After smoking many chickens, figured it was time for pulled pork.
Got four pounds from the local butcher. Apparently he cut one in half. He also trimmed the fat. My strategy was to use the Minion method in my WSM 18.5. I filled the ring with Stubb's briquets and 4 good sized chunks of apple. Dumped a lit chimney on that in a hole in the middle. Used the charcoal pan from a ECB for a water pan, and put about a gallon of hot water in there, planning for it to boil off. The butt was dry brined over night and then used a rub of sugar, paprika, garlic, onion and ginger powder.
After firing it up, the temp went crazy, almost 350. I shut down two bottom vents, closed the third one half way, and the top vent half way. When things settled down I put the butt on at 10 am. The smoker temp stayed about 260 and was very steady. No foil, no spritzing. at 3pm the IT was 180. Around 4pm the smoker temp started to spike. Maybe the water was gone?
After 7 hours it was 203, and off it came.
A little weird looking. Maybe should have tied it up. It looked OK when sliced.
It pulled easily and was served on buns with coleslaw and a Carolina sauce from America's Test Kitchen that was basically vinegar and crushed red pepper. It fed four, and every one liked it. Or maybe the gin and tonics made them say that.
One thing I learned was that the stock thermometer on the Weber was within a few degrees of my Thermoworks DOT. Also, it was not as smoky tasting as the chickens, even though I used a bit more apple.
Can't wait to try it again!
Got four pounds from the local butcher. Apparently he cut one in half. He also trimmed the fat. My strategy was to use the Minion method in my WSM 18.5. I filled the ring with Stubb's briquets and 4 good sized chunks of apple. Dumped a lit chimney on that in a hole in the middle. Used the charcoal pan from a ECB for a water pan, and put about a gallon of hot water in there, planning for it to boil off. The butt was dry brined over night and then used a rub of sugar, paprika, garlic, onion and ginger powder.
After firing it up, the temp went crazy, almost 350. I shut down two bottom vents, closed the third one half way, and the top vent half way. When things settled down I put the butt on at 10 am. The smoker temp stayed about 260 and was very steady. No foil, no spritzing. at 3pm the IT was 180. Around 4pm the smoker temp started to spike. Maybe the water was gone?
After 7 hours it was 203, and off it came.
A little weird looking. Maybe should have tied it up. It looked OK when sliced.
It pulled easily and was served on buns with coleslaw and a Carolina sauce from America's Test Kitchen that was basically vinegar and crushed red pepper. It fed four, and every one liked it. Or maybe the gin and tonics made them say that.
One thing I learned was that the stock thermometer on the Weber was within a few degrees of my Thermoworks DOT. Also, it was not as smoky tasting as the chickens, even though I used a bit more apple.
Can't wait to try it again!
