I finally had an opportunity this weekend to smoke my first pork butt. Anyone who's seene any of my threads knows I've had some issues/obstacles that had me wondering if I'd even be able to smoke at all. The first 2 smokers I ordered were damaged, then I finally got a good one after almost not bothering to try a 3rd time. Then I realized there was too much smoke for my apartment balcony since my neighbors LOVE to keep their sliding doors/windows open all the time etc. Well I decided to try it anyways this last Friday morning and it ended up being the perfect opportunity because a quick check found that all of my neighbors had the doors /windows shut so it was on!!!
I bought a nice bone in butt just over 4lb (4.09 to be exact) on Wednesday. I think 4 pound is my perfect size because its just for me and my girlfriend and it makes more than enough meat for several meals and it cuts the cook time down. I had rubbed the butt with a home made rubb and wrapped it in plastic wrap Wednesday night and put it in the fridge to get it ready for the cook. Friday morning I pulled it out and unwrapped it to let it warm up a little as the smoker warmed up and came to temp.
Threw it in the smoker when it hit 175 and lit the AMNPS
Got the smoke blowing and it was making a perfect thin blue smoke so I was good to go.
I was constantly monitoring how much smoke was blowing over my fence and where it was blowing etc and while I was out in front of my apartment about an hour in my upstairs neighbor to the right (where the wind usually takes the smoke) opened her sliding door all the way. She came out on her patio and I took the opportunity to talk to her, tell her I was trying my hand at smoking a pork shoulder with an electric smoker and that if she was going to keep her door open and the smoke bothered her to please let me know and I would put the smoke out. She was very nice and said no problem so that calmed my nerves a bit. I DO think it bothered her though because after about 20 minutes I went out front again to monitor the smoke over the fence and I noticed she had closed her door all the way. But hey.... at least she didn't complain and ask me to shut it off.
I decided to follow the directions of smoking up top 165 then double foil and let it finish to 205. The thing I messed up on was that I failed to read that you should spray it with apple juice and rum once an hour after it hits 100 IT, so I never did that. I read that when it was already up to about 145 so I sprayed it down with apple juice then (no rum on hand).
I guess I just slightly underestimated how much to load in to the AMNPS because it was totally ashed when I got to 155 IT. Since I was only shooting for 165 and was only 10 off I decided just to let it go. Within about another 15 minutes it hit 165. I was really surprised because it hit 165 MUCH quicker than I expected, it only took 3 hours, so that's all the smoke it got.
Here it is when I checked the AMNPS after the smoke whent out. Its at 155 here.
And double foiled at 165 to finish to 205. I put a little more apple juice in the foil too.
I was surprised it took another 6 hours to hit 205 for a total of a 9 hour cook. I would have thought that the majority of the cook would be smoking but since it only took 3 hours to hit 165 it was in the foil the majority of the cook. Wierd...
Once it hit 205 I pulled it out, wrapped it in a couple towels and stuck it in the cooler for about 2 hours. After it sat for 2 hours I pulled it out to get it ready to pull.
The bone came right out with zero effort and I pulled it with just a pair of tongs. Not sure if it comes through in the pictures but the outer layer just under the bark and about an inch or so in was really pink. I guess that is a smoke ring? I was surprised because I thought I heard that the MES won't really give you that. It did though.
And here it is plated and served. I put it on a piece of white bread with home made BBQ sauce, served with beans, baked potato, corn bread muffin and home made garlic bread. I made homemade beans but they didn't turn out so this is a back up can of Bush's. Oh well next time I'll get the beans right lol.
It came out really really good. I was very happy. Very tender and moist and just really full of flavor. For a first smoke I was very happy. I served it naked with the sauce on the side because I wanted to try it that way before puting any sauce on. I forgot to take a picture though before I put sauce on it. In all honesty it didn't need sauce at all it was very moist and juicy and the smokey flavor was great (allthough I did notice something wierd the next day which I will get to later). I only put sauce on it because I'm really happy with the recipe I came up with for the sauce so I wanted some on it.
There was a ton of left over so Saturday night I decided to use it to make some tasty Mexican food. I made some home made Enchilada sauce and home made Spanish rice and made carnitas enchiladas and tacos which we really really good. I heated the pulled pork in the oven. The fridge made it kind of clumpy so I broke it up with a spoon and poured about a half cup of apple juice on it to moisten it and put it in at 250 for about 30 minutes.
Now here is what surprised me. I don't know why this is, or if pouring the apple juice on had anything to do with it or not but it seemed to bring out even more smokey flavor than the night before straight out of the smoker?! ?! OMG it was sooo good.
Last night (Sunday night, day 3) I reheated it the same way, in the oven at 250 with just a little apple juice. This time I made my second attempt atBBQ pulled pork pizza. I made a home made crust (as thin as possible) laid down the homemade BBQ sauce, sliced provolone, shredded mozzarella and just a little bit of shredded cheddar, and then pile on a mountain of pulled pork, topped with just a tiny bit more shredded mozzarella and cheddar and put in the oven at 525 (as high as it can go to get a nice crisp crust).
Before the oven
After the oven
And served
I confirmed what I thought the last time I made this. It's my new favorite pizza for sure. Sooo good. The crispyness of the thin crust at high heat, the slight saltyness and chewyness of the thick sliced provolone and the sweetness of the mozzarell all compliments the smokey flavor of the pork and just comes out so amazing. This is easily going to be my favorite way to use left over pulled pork for sure.
So, all in all I was very happy with my first smoked butt. I do have a few tweaks I am thinking about though for next time. First, I will remember to spray it down once an hour after it hits 100. I was really surprised at how much more smokey flavor I noticed the NEXT day after reheating in the oven with just a little apple juice poured on. It has me thinking about puting apple juice in the water pan and skipping the foiling. And since the water pan is catching all the drippings as well pouring just a little bit of that on the pork after it has been pulled should add more moisture and smokey flavor back in to the meat. Then save the rest of that for reheating the left over. I'd love to hear thoughts on that idea if anyone has tried it.
Anyways.. thats it for my first smoke and Q-view!!!
I bought a nice bone in butt just over 4lb (4.09 to be exact) on Wednesday. I think 4 pound is my perfect size because its just for me and my girlfriend and it makes more than enough meat for several meals and it cuts the cook time down. I had rubbed the butt with a home made rubb and wrapped it in plastic wrap Wednesday night and put it in the fridge to get it ready for the cook. Friday morning I pulled it out and unwrapped it to let it warm up a little as the smoker warmed up and came to temp.
Threw it in the smoker when it hit 175 and lit the AMNPS
Got the smoke blowing and it was making a perfect thin blue smoke so I was good to go.
I was constantly monitoring how much smoke was blowing over my fence and where it was blowing etc and while I was out in front of my apartment about an hour in my upstairs neighbor to the right (where the wind usually takes the smoke) opened her sliding door all the way. She came out on her patio and I took the opportunity to talk to her, tell her I was trying my hand at smoking a pork shoulder with an electric smoker and that if she was going to keep her door open and the smoke bothered her to please let me know and I would put the smoke out. She was very nice and said no problem so that calmed my nerves a bit. I DO think it bothered her though because after about 20 minutes I went out front again to monitor the smoke over the fence and I noticed she had closed her door all the way. But hey.... at least she didn't complain and ask me to shut it off.
I decided to follow the directions of smoking up top 165 then double foil and let it finish to 205. The thing I messed up on was that I failed to read that you should spray it with apple juice and rum once an hour after it hits 100 IT, so I never did that. I read that when it was already up to about 145 so I sprayed it down with apple juice then (no rum on hand).
I guess I just slightly underestimated how much to load in to the AMNPS because it was totally ashed when I got to 155 IT. Since I was only shooting for 165 and was only 10 off I decided just to let it go. Within about another 15 minutes it hit 165. I was really surprised because it hit 165 MUCH quicker than I expected, it only took 3 hours, so that's all the smoke it got.
Here it is when I checked the AMNPS after the smoke whent out. Its at 155 here.
And double foiled at 165 to finish to 205. I put a little more apple juice in the foil too.
I was surprised it took another 6 hours to hit 205 for a total of a 9 hour cook. I would have thought that the majority of the cook would be smoking but since it only took 3 hours to hit 165 it was in the foil the majority of the cook. Wierd...
Once it hit 205 I pulled it out, wrapped it in a couple towels and stuck it in the cooler for about 2 hours. After it sat for 2 hours I pulled it out to get it ready to pull.
The bone came right out with zero effort and I pulled it with just a pair of tongs. Not sure if it comes through in the pictures but the outer layer just under the bark and about an inch or so in was really pink. I guess that is a smoke ring? I was surprised because I thought I heard that the MES won't really give you that. It did though.
And here it is plated and served. I put it on a piece of white bread with home made BBQ sauce, served with beans, baked potato, corn bread muffin and home made garlic bread. I made homemade beans but they didn't turn out so this is a back up can of Bush's. Oh well next time I'll get the beans right lol.
It came out really really good. I was very happy. Very tender and moist and just really full of flavor. For a first smoke I was very happy. I served it naked with the sauce on the side because I wanted to try it that way before puting any sauce on. I forgot to take a picture though before I put sauce on it. In all honesty it didn't need sauce at all it was very moist and juicy and the smokey flavor was great (allthough I did notice something wierd the next day which I will get to later). I only put sauce on it because I'm really happy with the recipe I came up with for the sauce so I wanted some on it.
There was a ton of left over so Saturday night I decided to use it to make some tasty Mexican food. I made some home made Enchilada sauce and home made Spanish rice and made carnitas enchiladas and tacos which we really really good. I heated the pulled pork in the oven. The fridge made it kind of clumpy so I broke it up with a spoon and poured about a half cup of apple juice on it to moisten it and put it in at 250 for about 30 minutes.
Now here is what surprised me. I don't know why this is, or if pouring the apple juice on had anything to do with it or not but it seemed to bring out even more smokey flavor than the night before straight out of the smoker?! ?! OMG it was sooo good.
Last night (Sunday night, day 3) I reheated it the same way, in the oven at 250 with just a little apple juice. This time I made my second attempt atBBQ pulled pork pizza. I made a home made crust (as thin as possible) laid down the homemade BBQ sauce, sliced provolone, shredded mozzarella and just a little bit of shredded cheddar, and then pile on a mountain of pulled pork, topped with just a tiny bit more shredded mozzarella and cheddar and put in the oven at 525 (as high as it can go to get a nice crisp crust).
Before the oven
After the oven
And served
I confirmed what I thought the last time I made this. It's my new favorite pizza for sure. Sooo good. The crispyness of the thin crust at high heat, the slight saltyness and chewyness of the thick sliced provolone and the sweetness of the mozzarell all compliments the smokey flavor of the pork and just comes out so amazing. This is easily going to be my favorite way to use left over pulled pork for sure.
So, all in all I was very happy with my first smoked butt. I do have a few tweaks I am thinking about though for next time. First, I will remember to spray it down once an hour after it hits 100. I was really surprised at how much more smokey flavor I noticed the NEXT day after reheating in the oven with just a little apple juice poured on. It has me thinking about puting apple juice in the water pan and skipping the foiling. And since the water pan is catching all the drippings as well pouring just a little bit of that on the pork after it has been pulled should add more moisture and smokey flavor back in to the meat. Then save the rest of that for reheating the left over. I'd love to hear thoughts on that idea if anyone has tried it.
Anyways.. thats it for my first smoke and Q-view!!!
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