2013-07-20 - Pork Butt w/Wild Cherry Pepsi Injection

piaconis · Jul 20, 2013

Hey folks,

Been a lot of stormy weather over this way, followed by a solid heat wave, and it really hasn't been the best smoking weather. However, today is the day to break out of my air-conditioned hibernation. What better way to do that than pork butt??? Heeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrre we go!

This 11-pounder looks good

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With flash for a little more contrast

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Trimmed a couple of spots on the side, but I really want the fat from this one to render for a super secret project

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Scored the fat cap, ready for the rub

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After an overnight marinade in the fridge from my take on Jeff's rub, ready for the injection

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Injected and ready to go. Fire is charcoal with chunks of cherry. It...is...ON!!!

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Stick around for some more highlights along the way!

smoking b · Jul 20, 2013

Looks good so far

I'll be back to check out the cherry pepsi aspect

piaconis · Jul 20, 2013

Smoking B said:
Looks good so far

I'll be back to check out the cherry pepsi aspect

Thanks. I'm curious myself. I'm used Coke with rib rub, Cherry Coke, and Cherry Dr. Pepper before. This is obviously sweeter. Should be interesting.

piaconis · Jul 20, 2013

Well, here's the latest...

Had a dip in my smoker temps below 200, and had to crank it a little to make up lost ground, in order to hit the 40 to 140 in 4 hours window. Got through that barrier with a little time to spare, but I can tell that this butt is going to be a challenge.

Hit the stall a little over an hour ago at the 167 to 168IT range, so thought I'd post some pics.

Here's the view around the 3 hour mark. Notice that nice caramelization building up.

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And here is a view five hours in. Notice the bark starting to form up nicely towards the leading edge, and the meat taking on a great color, courtesy of the cherry wood smoke that keeps kissing it on the way by. This should be some good eatin'.

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So, I bang on my guitar for a bit and try to work out a couple of licks for Sunday morning service while old Porky over there sits in the heat. More to come on the other side of the stall.

dirtsailor2003 · Jul 20, 2013

Looking great so far!

kathrynn · Jul 20, 2013

Yummers....have me drooling. Nice cut of pork!

Kat

smoking b · Jul 20, 2013

Seems to be coming along nicely

I can almost smell it when the wind blows from your way

piaconis · Jul 20, 2013

Looks like it's climbing out of the stall. Seemed to hold at a secondary plateau at 172 IT, which may be due to the fat cap that I left on to render. Normally I remove it, but I have super secret plans for that fat in my July throwdown entry.

Here's the view at the eight hour mark:

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piaconis
Jul 20, 2013

Totally forgot to post a view of the scored fat cap as well. I'll have to go back and edit it in my initial post.

Stay tuned!

pgsmoker64 · Jul 20, 2013

Lookin forward to the big finish on this one!

Injection sounds interesting...just the Wild Cherry Pepsi or something in with it?

Bill

piaconis · Jul 21, 2013

Bill, food coma seems to always prevent me from putting up the final pics the same day.

So, here is the rest of the timeline:

Eleven hours in, and here's a look...

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piaconis
Jul 21, 2013

And we're at 191IT. Time for a rest.

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piaconis
Jul 21, 2013

Getting wrapped in foil, ready for a nap in the cooler

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piaconis
Jul 21, 2013

Out of the cooler after an hour. It's already falling apart.

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piaconis
Jul 21, 2013

Pulled apart. The thing basically fell apart.

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Closet thing I got to a finished result pic. Hey, you'd take a bite too if you smelled this all day!

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piaconis
Jul 21, 2013

Good stuff. Especially on the little slider buns my wife bought. It lets you try it different ways (with sauce, without, with slaw, etc.)

I also made a barbecue sauce out of the Wild Cherry Pepsi. Still fine tuning it, but it worked out pretty well. I'll post the recipe when I get it dialed in.

Well, thanks for checking it out!

seenred · Jul 21, 2013

Mmm...PP sammy looks delicious, piaconis! Nicely done!

Red

smoking b · Jul 21, 2013

Looks good!

So was the Cherry Pepsi worth using again for injection?

piaconis · Jul 22, 2013

Thanks guys. The Wild Cherry Pepsi definitely accented the sweetness of the pork. My wife said it was her favorite of all the pulled pork I've done. I also made a sauce out of it, but didn't get it dialed in quite as well as I wanted to. I've noticed that the spice of the sauce reduces exponentially as the sauce cools (especially with cayenne pepper). I'm going to keep working on the recipe, but I basically took the WC Pepsi and reduced it to about 1/4 volume, and added rib rub, cayenne pepper, red wine vinegar, and ketchup. Next time, I'm going to include black pepper as well. Sauce complimented it well, but wasn't quite the balance I was looking for.

smoking b · Jul 22, 2013

Thanks for the update

2013-07-20 - Pork Butt w/Wild Cherry Pepsi Injection

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