Smokey Paste for Pulled Pork
Elevate your pulled pork game with this irresistible Smokey Paste, a flavor-packed marinade designed to infuse your meat with bold, smoky, and slightly sweet notes. Featuring a robust blend of smoked paprika, brown sugar, and a hint of liquid smoke, this recipe creates the ultimate seasoning for tender, fall-apart pork. Balanced with savory spices like garlic and onion powder, cumin, and a touch of mustard powder, and tied together with apple cider vinegar and olive oil, this paste delivers a well-rounded depth of flavor. Whether you’re smoking, slow-cooking, or roasting, this quick 10-minute marinade ensures your pork shoulder or butt comes out succulent and bursting with BBQ-inspired goodness. Perfect for pulled pork sandwiches, tacos, or as the star of your next backyard cookout, this recipe is guaranteed to satisfy your smoky cravings!
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Recipe Information
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the smoked paprika, brown sugar, kosher salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, chili powder, and mustard powder. Mix thoroughly to combine the dry ingredients.
Add the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and liquid smoke to the dry mixture. Stir until a smooth paste forms.
Taste the paste and adjust seasoning, if needed. For more heat, you can add a pinch of cayenne pepper or additional chili powder.
Rub the smokey paste generously over the entire surface of a pork shoulder or pork butt, ensuring it's well-coated for maximum flavor.
Let the pork marinate for at least 1 hour, or ideally overnight, in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to penetrate deeply.
Cook the pork low and slow using your preferred method, such as in a slow cooker, smoker, or oven, until the meat is tender and easy to pull apart.
Nutrition Facts
Calories |
73 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
% Daily Value* |
|||
| Total Fat | 5.5 g | 7% | |
| Saturated Fat | 0.8 g | 4% | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.0 g | ||
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0% | |
| Sodium | 342 mg | 15% | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 6.2 g | 2% | |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.3 g | 5% | |
| Total Sugars | 3.7 g | ||
| Protein | 0.7 g | 1% | |
| Vitamin D | 0.0 mcg | 0% | |
| Calcium | 20 mg | 2% | |
| Iron | 1.0 mg | 5% | |
| Potassium | 91 mg | 2% | |
*The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
