Southern-Style Pork Butt with Sweet Potato Mole

From: Chef Taylor Bowen Rickets, Delta Bistro, Greenwood, MS. Yield: 15 servings.

1 pork butt

Brine:
2 qt. water
¼ cup corn liquor (moonshine)
¾ cup local honey
½ cup salt

Broth:
4 qt. water
ham bone
2 carrots
3 onions
1 tsp. fresh cayenne pepper
¼ cup peeled garlic cloves

Rub/Mole:
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup pecans
8 oz. scupernong (variety of muscadine grape) jelly
16 oz. fig preserves
16 oz. sweet potato butter
2 onions
1 cup peeled garlic
¼ cup chipotle
2 Tbsp. cayenne
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice

Mop:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup malt vinegar
½ cup rice vinegar
2 cups blackstrap molasses
¾ cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. pureed garlic
1 lb. butter
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cloves
1 Tbsp. 2 tsp. cayenne
3 Tbsp. chopped ancho chilies
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
3 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
½ onion, juiced
2 whole fresh jalapeno peppers
3 lemons, juiced
1 lime, juiced
4 sardines

Debone pork butt; roast bone and reserve for broth. Cut pork butt in a spiral formation, ending in a long, wide “hanger steak” looking piece of meat. Brine the meat and cure for 24 hours.

With roasted bone, combine broth ingredients and simmer for 1 hour. Strain.

Combine all mole ingredients and process into a thick paste.
 
Remove pork butt from brine, smother with mole and smoke for 3 hours at 250°F. Combine mop ingredients.

Pull meat from smoker and transfer to grill. Cook until colored and tender, marinating with broth and mop.

Serving suggestion: Serve with warm pickled kudzu and pork tamales.