Carolina-Style Pulled Pork Shoulder with THC-Infused Vinegar Mop, Creamy Red Slaw, and Hushpuppy Cornbread Bites

Carolina-Style Pulled Pork Shoulder with THC-Infused Vinegar Mop, Creamy Red Slaw, and Hushpuppy Cornbread Bites

This is the one that makes people cancel their weekend plans. A whole bone-in Boston butt gets rubbed hard with mustard and a spice blend that’ll wake up the dead, then smokes low and slow over hickory until it collapses. Every hour it gets hit with a vinegar mop that’s been quietly carrying 12 mg of clean THC per portion. The meat is pulled into long, juicy strands, piled high on soft potato buns with a scoop of crunchy-creamy red slaw, and served with bite-size hushpuppy cornbread that’s been fried in the same pork fat. It’s the South in edible form, and it hits like a Sunday sermon.

Serves 16 big sandwiches (perfect for a party)  
Active time: 2 hours | Total time: 18 hours + 10-day infusion  
Dosage: 12 mg THC per sandwich (192 mg total in the mop sauce)

Infusion (start 10 days ahead)  
Decarboxylation  
5.45 g cannabis flower testing 22 % THC  
Grind medium-fine, 240 °F for exactly 40 minutes, cool in the oven.

Infused vinegar mop (makes 4 cups, exactly 192 mg usable THC)  
3 cups apple-cider vinegar  
1 cup water  
¼ cup kosher salt  
¼ cup dark brown sugar  
2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes  
2 tbsp coarse black pepper  
1 tbsp cayenne  
5.45 g decarbed flower  
1 tsp sunflower lecithin granules

Combine everything except the weed in a big mason jar. Heat to 185 °F in a water bath, add decarbed flower and lecithin, hold at 185 °F for exactly 2 hours, shaking every 20 minutes. Strain hot through cheesecloth + coffee filter. Bottle and chill. It’ll separate a little—just shake before each mop.

Pork rub  
1 bone-in Boston butt (9–11 lb)  
½ cup yellow mustard  
1 cup dark brown sugar  
½ cup kosher salt  
¼ cup coarse black pepper  
¼ cup paprika  
2 tbsp cayenne  
2 tbsp garlic powder  
2 tbsp onion powder  
2 tbsp dry mustard  
1 tbsp ground cumin

Slather the butt all over with yellow mustard, then pack on the rub like you mean it. Wrap tight and refrigerate 8–12 hours.

Smoke at 225–250 °F over straight hickory for 14–16 hours until 200 °F internal and the blade bone slides out clean. Mop with the infused vinegar every hour after the first 3 hours (use a clean spray bottle or brush).

Rest wrapped in foil inside a cooler 1–2 hours. Pull into long strands, splash with a little extra warm mop to keep it juicy.

Creamy red slaw  
1 medium head red cabbage, shaved thin  
2 carrots, grated  
1 cup Duke’s mayo  
¼ cup apple-cider vinegar  
2 tbsp sugar  
1 tbsp celery seed  
1 tsp kosher salt  
1 tsp black pepper

Toss cabbage and carrots. Whisk the rest, dump over veggies, mix hard. Chill at least 2 hours.

Hushpuppy cornbread bites  
2 cups self-rising cornmeal mix  
½ cup AP flour  
2 tbsp sugar  
1 tsp salt  
1⅔ cups buttermilk  
1 large egg  
½ cup finely diced onion  
Reserved pork fat or bacon grease for frying

Mix everything to a thick batter. Heat pork fat 1½ inches deep to 350 °F. Drop by tablespoon, fry golden, drain.

Assembly  
16 soft potato rolls, steamed or grilled  
Pulled pork (about 6 oz per sandwich)  
Extra warm infused mop on the side  
Big scoop of red slaw right on the meat  
3–4 hot hushpuppy bites on the plate

Tell people to sauce it themselves so they don’t accidentally double-dose.  
12 mg THC per sandwich.  
Bring napkins and a bigger belt.