Here ya go, fellas...just a couple pics in good faith. Man, my wife and kids are saying I'm
the Bbq chef, and all sorts of other nice stuff this morning...they really like the sliced and pulled pork...well, I do too. I know one thing, it would be a crying shame to not make these recipes again. If you guys and gals can get the apple/cherry/rpb thing goin' on? Man, it's like getting your first dutch oven...it opens up new horizons that you didn't even know existed. And, it's not just for
this brine & dry rub, I've done tons of stuff with the rbp, the cherry has been great to work with since I started with it, and the apple is a fairly new thing for me (just a few months), but the eats I've created with these are just ROCKIN'!!!
I didn't get a pic of the foil, but it just had maybe a tablespoon of rendered fat and that was it...didn't looser much of anything while resting, so that was pretty neat to see. The bowl of PP has no added liquids of any kind...just tossed pork.
That's a BIG bowl, at 12 qts, so it dwarfs the amount of PP. I pulled this with nothing but my long handled stainless tongs...seriously. No forks, no hot-hands gloves...1 set of tongs. This butt rested for 7 hours and was still pretty hot. Not hot enough to burn my hands on the foil as soon as you touched it, but inside was steaming when I peeled it open. Between the long rest and the brine, I think they both had a bit of influence on the pulling.
My wife says I haven't made any this good yet...I've done some mighty good eating pulled pork, but yea, this is topping my list at this point. Another "must redo"...heck, what do I mean? I don't have a list, I just go with the flow. Anyway, two more butts are thawing since yesterday evening, and I know exactly what their fate will be...I'm thinkin' 5-6 days thawing like these two had and 3-4 days brining for another round.
OH CRAP!!! I just had a very humbling thought: if I keep going like this, I won't have any way to top my last smokes! What the heck will I have to look forward to then? Well, I will admit, I'd hve tons of great smoked/grilled meats to chow-down on, but is that where it ends? OK, I guess it'll come to me...I'm always looking for ways to make my food even better than it already is, so I guess if I started thinking that what I have may be as good as it gets, well, that would be like turning off my creativity circuit...flipping the switch...can't let that happen! I'll just keep on rolling with what ever feels good at the time...
Awesome Eric, I'll be curious to see if you like the sliced or pulled better. One things for sure I bet that bark tastes unbelievably good!
Thanks, you know, I find it difficult to choose which I like best...they're both really fine eating. The sliced gives some varying flavors throughout the meat due to the brine penetration, which is really cool to experience those layers of flavor. The PP is so tender with good moisture and the flavors of the brine, meat and bark are all sort of mixed together to some extent. There's still alot of intact bark to chew on as well. Dang, that's a tough one to answer, brother...OK, I think for me it's the sliced...maybe just because I've had alot of pulled and not sliced shoulder from the smoker...hmm...yep, tough to answer.
I will say that with the sliced there is a nicer bark due to not being in the foil for as long as the PP. The PP bark got really soft after the long rest, but either way, the flavors of the smoke and rub just come out screaming...in a good way. I think the tart cherry has its role in this because I taste that zestiness...very nice. The overall flavor profile is really a kick in the pants for me. Not a spicy-heat, even with all that cayenne in the brine, it seems to have smoothed over and melded together so well.
Just got done reading all of this---You must be a speed typer!
That bark is totally over the top!
And your close-ups are Awesome---And then they're even zoomable!
I hate when I left click on somebody's Qview, to zoom in, and the picture that shows up is the same size. Don't know what they do, but it defeats the whole purpose of being able to zoom in!!!!
I'll take a bark sammie, please!
Now I'm ready for that pulled pork!
Bear
Ha-ha! I get a bit too fast on the keys at times, though, and make a ton of typos. Gotta pace myself sometimes if I get too excited about what I want to say.
Yea, that bark? Man, it's so dark, especially on the pulled shoulder due to being in the heat for so much longer. But, a charred taste? I didn't find it at all...just a really deep carmelized flavor from those natural sugars and oils.
The pics? I have noticed that on some posts myself. I think they may be zooming in with the camera, or something else with pic sizing when they upload...not sure. I don't mess with mine at all. And I find that if I zoom with the camera, the pics get grainy and coarse, so I like to bring it in as close as I can get it to focus and watch the angles so the flash doesn't make a shadow in the foreground.
Oh, the sliced bark was phenominal...still had some crunchy chewy goodness after the short foiled resting. Pulled was pretty good too, just softened up quite a bit.
Wheew! What a smoke! Get yourselves some dried rbp, apple and cherry. If you can't locate these from a local source and have to go online to order, the shipping will likely be a bit spendy, but it would be worth it just for the experience of something like we just had here with this smoke. If you like, PM me, and I'll help you find a source. I don't have a
dehydrator, so I buy all three of them ready to hit the grinder.
Good eats and great smokes, everyone!
Eric