2014-05-24 Memorial Day Weekend Kick-Off Smoke - Pork Butt

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piaconis

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
OTBS Member
Jun 9, 2012
500
22
Akron, OH
Greetings sports fans!

It's nice to finally be out of hibernation.  The frigid winter this year combined with a new promotion at work hasn't left me much time for the smoker.  No more work from home days means no more weekday smokes. 
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Ah, the price we pay for career advancement.

Anyway, we're kicking off the BBQ season with an old family favorite...pork butt for pulled pork.  I was a little more measured in my approach.  No, seriously, I measured everything.  I wanted to be able to replicate everything I did.  I'm trying a more acidic flavor profile in my injection.  My marinade that I am injecting today is as follows:

1/4 cup marischino cherry syrup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp Jeff's rub (using my usual modification subbing raw sugar for brown sugar)

Heat 30-60 sec in the microwave to integrate the spices and chill in the fridge overnight

Also, this was my first opportunity to use my new Cajun Injector that my wife had given me as a gift.  Oh, how I love my smoker toys!

So, in my best Michael Symon voice....heeeeeeere we go!

Start by rubbing down a 5.3lb butt from Duma Meats.  If you're in the Akron/Canton/Kent area and you aren't getting your meat from here, you're just plain nuts.  BTW - the nice stainless steel shaker in the pic was another present from the wife.

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Marinade out of the fridge and ready to inject

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Smoker is rolling, waiting to get up to temp.  I'll be tracking with two ET-73 Mavericks today.  I decided to dual probe the meat, just as a fun exercise.

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TBS is so thin and blue, you can barely see it

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And it's on!  Doing a drip pan underneath.  Not my ususal method.  Should be interesting.

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Mixture of apple and cherry wood to match the flavor profile, courtesy of our friends at Fruita.  Their stuff truly is competition grade.

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Hold on for the ride, folks!
 
Thanks RG!

Here's the rest of the story:

Foiled and chucked into the cooler for a rest

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Unwrapped after a short stay in the cooler.  Check out that bark!

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Another view

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Made a batch of sauce from the drippings


Final product (sans sauce, for those who like to add their own

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Lessons learned:

I was told that it was my best pulled pork yet.  I was extremely happy with the performance of my new Cajun Injector, and my measured approach to my marinade means I can tweak and improve.  Next time, I plan to incorporate a shade more salt and spice into my injection, to give a little extra kick and heighten the senses a bit.  Overall, I'm happy with the results, but I know I can tweak to get better.

I also made a batch of homemade coleslaw to accompany it, but forgot to get a pic.  I changed my recipe, substituting champagne vinegar for the rice wine vinegar I normally used, and it really kicked it up a notch.  I'm going to make that a permanent revision, and may even pursue subbing in some flavored balsamic vinegars in the future, just to add a layer of complexity.

Thanks for checking it out!
 
Thanks B! Winter was brutal this year, so I was in full-on hibernation. It's good to be back on the smoker.
 
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