using hickory wood. Place the pork on the grates and begin the smoke.
- Make the Mop Sauce: While the pork begins to cook, combine kosher salt, brown sugar, black pepper, and chili powder in a small bowl. In a large saucepan, combine ketchup, vinegar, water, and diced onion. Stir in the dry mixture. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until reduced by about one-quarter.
- Mop the Pork: After the sauce has reduced and the pork has smoked for one hour, begin mopping the pork every hour with the warm sauce for the remainder of the cook. Continue smoking until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit, about 6 to 7 hours total.
- Rest the Pork: Remove the pork from the smoker and wrap loosely in butcher paper or foil. Let rest for 1 hour before slicing.
- Serve: Slice the pork into 1/4-inch thick slices across the grain. Serve with additional mop sauce spooned over the top or on the side, and a generous helping of Tangy Coleslaw.
