Pulled Pork just because

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talan64

Meat Mopper
Original poster
May 5, 2011
277
18
Vancouver, Wa
This is from last weekends smoke:

My wife had noted a few days before that we were out of BBQ Pulled Pork, and Pulled Pork Taco Meat. I try to never let that happen, but sometimes I fall down on my job.

Anyways, I've been "itching" to try out the meat from our local Cash & Carry (I've always used CostCo before this), So I got up early Saturday morning, well not really early for me, but there was no way I was getting my wife out of bed, and headed over the the Cash & Carry.  They had some nice looking 2 packs of boneless butts.  I grabbed a 20lb pack, some ribs for this weekend, a new giant flat pan for food prep/serving, and some coffee flavoring. BTW did I mention I am falling in love with my Cash & Carry??

I used Jeff's rub and mustard on one of them, and hot sauce and taco seasoning on the other, as soon as I got home, so they would be ready to go in the smoker at midnight.

Started them @ midnight on 225. Checked them @ 4:00 with a quick temp probe, and even though I still am not sure my eyes were open, I verified the temps were out of the danger zone.

They finished up @ about 13:00with the internals @ 203 & 200.

Here are some pictures, the first 2 are @ about 8:00 when I drug myself out of bed, the last is when they got up to temp. 

Unfortunately I didn't get any money shots, just shots out of the smoker.

Taco seasoned butt:


BBQ seasoned (Jeff's Rub):


Both in a foil pan ready to go sit in the oven wrapped in towels for a little rest.


This was the first time I did the pork without wrapping it up during the smoke.  As I was pulling it apart, my wife and I snacked on the extra crispy "burnt ends".

I will definitely be doing my pork without wrapping it from now on, there was a lot more bark to mix into the end product, and the meat was perfect, and didn't have any of that "mushiness" I didn't realize it got by wrapping.

Thanks for looking, and I will have a few new pictures of ribs later today, or tomorrow, they're in the smoker now!
 
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Please please please tell me your secret to getting that awesome bark!? 
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Now THAT is bark I can agree with. I see a lot of talk on here about bark and most of the q-view shows this blackened crust that looks like a meteorite. I'm not such a fan of that, but yours looks like about the most perfect pulled pork I've ever seen!

Points for Perfect Pulled Pork.
 
 

I did a pork butt in MES on Friday for my Neighbour's Mothers Birthday. I did not wrap it, I took it out of the smoker, double wrapped it tin foil, wrapped it in a towel and placed it in a cooler for about an hour. I then pulled it for them and gave it to him.

You pork roasts are looking good!

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Please please please tell me your secret to getting that awesome bark!? 
77.gif
This time I did not wrap the butts at all!!

The one on the left had hotsauce and taco seasoning, the one on the right mustard and Jeff's Rub.  Total cook time was in the neighborhood of 13 hrs @ 225 - 230.

I will admit, this is by far the best bark I have ever gotten.

Thanks for the compliments!!
 
 
can you tell me some more about your taco pork? I love tacos so this sounds really good.
Sure, I started trying this out, 2 or 3 years ago, to make it a little different, and since I always buy the 2 pack of butts, I didn't necessarily want all that bbq pulled pork in the freezer.  My wife makes her own taco seasoning, which she pulled from a book years ago now, and it's great because it's a salt free taco meat seasoning.

So when I smoke pork butt's, I've been taking one of them, and instead of the "standard" BBQ seasoning, I rub some generic hot sauce (the kind you buy to mix in to other things you cook, cheap, not the "good" stuff), then apply the homemade taco seasoning, just like I would any rub. Smoke it the same way, to pulling temp. After I shred the pork, we freeze it in 1lb packs. When we want tacos we thaw it out, and heat it up with more of the taco seasoning, just like you would any taco meat.

Here is the recipe my wife uses for the taco seasoning (she always doubles it, so she doesn't need t make it as often):

6

tsp

chili powder

5

tsp

paprika

4 1/2

tsp

cumin

3

tsp

onion powder

2 1/2

tsp

garlic powder

1/4

tsp

cayenne

1

Mix all ingredients

2

for taco meat 7 tsp equals about 1 package of taco mix
Using pork started out as an alternative to regular beef or chicken tacos, but now it's pretty much the only thing we use when we want tacos. Next time we make tacos, I'll try to remember to snap a picture of the finished meat in the fry pan to share.
 
Last edited:
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Sure, I started trying this out, 2 or 3 years ago, to make it a little different, and since I always buy the 2 pack of butts, I didn't necessarily want all that bbq pulled pork in the freezer.  My wife makes her own taco seasoning, which she pulled from a book years ago now, and it's great because it's a salt free taco meat seasoning.

So when I smoke pork butt's, I've been taking one of them, and instead of the "standard" BBQ seasoning, I rub some generic hot sauce (the kind you buy to mix in to other things you cook, cheap, not the "good" stuff), then apply the homemade taco seasoning, just like I would any rub. Smoke it the same way, to pulling temp. After I shred the pork, we freeze it in 1lb packs. When we want tacos we thaw it out, and heat it up with more of the taco seasoning, just like you would any taco meat.

Here is the recipe my wife uses for the taco seasoning (she always doubles it, so she doesn't need t make it as often):

6

tsp

chili powder

5

tsp

paprika

4 1/2

tsp

cumin

3

tsp

onion powder

2 1/2

tsp

garlic powder

1/4

tsp

cayenne

1

Mix all ingredients

2

for taco meat 7 tsp equals about 1 package of taco mix
Using pork started out as an alternative to regular beef or chicken tacos, but now it's pretty much the only thing we use when we want tacos. Next time we make tacos, I'll try to remember to snap a picture of the finished meat in the fry pan to share.
 When in college I worked at a fried chicken shack for a while, and he would strip the night before's left over chicken and add his taco seasoning. We would sell out everyday, as fast as we could make them. Oh yeah, that's some good stuff. I have not tried Pulled pork in a taco yet, too many ways to use it and they are all good!

Hey, thank you for reminding me. 
 
I agree I no longer wrap (at all even to rest) we enjoy the good bark much , much more/better!
 
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