FINISHING SAUCE (for Pulled Pork)

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soflaquer

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
OTBS Member
Jul 3, 2005
532
97
Stuart and Palm Beach, Florida
The Finishing Sauce I use is as follows:

1 Cup Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Course Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Warm the Vinegar up enough so that it disolves the Sugar well. Then add the remaining ingredients.

I use it in one of those clear Ketchup bottles you can get from Wally World for about $0.99. Snip a little bit larger hole out of the spout with a pair of scissors. Once all your ingredients are mixed together, put your finger over the top, and shake vigorously.

Randomly squirt this over warm freshly pulled Pork, then kind of mix it up with gloved hands. This adds very little heat (despite the Red Pepper) and mellows out the stronger, gamier parts of the Shoulder. The Vinegar also helps break it down even more for some REAL juiicy pork.

Personally, I eat it just like that, but your guests can add whatever "Q sauce they prefer once it's on their plates or bun!

If you've never done Pulled Pork with a "Finishing Sauce" before, you're in for a real treat!!!! It's the secret ingredient that alot of Quer's don't know about, and part of the reason people at my 'Q Parties say "they've never had Pulled Pork that tasted this good, before!".

Jeff
 
Hey Jeff!
Been a little out of pocket. I have a butt on right now (internal temp is 148*) .... along with some chicken thighs, brats and italian sausages. I'll definitely use the finishing sauce and let you know of comments.
 
Jeff Im gonna do a couple of butts for pulled pork this weekend and Ill try your sauce,sounds good.David
 
Greetings Jeff,
I finished the smoke and pulled the butt. It really turned out well ..... but of course, butts usually do. Anyway, after pulling it, I sprinkled your finishing sauce over it, mixed it well and turned it over and sprinkled a little more. Then I let it sit, covered, for about half an hour. It is absolutely delicious!!! We stacked mounds of it on hamburger buns and topped it off with some cole slaw. Comments around the table were all positive and closely akin to implying heroism for me. Of course, I humbly accepted the accolades and was again thankful for all the really good advise we get here on the forum. My strongest advise to fellow smokers is to record the recipe and use it next time you do a butt.

And to Jeff, you've been a tremendous help in my learning to do a decent job of Qing. From brisket "how to" to finishing sauce I really appreciate your help. Thank you so much! Now back to the rub recipe ...............
 
Thanks Bill!

Hey, if the Post helped at least one person...........it was worth putting on the board!

Our site is growing so fast, a new Post can get buried very quickly! Quite a few members only look at the "recent topics" scroll. That's primarilly why I brought it back up to the top...........I figured some people simply missed it.

P.S. - Crazy.................you're killin' me, Brother! :D
 
Well, I've never been disappointed by any of the other advice you've suggested so far... I happen to have a fresh Butt in the fridge right now thats waiting to be rubbed after work tonight and smoked tomorrow or Sunday as long as the nasty weather holds off.

I've heard others talk about using finishing sauces instead of or in addition to bbq sauce with tasty results. Since I always serve Q sauce on the side, this will be a good opportunity to try it for myself! Thanks for the recipe, Jeff. ( I even have a new 3-pack of those restaurant squeeze bottles you mentioned. I got 'em so I can serve different types and heat levels of sauce when I do ribs and such).

Cheers,
Brian
 
Hey Brian,
Glad you're giving the finishing sauce a try. I agree with you regarding Jeff's advise and would really like to hear what you think of the finisning sauce. How about a post after the weekend.
 
Hey gang!

I'm about the rub down a picnic in short order - so Jeff, hows about that thar rub recipe?!?!

Anywho - on the picnic, should I slice off the skin and leave the fat, or leave the skin, or criss cross slice the skin???

Planning on a light rub of yellow mustard then whatever spices I find in the cabinet (unless Jeff shares his rub recipe...wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

DT
 
DT,

Definitely remove as much of the skin/hide as you can, leaving a nice thin layer of fat on the meat. The skin is far to thick and tough to allow good smoke penetration and will become very rubbery and tough during cooking.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Brian
 
I tried the sauce Jeff, came out pretty good. I must have got too much vinegar, came off alittle strong so I made a few changes in your recipe.
I made a small batch and it came out pretty good.
1/3 cup vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon Season All
1 big pinch black pepper
1 big pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Stuck it in a squirt bottle, nuked it about 20 seconds so the sugar would melt, and I must say I got lucky, the gang used the whole bottle and the rest of my pulled pork. BEAR
 
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I've got my picnic smokin' right now, lit the fire at 5 this morning, put the pig on at 6 - hoping 12 hours will do it. It was 8 lbs with the bone in.

One question: When doing a butt I put the fat side up, but this picnic has fat on all sides, should I roll it over half way through or just leave the same side up?

DT
 
Glad to see a few more hits on this Post.............Thanks!

Bear, feel free to make what ever changes fit your taste - I do that with alot of recipes. I suspect though, if you're tasting too much vinegar, your probably using too much. On an 8 to 10 Lb. Butt, I may use half or less of what's in the bottle. Too much vinegar will break the Pork down to mush!

DT, You do not need to rotate the Picnic. If you are doing several, then rotating them to different positions on the Rack is fine. If your cooker keeps steady, even temps - you don't need to flip them. Also, reserch some fairly recent discussions on placing the Fat Cap up or down. This has mainly been regarding Full Packer Briskets, but holds true for Butts as well. Bottom line................Fat Cap DOWN!!!

Jeff
 
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