They had pork picnic shoulders on sale for 0.98 a pound. It had to be time for pulled pork!
I picked up this 11 pounder. I started by cutting the skin and a lot of the fat layer off.
I had been using a rub that had less sugar and salt for grilling. However, I have found why sweeter rubs are good for pork and have been working on my own sweeter rub. I call it Chumpionship Rub and I like it on my pork.
Chumpionship Rub
2 tablespoons/30 ml brown sugar
2 tablespoons/30 ml white sugar
2 tablespoons/30 ml paprika
1 tablespoon/15 ml garlic powder
1/4 cup/40 ml kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon/3 ml chili powder
1/2 teaspoon/2 ml oregano
1/4 teaspoon/1 ml Cayenne
1/4 teaspoon/1 ml ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon/3 ml black pepper
1/2 teaspoon/2 ml dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon/2 ml cumin
1/2 teaspooon/2 ml ground ginger
I gave it a generous rub.
Then I put it in the fridge uncovered overnight to develop pellicle.
I got up at 4 am and put the pork in the Bradley over a pecan/hickory mix and smoked for 5 hours at 250 F.
Up till now, I had been careful not to put the probe from my remote thermometer or instant read into the pork to reduce the risk of contamination. Now I put my probe in and set it up on a rack. She Who Must Be Obeyed doesn't like heavy smoke and it is cold here so I didn't put it back in the smoker but moved it to the oven to finish. Also, I would usually foil at this point in time and add some apple juice. This time, I didn't foil.
I sprayed with apple juice every couple of hours. 10 hours later, the internal temperature was 205 F. I foiled the pork wrapped it in towels and put it in an ice chest for an hour.
I took it out and started pulling. The bone came right out and it shredded easily.
The Verdict: The texture of the pork without foiling was great. It isn't as mushy and has a nice texture. The flavour with the new rub was great. The bark was very tasty. However, I prefer the softer bark of foiling. Now I am in a quandary. I like the texture unfoiled and the bark of foiled. Is very good pork with great bark better than great pork with very good bark? Sigh.
Here is a Facebook video of this smoke.
I picked up this 11 pounder. I started by cutting the skin and a lot of the fat layer off.
I had been using a rub that had less sugar and salt for grilling. However, I have found why sweeter rubs are good for pork and have been working on my own sweeter rub. I call it Chumpionship Rub and I like it on my pork.
Chumpionship Rub
2 tablespoons/30 ml brown sugar
2 tablespoons/30 ml white sugar
2 tablespoons/30 ml paprika
1 tablespoon/15 ml garlic powder
1/4 cup/40 ml kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon/3 ml chili powder
1/2 teaspoon/2 ml oregano
1/4 teaspoon/1 ml Cayenne
1/4 teaspoon/1 ml ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon/3 ml black pepper
1/2 teaspoon/2 ml dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon/2 ml cumin
1/2 teaspooon/2 ml ground ginger
I gave it a generous rub.
Then I put it in the fridge uncovered overnight to develop pellicle.
I got up at 4 am and put the pork in the Bradley over a pecan/hickory mix and smoked for 5 hours at 250 F.
Up till now, I had been careful not to put the probe from my remote thermometer or instant read into the pork to reduce the risk of contamination. Now I put my probe in and set it up on a rack. She Who Must Be Obeyed doesn't like heavy smoke and it is cold here so I didn't put it back in the smoker but moved it to the oven to finish. Also, I would usually foil at this point in time and add some apple juice. This time, I didn't foil.
I sprayed with apple juice every couple of hours. 10 hours later, the internal temperature was 205 F. I foiled the pork wrapped it in towels and put it in an ice chest for an hour.
I took it out and started pulling. The bone came right out and it shredded easily.
The Verdict: The texture of the pork without foiling was great. It isn't as mushy and has a nice texture. The flavour with the new rub was great. The bark was very tasty. However, I prefer the softer bark of foiling. Now I am in a quandary. I like the texture unfoiled and the bark of foiled. Is very good pork with great bark better than great pork with very good bark? Sigh.
Here is a Facebook video of this smoke.
