Boneless Rib Sandwich from a Pork Shoulder

Most boneless rib sandwich recipes start with actual ribs, then waste time pulling bones out. @duceraymond skips that entirely. He starts with a pork shoulder, butterflies it into flat slabs, and smokes them like competition ribs. The result is cheaper, easier, and feeds a crowd off a single cut of meat.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 bone-in pork shoulder (butt)
• Deuces Wild mustard sauce (binder)
• Rib rub (dry seasoning)
• Deuces Wild competition BBQ sauce
• Bread and butter pickles
• Thin-sliced onion
• Sandwich bread, toasted

Prep the Pork Shoulder

1. Cut the pork shoulder in half, butterfly style. Slice as close to the bone as possible without going all the way through.
2. Remove the bone.
3. Butterfly the meat again. Cut down about halfway through the thickness. Do not go all the way through.
4. Fold and repeat the butterfly cut on the other side to flatten the meat into an even slab.
5. Cut down the middle to get two flat slabs.

Season

1. Apply Deuces Wild mustard sauce as a binder across the entire surface. This helps the dry rub stick evenly.
2. Coat with rib rub on all sides.

Smoke

1. Place the slabs in a Southern Pride smoker at 250 degrees.
2. Smoke for 3 hours. The bark should be well developed at this point.
3. Wrap the slabs the same way you would wrap competition ribs.
4. Return to the smoker for 1 more hour. Total cook time: 4 hours.

Assemble the Sandwich

1. Flip the slabs over to reveal the mahogany-colored, glazed surface.
2. Place the meat on toasted bread.
3. Top with Deuces Wild competition sauce, bread and butter pickles, and thin-sliced onion.
4. Slice and serve. One shoulder makes enough for a full crowd.

Key Takeaways

• Start with a pork shoulder, not ribs. It is cheaper and you avoid the hassle of removing bones from cooked ribs.
• Butterfly the meat flat. Multiple cuts that do not go all the way through let you unfold the shoulder into even, rib-shaped slabs.
• 4-hour total cook. Three hours unwrapped to build bark, one hour wrapped to finish tender.
• Feeds a group. A single pork shoulder yields two large slabs, enough for one big sandwich that serves a crowd.