Basic Pulled Pork Smoke

[jarjarchef]

Huskerfan,

That is great that things worked out. The beans are great and a finishing sauce makes the world of difference. It only gets better the more you cook.....

OK so you are using a MES. They are a great little smoker and can put out some incredible product. We have a MES30 with the window at work and I use it quite often. What I have found to be consistent from reading what others have posted about them and my own experience, their therms are not good. You are not able to replace them for the controls, but you can make adjustments based on a calibrated therm. The one I have at work runs 15 degrees colder then displayed. So I set it 15 degrees higher then what I want.

 Once you make sure you have accurate temp readings, then you can fine tune the other stuff. Temp control/reading and proper air flow are the two biggest things in my book.

 

[huskerfan1414]

Thanks JarJar!  I had a thermo for the meat, but I am still waiting on my Maverick smoking thermometer to come in the mail.  Once I get that I suppose I'll be able to get a better reading of my temp inside the smoker.  You are probably right there is probably something wrong there with the thermos.

 

[shoneyboy]

:first:

 

[rcwbud]

Wow if I were you I would try another thermometer. I go 250 for six hours with an eight pound butt and get to 165 in five and 200 in six or six and a half. I would question the thermometer if I was you. How did it turn out? Was it dry or overcooked?

 

[smokinrick]

A basic sugar/vinegar/apple juice/cayenne Carolina sauce is great. I get hocks from the butcher and run them in the smoker, then add a couple to the mixture and simmer until they break down. Best Carolina sauce you can imagine. Slaw for a sammie and you are close to Heaven's gate.

 

[huskerfan1414]

 
Wow if I were you I would try another thermometer. I go 250 for six hours with an eight pound butt and get to 165 in five and 200 in six or six and a half. I would question the thermometer if I was you. How did it turn out? Was it dry or overcooked?

I thought the inside was a little dry and it was tougher to pull than I had expected it would be.  The bark was really good, however, and was not burnt so I dunno.  Tasted great but not totally satisfied.  So it's either that my thermometer on my smoker is bad and runs higher than the actual temp, or the digital meat thermometer reads lower than it is.  Really need my Maverick to come in quick.

 

[stuwilsm]

I am new to smoking and just finished my first butt.  I read on here to forget about the time and use the internal temp to tell when the meat is done but I have also read that to figure on 1 to 1.5 hours per pound.  I had a 7.4 lbs butt and it took 14 hours in the smoker to reach 205.  My smoker maintained a steady temp around 230.  Is there anything that I may be doing to cause the unusually long cooking time?

 

[cliffcarter]

 
I am new to smoking and just finished my first butt.  I read on here to forget about the time and use the internal temp to tell when the meat is done but I have also read that to figure on 1 to 1.5 hours per pound.  I had a 7.4 lbs butt and it took 14 hours in the smoker to reach 205.  My smoker maintained a steady temp around 230.  Is there anything that I may be doing to cause the unusually long cooking time?

Yes, you are cooking at 230°, cook at a higher temp and you will be done more quickly. I cook at 285°- 315° and my cook times average less than 1 hour per pound.

 

[rcwbud]

Might be that where the meat is might not be as hot as where the thermometer is. Might be a lot cooler where the meat is actually sitting. My barrell is twenty degrees hotter on the lower grill than at the top where the thermometer is. It varies like that in almost every type of smoker. I would say it is not actually that hot in there. At 250 I get internal 200 in six or seven hours max. If I went that long it would be a cinder laying in there at the end. We also wrap in tin foil at 165 internal. That keeps your meat from drying out. I have also been cooking it in pan with an inch of juice in the pan around the meat. I think that helps too.

 

[catavalon21]

I'm lazy and didn't read the whole thread, so this may have been mentioned: all of the Wal-Mart's that I've visited carry Royal Oak Lump; which is decent. Just stay away from Cowboy lump that Lowes carries.

Years later, sorry, why no on Cowboy? I have a butt smoking on it now, though I had a dickens of a time getting it to stay lit...did I answer my own question?

 

[floyd]

Great article!!

Being from NC, I grew up with "smokin' hawgs" at church dinners and picnics. I also cut my teeth on Parker's, Scott's, Wilbur's, and even Smithfield BBQ and have always loved the Eastern NC BBQ. No red sauce is allowed within 100 yards of REAL NC BBQ. The question I have is I have done a bunch or pork butts, but I miss the small pieces of skin that go into the best BBQ. What other pieces of pork could I use that still has skin and pulls as well as a Boston Butt?

Would I do anything different with a shoulder or ham than a butt?

Thanks to everyone here! This is such a great forum.

 

[jarjarchef]

Great article!!
Being from NC, I grew up with "smokin' hawgs" at church dinners and picnics. I also cut my teeth on Parker's, Scott's, Wilbur's, and even Smithfield BBQ and have always loved the Eastern NC BBQ. No red sauce is allowed within 100 yards of REAL NC BBQ. The question I have is I have done a bunch or pork butts, but I miss the small pieces of skin that go into the best BBQ. What other pieces of pork could I use that still has skin and pulls as well as a Boston Butt?
Would I do anything different with a shoulder or ham than a butt?
Thanks to everyone here! This is such a great forum.

I use shoulder hams / picnic hams all the time, easier and cheaper to get ahold of for me. You can smoke them with the skin on, but I usually remove it and turn it into cracklin's. They pull very nice, no money muscle to speak of and only a couple spots i hand remove for personal reasons before pulling........

 

[floyd]

Thanks. I did a 10 lb butt yesterday and two spatchcock chickens today. We will eat wll tonight.

I'll definitely try a ham next time. Do you cook it a lot less since they are precooked?

I haven't about cracklin' since I left NC.

 

[jarjarchef]

Thanks. I did a 10 lb butt yesterday and two spatchcock chickens today. We will eat wll tonight.

I'll definitely try a ham next time. Do you cook it a lot less since they are precooked?
I haven't about cracklin' since I left NC.

I am sorry. I use fresh picnics. They are not cured or pre smoked. So there cook time is about the same. I cook at 250-275 so my time is less........

 

[floyd]

I finished pulling the pork butt, adding sauce and devouring it. Then I carved up the spatchcocked chickens and we dined. There were rave reviews on all of it. Some preferred the pork, while others thought the chicken was the best they had ever eaten!

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[ranjr]

I think I just learned more terms on smoking then I knew existed. You must be a professional or someone that has done this for a long time. Either way, thanks for the lesson.

 

[huntnfishnut]

Well, add me to the massive following. Going to do my first butt this weekend... I am so hungry right now lol

 

[harryset]

I made a few batches of Pulled Pork last season, and I thought that it came out too juicy.  The sandwiches quickly got a little soggy.

 

[marauder]

 My first smoke my first Pork Butt  tommorrow  View media item 301043
               on the Kamado  I restored     

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• marauder
• Apr 1, 2014

 i plan on using mesquite lump charcoal.    any suggestions for the wood choice  chunks?   I have apple peach pecan mesquite....

 

[hoosiersmoke]

Never done pulled pork but I'm defiantly gonna give this a try. Thanks for the step by step for us guys new to smoking!