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[civilsmoker]

I'll add it to my list! I just made it through the 38 pages of the basic pulled pork thread. Very interesting.

Just know the one Ryan posted has everyone in one page…..including the finishing sauce……I’m a simple cook guy….. :-)

 

[paleoman]

Just know the one Ryan posted has everyone in one page…..including the finishing sauce……I’m a simple cook guy….. :-)

Just read that one. Very nicely done civilsmoker! Did you use a recipe for the rub or was it a product from someone (I've been reading so many posts, it's hard to track what everyone did)?

 

[civilsmoker]

Just read that one. Very nicely done civilsmoker! Did you use a recipe for the rub or was it a product from someone (I've been reading so many posts, it's hard to track what everyone did)?

Thanks and the Rub is a modified version of Jeff Philips rub. You can buy his recipes for a very reasonable price. Any sweet pork rub will also work
https://order.smoking-meat.com/collections/recipes

 

[schlotz]

Do you leave the pork in large pieces, or do you shred and then seal?

I'm trying to figure out the process I want o use to complete cooking one day, and then serve it up the next day (so that in the future, I could use the method for serving guests for an event).

Frankly it can be done either way. For me the tougher part is equally distributing the juices for each portion I'm vac sealing.

 

[paleoman]

Starting to narrow down what I want to do for the pulled pork.

• I'm thinking of skipping the brine and injection options for this first attempt (I can always add one or the other in the future, based on the results of this smoke).
• Leaning towards scoring the fat cap and just doing the minimal trimming?
• I'll use mustard as the prep for rub. It worked well for brisket I did.
• I have a few of the rub recipes from the various threads, will decide on one.
• Will use 250 degrees (seems to be middle of what numerous people use), either apple or hickory pellets.
• Will try spritzing (need to pick one from what I saw) every 2 hours, and will boat when it hits around 165 degrees (will see how crusty it is).
• I guess I'll rest for 1 hour (I've seen 30 mins, 1 hr, and 2 hrs)?

Any comments on that "rough" plan?

There are a few things I have not figured out yet, and would love to hear suggestions...

When pulling, do I do that in the pan with the drippings, or pour out the drippings and re-add them in as needed?

Should I do like civilsmoker and make the finishing sauce in the smoker and place the pork into it for the covered portion, or should I make the finishing sauce separately.

If I make the finishing sauce separately, do I mix it in, as I pull?

I'm still trying to decide if I should cook on Friday and eat on Saturday, or cook on Saturday and eat late (I know, I could do higher temps, but I think I want to try low and slow).

Even if I do it in one day, I still want to prepare leftovers (there will be a lot with only 3 people), so I'm trying to figure out how to do that.

I'm thinking of trying three test groups of pork...

1. Shred pork, add juices, vacuum seal, refrigerate (or freeze) for later.
2. Keep larger pieces, with juices, and vacuum seal, shred after reheat.
3. Shred pork, with juices, keep in sealed container (foil pan with plastic wrap? glass dish w/cover?) and refrigerate/free for later reheat.

For the first two, how long would I need to sous vide to reheat (I see one site saying 112 mins at 130 degrees - is that for both refrigerated or frozen)?

For the third, using an oven, how long and at what temp do I use to reheat? Is there some way to test/probe temp?

 

[DougE]

Thanks and the Rub is a modified version of Jeff Philips rub. You can buy his recipes for a very reasonable price. Any sweet pork rub will also work
https://order.smoking-meat.com/collections/recipes

I've owned Jeff's recipes almost as long as I've been a member. They are good as is or are a good base to modify to your own tastes.

However, when I'm either in a hurry or too dang lazy, this is my go-to. It is sugar forward rather than being salt forward like most commercial rubs.

 

[civilsmoker]

I've owned Jeff's recipes almost as long as I've been a member. They are good as is or are a good base to modify to your own tastes.

However, when I'm either in a hurry or too dang lazy, this is my go-to. It is sugar forward rather than being salt forward like most commercial rubs.
View attachment 709024

I haven't seen that one from Kinders, I'm sure that one would be good too! I make up about a gallon of Jeff's org rub (modified) at a time so I have a large bottle of it almost all the time.

 

[DougE]

I haven't seen that one from Kinders, I'm sure that one would be good too! I make up about a gallon of Jeff's org rub (modified) at a time so I have a large bottle of it almost all the time.

The original seems to like to clump up on me if I make a large batch and store it.

The Texas doesn't clump up on me, so I keep a good bit of it ready to go.

 

[civilsmoker]

The original seems to like to clump up on me if I make a large batch and store it.

The Texas doesn't clump up on me, so I keep a good bit of it ready to go.

Just an FYI, on the ORG, recipe I follow Jeff's directions of blending the brown sugar with the paprika, then I split the amount of brown sugar with sugar in the raw and that granular form has eliminated any clumping for me.....but then we run between 25-35% humitity..... occasionally we get up to 45% but really nothing above that of sustained duration

 

[DougE]

We run more like 80% humidity most of the year. I keep stuff like granulated garlic and onion in the fridge to keep them from turning into a brick once opened lol.

 

[paleoman]

It sounds like quite a few people use Jeff's rub (or variations). I see that Jeff has recipes that can be purchased/downloaded, (https://order.smoking-meat.com/) so I did that to give me something I could make for the pulled pork this weekend.

 

[DougE]

It sounds like quite a few people use Jeff's rub (or variations). I see that Jeff has recipes that can be purchased/downloaded, (https://order.smoking-meat.com/) so I did that to give me something I could make for the pulled pork this weekend.

I pretty much use the Texas as is on most any beef cuts, but have tinkered around some with the original.

 

[Fueling Around]

Starting to narrow down what I want to do for the pulled pork.
...
Any comments on that "rough" plan?

There are a few things I have not figured out yet, and would love to hear suggestions...

When pulling, do I do that in the pan with the drippings, or pour out the drippings and re-add them in as needed?

Sorry chopped out a lot
I would use a basic rub on the butt and cook at whatever temp you desire between 200° to 400°
(some smokers vary that much) with smoke. Forgot your smoker. High sugar rubs will generate the thicker black bark, but remember it it a sweet crust. I don't like a sugar bark myself.
I probe a full pork butt at a couple of different depths to gauge the level of heat from surface (pit probe) to mid to deep internal.

Pork butt done is usually gauged by pulling the shoulder blade cleanly.
I pull (shred) the pork after a few hours of rest (no juice) to remove the stringy connective tissues.
Bag and into the fridge
I put the pan drippings in the fridge to allow the fat to separate from the collagen rich meat juice. The meat juice plus a bit of the fat goes back into the shredded pork when I'm either ready to serve or bag & vac seal.


I always finish my butts in the oven. I wrap in a foil pan. After wrapping there is no more smoke o the meat.

Finishing sauce defines the use for the juice. Apply to meat being served.

 

[paleoman]

Thanks for the description of your process. Some questions...

I pull (shred) the pork after a few hours of rest (no juice) to remove the stringy connective tissues.
Bag and into the fridge
I put the pan drippings in the fridge to allow the fat to separate from the collagen rich meat juice. The meat juice plus a bit of the fat goes back into the shredded pork when I'm either ready to serve or bag & vac seal.

Do you use the oven to warm up the pork for serving? I'm guessing you'd cover?

If you bag and vac seal, what temp and how long do you reheat for?

I'm reading the Doug Baldwin link (https://douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Basic_Technique), and it "seems" like he's saying that for about 1" thick, you'd heat for 1.25 hours (I'm not sure which temp to use from Table 2.1 as the pork is already cooked). Then, it mentions time to pasteurize (e.g. 112 min at 130 degrees).

I always finish my butts in the oven. I wrap in a foil pan. After wrapping there is no more smoke o the meat.

Finishing sauce defines the use for the juice. Apply to meat being served.

It sorta makes sense to use the oven, as there is no smoking occurring. Is there any disadvantages to using oven vs smoker for this final step?

 

[DougE]

For SV reheat, I'd go 145°F for around 1.5 hours if not frozen. Add an hour if frozen.

It sorta makes sense to use the oven, as there is no smoking occurring. Is there any disadvantages to using oven vs smoker for this final step?

None, unless you have something else to cook in the oven. The smoker is just acting as an oven at this point.

 

[paleoman]

Is the 145 based on medium-rare doneness for pork, with the sous-vide reheat temp?

If I oven reheat, what temp and duration do I use there? Is it just the lowest setting, until warmed, or do I need to reach a specific temp? I don't want to kill my family on my first pulled pork smoking meal. :)

 

[DougE]

Is the 145 based on medium-rare doneness for pork, with the sous-vide reheat temp?

Just my preference. I know it is fully reheated to a safe temp without really cooking it any further.

 

[paleoman]

I did just read from www.pork.org, that they recommend reheating to 145 degrees as the "safe" internal temp, so I guess that makes sense.

 

[Fueling Around]

Doug covered you on the questions.
Fully cooked meat which is what we have with pulled pork only needs to be reheated to serving preference. I don't know the reference from the website, but the 145° usually only applies to raw meat.
My family will heat a single serving in the microwave. I warm it in a sauce pan on the stove top as I don't like microwaved meat.
For large quantities, I reheat in a large electric roaster.

 

[paleoman]

I made sure I had all the ingredients for rubs/sauces, and have an overall plan. The only thing I'm trying to decide on, is the schedule:

• Cook Friday taking all day, refrigerate overnight, and reheat and serve early afternoon on Saturday,
• Start late Friday night, skip any spritzing, finish up Saturday morning, refrigerate, and reheat for early afternoon meal.
• Start early (5am?) Saturday, cook, and eat immediately (possibly 7pm+, if things run long).
• Start early Saturday, but use higher temp, to get a earlier finish time.

There are no guests, so flexible with cooking and eating times.