Basic Pulled Pork Smoke

meowey · Apr 8, 2008

You are most welcome! Glad you and the "boss" enjoyed the results.

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

gordo · Apr 10, 2008

OK, I am giving a couple of Boston Butts another go this weekend for a birthday party for a buddy, so I want to get it right.

The first try turned out ok, but I only got the temp up to about 180-185 so it didn't pull very well.

I think I have my recipe and technique down, but want to make sure I am OK on time to get it up to temperature.

Let's say I have two 8 lb butts. I will be using a ECB. At 1.5 hrs/lb rule, I should be prepared to give these things 12 hours to cook right?

Working backwards here:
Sat 8PM - Party Time
Sat 7:30 - Get there & set up
Sat 6PM - Start Pulling
Sat 5PM - 1 Hour Rest Period
Sat 5AM - Put on Smoker
???????? - How long should I have these out to bring up to room temp before putting on smoker?
Thursday Night - Rub & Wrap - Put in fridge.

How does that sound? Thanks for any help.

devolutionist · Apr 10, 2008

working backwards is a very good idea - that always keeps me out of trouble. i'd rather finish early and foil them in a cooler (they'll stay hot 3-4 hours that way) than try to pull them straight off the smoker.

If they're foiled, you could really let them sit for a little longer than just one hour before pulling. i generally like to pull mine as close to eatin' time as possible.

If you're going to start at 5AM, you might not want to put them back in the fridge at all if you rub them late enough in the evening. It'll take them probalby 2-3 hours to come up to room temp. Actually, I rarely have them out longer than an hour before I put them on - starting off with an internal temp of 50 or so ain't the end of the world. Mine seem to jump up to the 80-90's within the first hour or two. The problem is how long they'll get stuck in the 140's... sometimes they get stuck there for a couple of hours, sometimes not at all. That's really the big variable that I deal with. Luckily, very few of mine have ever actually plateau'd at that temp.

Now, just so happens that the last ones I did got stuck there for upwards of 3 hours, but I really had too many of them in my smoker (had 8 ten pounders jammed in there, 2 to a shelf) and they were extremely fatty cuts. Had so much fat dripped down into my smoker that I had to pressure wash it all out the next day. Two in an ECB isn't a big deal though, and I wouldn't expect you to have any problems.

If this is for a party make sure your portions are accounted for too - for pulled pork the yield is 50% meat when you're done, so if you have an 8lb'er you'll end up with 4lbs of pulled pork. Plan on 1/4lb per sandwich/serving - so if you have two 8lb'ers you'll end up with 8lbs of pulled pork that'll serve 8/.25, or roughly 32 people, one serving each.

meowey · Apr 10, 2008

I will often take them out of the fridge just before I start the fire. They take a long time to come up to room temp 65-70Â°, so I don't usually leave them out for much longer than it takes me to get the smoker up to temp.

Hope this helps!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

ron50 · Apr 10, 2008

You run the risk of food borne bacteria if you leave them on the counter an extended period of time. The recommended max time to keep food in the "danger zone" when that occurs (40 -140 degrees) is 4 hours. If you leave the meat on the counter for several hours then it is unlikely you will reach the 140 temp in the recommended max time.

The timetable looks good as long as you don't have a long plateau. If you do then you might be cutting it close. No way to tell in advance.

teeotee · Apr 10, 2008

I'm same as a few others here. I'll take the meat out of the fridge before i go out to start getting the smoker set and lit.

As for time of cook, i done a 5 lber a while back and that took 9 hours. You may want to think about adding a few hours cook time. If they get done earlier it'll give them more time to sit in the cooler. Rather that, than be forcing the temps up.

I have planned using the 1.5 hrs per lb and didn't get done till two hours after i'd planned.

Good luck and enjoy your smoke !!!

gordo · Apr 11, 2008

OK, I work until 11PM the night before. Maybe I will just go ahead and throw it on after I get home from work and use the Minion Method, so I don't have to check it (much) during the night. I do have a remote thermometer now, so I can keep that on the nightstand.

Thanks.

patohunter · Apr 14, 2008

Thanks for the sticky....Many questions answered. I cant wait for the weekend to try again.

pineywoods · Apr 14, 2008

Ya'll follow this sticky and it'll be good add the finishing sauce and it will be great.

mavericksupersonic · Apr 21, 2008

Thanks for the info in the sticky. I used it this friday for an 8lb butt on a slightly modified ECB. I use one of those $20 weber kettles as the firebox under the smoker rather than the suffocating charcoal pan that is included with the smoker. Started at 5:30AM, pulled it off at 4:30 at 202*. Let it sit for an hour in the cooler with towels before pulling and then added the finishing sauce. We ate it the next day at a tailgating session and it was a huge hit. Used a water filled double broiler oven pan on the tailgating grill to reheat it.

I will definitely be using this recipe again.

mr porky · May 10, 2008

Thanks for posting this.

I used your post as a go to reference for last weeks smoke. I will continue to use this.

meowey · May 10, 2008

You are most welcome! Glad to have helped!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

sumosmoke · May 10, 2008

Meowy - I'm also in great debt to your posting of how to make this delicious meal. This is my third time smoking butts and also the most I've done, ever! Wouldn't have been successful without following your process.

meowey · May 11, 2008

You're welcome!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

qstick777 · May 25, 2008

Good stuff! Wish I had remembered the cooler trick, as my stuff finished at 3 this morning, and I was dead tired! Wrapped it up and left it on the smoker. Had a cooler sitting right there - used it as a mini side table for holding the necessities! Think I lost a little usable meat to dry out. Still good eats for me, just can't serve it to guests!

dbvii · May 27, 2008

I tried this recipe as my first foray into the land of smoking. It was phenominal. I followed the directions, but ended up with a 8hr smoker/4hr oven situation because I ran out of time. Let's just say that first taste as my wife pulled it apart at 3:30am Memorial Day made it all worth it.

Family came over and my father (who is a large man who absolutely LOVES pulled pork) gave me the seal of approval with his, "this is the most tender BBQ I've ever had"

Thanks a TON, Meowey.

Also, I used "Simply Apple" in the apple/rum mixture and it was fantastic. For those of you who don't know what Simply Apple is......it is simply crushed apple juice. No sugar, preservatives, or anything else added.

I'll upload some pictures this evening.

meowey · May 27, 2008

You are most welcome!

I wish you well in your future smoking endeavors!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

nokitchen · May 27, 2008

Should the fat cap face up or down? I thought...there I go thinking again...the fat should be up to help with basting and moisture retention. I did my first smoke this weekend and it came out good but not as great as I have eaten in other places. I didn't wrap it in foil though.

Also, is a finishing sauce the same as bbq sauce?

Thanks for the help.

jverdin · May 27, 2008

Right On Man

meowey · May 27, 2008

Fat cap up or down is a matter of personal preference. I do it fat cap down because the fat will insulate the meat from heat spikes. Fat cap down also promotes good bark development. Butts have a lot of internal fat and connective tissue that keeps the meat moist.

A finishing sauce is not the same as BBQ sauce. I use a finishing sauce and serve BBQ sauce on the side and allow the consumer to add what they want. Try the one found at this link.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...read.php?t=487

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

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