I wanted a kick to the pork so I went back to the Sriracha as a binder. This is quickly becoming my go-to now. It leaves just a very subtle taste in the end product. I followed that up with a light amount of Jalapeno Salt. Then I went to town with Black Pepper. Not Mueller levels but a good coat. To balance out the heat I used some Pitfaced BBQ On Point Rub; A nice savory/sweet profile. It was dusted on as a top coat. I let that set up in the fridge while I got the pit ready.
I started the Pit at 180*F and lit the A-Maze-N Tube. Once up to temp the butt went on. This was around 21:30. at 23:30 I upped the pit to 195*F for the night. Around 05:00 I took another peak and set the pit to 215*F. The smoke tube was empty and burned in full, which is always a good sight. A few hours later I had the wife bump the temp up yet again to 235*F and snag a pic. When I got home from work the butt was sitting around 180*F internal. At the 18.25 hour mark it hit 203*F internal and the bone felt like it would pull out with ease so into a foil pan it went. It then went into the cooler with towels to rest for 2 hours.
Pulling time finally! Cotton liners and gloves and I tore in. The Barq was everything I hoped for. A nice crust layer that when eaten straight was a kick in the taste buds! Pepper right up front as expected that ended with a touch of sweet and savory profile. And just the tiniest hint of heat from the Sriracha. The butt was juicy and had a great smoke ring. After tearing and shredding and mixing in the barq, out came the Kings Hawaiian Rolls. I normally have some Pulled Pork Vinegar sauce on top but i went sans this time as I wanted to get the meat profile taste to see if it would hold up in tamale form. I think/ hope it will.
The wife is not a fan of spicy but said she thought it was one of the better butts I've done. All the approval I ever need right there! Enough Rambling though... on to the pics!
Prep:
Rubbed
Close up
Firing up the pit
Butt is on
5:00 am check in. This view after first getting up had me super excited! I really debated wrapping here to maintain that color! But I wanted more barq!
Wife Progress pic. (I lightly wiped down the pit before this cook which is the streaks on the back)
Home from work and checking in
18.25 hours later and ready to rest!
More Barq!
ready to rest
Pulled
Glamour shots:
I am super happy with this cook and extremely pleased with the barq and flavor. Hopefully the leftovers make it long enough for me to actually make the tamales!
Cheers Y'all!
TL;DR
Barq Nirvana Achieved (to me anyway)!
