I had a bunch of BBQ spaghetti recipes to try but never got past this one. I used butt this time - really good!

Rita

BARBECUE SPAGHETTI with BUTT or BRISKET, RAICHLEN

Makes 6 cups sauce. Leave it to the ’que heads of Memphis. So strong is their passion for barbecue, they even add it to spaghetti. So, what happens when an Italian Bolognese sauce is made by a Memphis pit master? The traditional beef and pork are replaced by chopped barbecued pork shoulder or brisket, and the tomato sauce is enriched with a shot of barbecue sauce. Barbecue spaghetti turns up in Memphis’s barbecue joints, mom-and-pop Italian American eateries, and pizza parlors. Here’s my version.

You want a thick, smoky, red barbecue sauce for this spaghetti. Good candidates in this book include St. Louis Red (page 666), Skip’s Apple Barbecue Sauce (page 673), Nashville Sweet (page 669), and The Doctor’s Medicine (page 680). But it’s certainly acceptable to use a good commercial sauce, like KC Masterpiece or Bull’s-Eye.

1 can (28 ounces) peeled plum tomatoes, with their juices
Olive oil
1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
1 medium-size carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 piece (2 by 3 Inches) green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 fresh basil leaves, thinly slivered, plus 4 whole leaves or sprigs for garnish
1/3 cup smoky red barbecue sauce, or more to taste
1 to 2 cups finely chopped barbecued pork shoulder (page 241) or brisket (page 174)
Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
12 ounces spaghetti
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (see Note)

1. Coarsely purée the tomatoes with their juices in a food processor and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and cook until just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the oregano, hot red pepper flakes, and black pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the puréed tomatoes along with the slivered basil and the barbecue sauce. Add 1/4 cup of water and the diced meat and let simmer until the sauce is thick and richly flavored, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and/or more barbecue sauce as necessary. II the sauce tastes too acidic, add the sugar.

2. Meanwhile, bring 8 quarts of lightly salted water to a rapid boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook to taste, about 8 minutes for al dente. Drain the spaghetti in a colander.

3. To serve, divide the spaghetti among large, shallow bowls. Spoon the sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan. Garnish each serving with a basil leaf or sprig and serve at once.

NOTE: To be strictly authentic, you’d use the pregrated Parmesan that comes in a shiny green cardboard container—it’s your call.

Source: “BBQ USA” by Steven Raichlen (page 681), © 2003 Workman Publishing, ISBN 0-7611-2015-7

oddly, my wife figured this out on her own. We had some left over pulled pork that she added to gnocchi and red sauce.

it was great!

I made this a few weeks ago and it was excellent. Just one more thing you can you with your leftovers. (We are cooking three or four butts at a time now knowing that we can eat all week with all the recipes for leftovers).