Basic Pulled Pork Smoke

[forcedsquint]

I always cook mine fat cap up. As Pineywoods said, it's personal preference. I also brine mine sometimes with kosher salt, brown sugar, and a little bit of the rub I'm using. Anyone else brine their butts (LOL)???

 

[sqwib]

Great thread
My only question is the fat cap. I have always removed it for more bark formation. Do you guys think this method can have a negative impact on the pork.
Please give me some pros and cons to both methods.

 

[tasunkawitko]

sqwib -

i've tried it both ways and don't see too much difference in either method. i know that many folks prefer to leave the fat cap on for the "self-basting" aspect and also because they use the barbecued fat cap in other recipes such as chili etc. for myself, i prefer to trim it off for the same reason as you - more bark, and also because i don't see any reason to spend time cooking the fat cap when i'm not going to eat it.

only disadvantages i can see to trimming are that you may want to mop a little more to ensure a moist end product that isn't dried out. i haven't had this problem but i tend to mop a lot.

 

[barneypoo69]

Gang, I'm going to do my 1st pork butt this weekend. I'll take pics...but I think the wife wants to slice it..........we'll see.
I didn't read anywhere here about injecting the pork (was just wondering-might try that the next time). Also the link to that finishing sauce doesn't work.

 

[ugaboz]

great stuff thanks

 

[sqwib]

Barney grab another butt and pull one early for slicing at 175 degrees and pull the other one at 205 degrees fur pulling.

 

[sqwib]

I like this one

Caroline Red sauce

1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt

plus I sometimes add
1 table spoon brown sugar (optional)
1/4 cup apple juice (optional)
this sweetens it a bit more but still has that vinegar bite

 

[DanMcG]

Not to change the subject but:
Has anyone else noticed that this thread has had almost 39,000 views? That's amazing.
Ok back to the Pulled pork.

 

[marty catka]

Hey, it's a great sticky and I'm going to follow it for my first butts. Seasoning new smoker this weekend and butts to follow. This is a great tutorial!

 

[pineywoods]

Heres the link to the Finishing Sauce that was referred to

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=49892

 

[coyote]

first of all this is a very good tut on doing pork butts.
I did not read every post as there is a lot. and thought that I might add this to Meowy's excellent post.

Start your smoker and get it up to 225-240 degrees F. My personal wood choice for pork is hickory. Unwrap the meat, stick in the probe of your digital thermo (A highly recommended accessory.), and place the meat in the smoker, fat side down. I don't flip butts as it interferes with bark formation. Fat side down helps protect the meat if you have a temp spike. After the meat gets over 100F I spray it every hour with a 3 to 1 mix of apple juice and Captain Morgan’s Original spiced rum. I have used bourbon instead of rum, but my family prefers the taste of the rum spray. The sugars in the juice and booze will caramelize, and add to the bark. (Bark - dark outer crust that develop as the meat cooks.) Others will make good suggestions for alternate sprays. You will develop your own favorite with a little experimentation. (The nice thing is that they all taste good!)

Folks have suggested that this not be done untill about four hours into the smoke. As fear of contamination being pushed to the center of the pork. It is up to you. I do not push a probe in to big hunks till they have cooked a while.

 

[barneypoo69]

WOW ! That looks just about like the recipe I got...thanks my friend

 

[sqwib]

It may very well be yours, most of my recipes are from various forums then tweaked to "the majority rules preference" if you know what I mean.

My dad loves it although he can drink pickle juice and vinegar like a glass of water, some of my family do not prefer the vinegar based sauces, so I always make 2, 1 vinegar based and 1 usually just a tweaked barbecue sauce, which I feel does the pork no justice.

 

[dieselbear]

I followed the first posting exactly. I am new to smoking and it turned out fantastic. I couldn't believe the flavor and moisture.
I smoked a 5.3 lb. Boston Butt on a MES. It took 9 hrs. in smoker and 1 hr. more to rest.

Thanks for the great Sticky....

 

[badfrog]

so now I am curious about the vaporized bourbon...

 

[meowey]

He was referring to this post, and it became a long running joke.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=51365


Tale care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

 

[azrocker]

Fat side up and I like the Capt Morgan and apple juice. BTW the finishing sauce is a hit!

 

[jeeplj]

I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker with a digital temp setting. Since I have to enter a specific cooking temp, what should that temp be? I usually smoke at 225 but for the butt I am not sure what to set my temp at.
Also, I have a water tray in my smoker, but after reading I'm not sure if I should use sand or water or if I even need them.

 

[sqwib]

Jeep heres what I do
 

Pulled Pork






Pulled Pork
Preferably the Butt over shoulder

1) Prepare the Rub beforehand:
Rich’s Rub for 3 butts

• 1/3 cup coarse salt (kosher or sea)
• 1-1/2 cup (packed) Sugar in the Raw
• 1-1/4 cup paprika
• 1 Tbsp freshly  ground coarse black pepper
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder
• ¼ cup dried onion flakes
• ¼ cup onion powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1 Tbsp rosemary

2) Select and Trim the Pork Butts: Purchase whole, untrimmed pork butts, either bone-in or boneless. To maximize bark formation (that dark, chewy, delicious outside meat) during barbecuing, trim off the fat cap, remember to remove the false cap as well. If using boneless roasts, you may wish to tie them up with kitchen twine so they retain a compact shape and cook more evenly.

3) Apply the Rub: Pat the pork butt dry with paper towels, Coat pork with yellow mustard then apply ½ - the rub to the butt, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 12-24 hours.

This is optional I haven't used the mustard trick lately and haven't noticed any difference

4) Prepare the Butt: Remove butt from the refrigerator, apply the rest of the rub and let it rest at least 1 hour at room temperature.

5) Prepare the Smoker: Line the water tray and the bottom of the smoker with foil, fill the water tray with water, Use a mix of dry apple and hickory chunks, start with 1 chunk of Hickory and 1 chunk of apple. Then Start your smoker and get it up to 225-240°F.

6) Cooking: Once the smoker starts smoking, (avoid white billowing smoke), and has reached a temperature of 225°F, place the pork butt into the smoker. Place a meat thermometer probe inside the thickest part of the butt and Smoke at a consistent temperature of 225-240°F for about 1-1-1/2 hour per pound. Smoke butt, undisturbed, for about 2 hours. Allow the cooker to come up to 225-240°F, adjusting as necessary to maintain that temperature range. Cook the pork butt at 225-240°F to an internal temperature of 165°F.

I now let the temp come up to 300 degrees or so before adding meat and work down from there.

7) Mopping (Basting): Apply your mop about every hour after the first 2 hours, (3 cups apple juice 1 cup apple cider vinegar and ½ cup Captain Morgan’s Original spiced rum in a spray bottle).

8) Foiling: When the meat gets to about 165°F lay out 2 heavy pieces of foil, spray the foil with the mop and wrap tightly. Continue to cook with no smoke until the internal meat temperature gets to 195-205°F. Remove the foiled meat from the cooker and wrap it (still foiled) in a couple old bath towels and put it in an insulated cooler to rest for at least an hour, preferably 2 hours, before pulling. The meat will be ok up to 4 hours in the cooler.

This is optional I haven't foiled because it reduces bark formation.

Beware of the Plateau: Almost all butts will hit a plateau where the temp of the meat stops rising. Don’t be tempted to raise the heat as that will dry out the meat. The meat is absorbing a lot of heat at this point while the connective tissue is breaking down. This is what makes the meattender. Low and slow is the way to go! I’ve seen some actually drop in temp by a couple degrees. Patience – it may be over an hour before the temp starts climbing.

Serve pulled pork on a soft, toasted potato bun, accompanied by Carolina Red sauce), Cole slaw, and baked beans.
Here's the recipe for Carolina Red, also from.

• 1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot dried red Chile flakes
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon table salt

Stir together all ingredients, dissolving the sugar and salt. Serve at room temperature.

Edit due to changes in cooking methods

 

[jeeplj]

Thanks for the info and I will follow your method. But I am still lost on what temp to set my smoker at. Should I just set if for the middle temp and leave if at 232? And water or no water?