Pulled pork

[Bye Week]

I am going to attempt to add this to the smoking rotation on Memorial Day weekend. It looks like a bone-in pork shoulder roast is the way to go. Can anyone who has smoked one of these before with good results give me some tips that might help? I assume hickory/oak are probably the best woods to use. What kind of rub? Mop sauce while it's cooking? Thanks a lot!

 

[GemStateJim]

Pulled pork? This is the Texas Hill Country, damnit, not Greensboro, North Carolina!

Delete post/ban user.

No, but, seriously ... good luck with that.

 

[Bye Week]

Believe me, the smoker is going to see a ton of cow that weekend too. But you're right--I probably should have taken this question to a Carolina board and saved myself the embarassment...

 

[salonghorn-70]

Bye Week, you're ok. I am as arrogant as can be when it comes to Texas foods and Tex-Mex, but I like pulled pork.

 

[hornyhoosier]

Actually, I'd stay away from the carolina brand of pork. They'll tell you to put vinegar and other crap on the meat.

Dry rubbed, smoked pulled pork can be good.

 

[Umpus]

With pork, I like a dry rub that has sugar in it (brown and/or white). I'd suggest staying away from cumen, coriander, and chili powder, but that's my personal preference. Most rub recipes will have these in them, but you can easily substitute montreal steak seasoning for them. Some people put the rub on the night before smoking, but I think that draws out a bunch of the liquid in the meat. I suggest putting the rub on right before it meets the smoke.

It will probably take about 1.5 hrs per pound if you're smoking between 225-250. Plan on leaving it in the smoke for the first half of cooking, then wrap in foil for the second half. No need for mopping or sauces. You want to get the internal temperature to 190. Once it hits 190, take it off the smoke, wrap it in a towel or two, and stow it in an empty cooler (no ice) for about an hour.

When you unwrap it, you may want to save some of the drippings to mix in with the meat later. Pull the meat apart with a couple of forks (because it will still be hot as hell) and depending on your preference, mix in some of the drippings you saved.

Good luck.

 

[GemStateJim]

In reply to:

---

---

 

[Son of a Son]

Boston Butt is another name to look for. I like brown sugar better than the white sugar in my rubs, but otherwise I agree with all the above.

 

[UTEE]

A whole pork shoulder includes two separate cuts, both the picnic, and the Boston butt. You can use either, or both, for making pulled pork. Well technically, you can use a whole hog as well, but it doesn't sound like that's what you want to do.

I've used a standard dry rub of salt, pepper, and paprika, and cooked over oak, hickory/pecan, apple, or combinations of the above. You can use sugar in the rub too since at 225 you're below the burning point for sugar, but honestly I've found that the meat ends up being pretty sweet on its own without adding any sugar.

I agree with the rest of the above on cooking times and temperatures. Good luck, and take pictures!

 

[Bye Week]

Thanks to all for the suggestions (and well-deserved ***-busting). On another note, I'll ask an even more ridiculous question--can anyone inform an old guy (40) how to post pics to a post? When I click on "Image" it asks me for a web address where a picture is located. Can I not just post a pic that I have saved to my computer instead of a web-hosted picture? I know I am grinding the internet age to a halt by posing this question but I'd like to make this and some of my other posts less "worthless". Thanks again, BW

 

[cbs]

I am partial to Bad Byron's Butt Rub.

I cook at 225-240. I don't wrap in foil during the cooking process unless I need to speed up the cooking (say for a kickoff or something) because I think the foil/steam makes the bark not as crisp.

Ideally, it finishes a couple of hours before eating time so I can wrap it in foil and put it in an ice chest with towels. Then pull just before eating.

And use regular sauce and not any vinegar BS.

 

[NickDanger]

A photo has to be hosted on the web, not just your computer. Photobucket is one of the many places you can do so for free.

To those who say pulled pork isn't Texan, I say that the last time we played Arkansas I smoked an entire pig and pulled the meat off of it and put it on a bun with sauce and cole slaw. I do wear a Stetson and I'm willing to bet son that I'm as big a Texan as you are.

 

[IRC]

I looooove me some pulled smoked pork on a fresh soft white bun with a cool and spicy cole slaw thrown right down on top of the meat. Yuuuum!

But then, I also loooooove sushi, hummus, bureks, and pakoras, so what do I know?

 

[TheNewGuy]

Probably will get crucified for this one too, but here goes. Pretty damn good bbq "pulled" pork recipe from Bobby Flay. Easy a recipe as they come. Wife loves it, we make it all the time.

1 (2-pound) pork butt/shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes

2 cups your favorite BBQ sauce

2 cups rice vinegar

1 large red onion, coarsely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place pork cubes in a medium roasting pan. Stir together the BBQ sauce, vinegar, and onion (smells terrible when you do it FYI) and then pour mixture over the pork and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with foil and cook in the oven for 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Let cool in the braising liquid, then drain the liquid from the meat and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.

 

[Son of a Son]

Hell NewGuy, if you're going to do that, just brown the whole piece of pork in some olive oil, then toss it and the other ingredients in a crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. Makes it even easier and I will tell you I have done this a time or two when I didn't want to take 15 hours of time on the pit.

 

[Bevo Incognito]

I got some excellent pulled pork, Carolina style, at Franklin BBQ in Austin.

Just sayin.