I just broke out my smoker for the first time this year for the Fourth (shame on me). We were hosting a small party so I decided to smoke a pork butt in advance. I made a few modifications in the procedure to what I would normally do.
I rubbed the pork 3 nights before the party. Two days before the party I smoked the meat. The pork butt was 7.5 lbs and I just didn't have a ton of time that day, so I cooked it at around 260-270 degrees (normally I would try to keep it at 220). When the meat hit 120 internal temp, I stopped the smoke and put it in a tin and covered it tightly with foil. The temperature was up and down but I maintained a rough average of about 275 after that. The pork reached internal temp of 205 around 6 hrs and 45 minutes. The pan was full of juice and the meat was falling off the bone. Almost all of the meat pulled easily (with the exception of a small portion in the middle that required a little effort). Afterwards I bagged the shredded meat and all of the juice in a ziploc bag and kept it refrigerated until the party 2 days later.
When party time arrived, I heated up the oven to 350, put all the meat into a disposable tin pan and covered with foil. After awhile (30 min to an hour ... the party was going on so I didn't keep track very well... I just waited until the meat was warm-hot when I stuck my finger in it) we put the tray on a sterno rack and served with a vinegar based sauce.
I was unsure how this whole process was going to go, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the meat very smoky (even though it only accepted smoke for about 3 hours), tender and moist.
The moral of the story: In order to save some time I smoked at a higher temp and cooked a few days in advance and still had amazing results! The results were at least equal to the really low and slow, and I would consider smoking pulled port this way routinely in the future. Also, for those of us in regions where tomato based sauces are the norm, try a vinegar based sauce. Mix it with some slaw and put it on a CWB.
Any comments would be appreciated!
Joe
I rubbed the pork 3 nights before the party. Two days before the party I smoked the meat. The pork butt was 7.5 lbs and I just didn't have a ton of time that day, so I cooked it at around 260-270 degrees (normally I would try to keep it at 220). When the meat hit 120 internal temp, I stopped the smoke and put it in a tin and covered it tightly with foil. The temperature was up and down but I maintained a rough average of about 275 after that. The pork reached internal temp of 205 around 6 hrs and 45 minutes. The pan was full of juice and the meat was falling off the bone. Almost all of the meat pulled easily (with the exception of a small portion in the middle that required a little effort). Afterwards I bagged the shredded meat and all of the juice in a ziploc bag and kept it refrigerated until the party 2 days later.
When party time arrived, I heated up the oven to 350, put all the meat into a disposable tin pan and covered with foil. After awhile (30 min to an hour ... the party was going on so I didn't keep track very well... I just waited until the meat was warm-hot when I stuck my finger in it) we put the tray on a sterno rack and served with a vinegar based sauce.
I was unsure how this whole process was going to go, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the meat very smoky (even though it only accepted smoke for about 3 hours), tender and moist.
The moral of the story: In order to save some time I smoked at a higher temp and cooked a few days in advance and still had amazing results! The results were at least equal to the really low and slow, and I would consider smoking pulled port this way routinely in the future. Also, for those of us in regions where tomato based sauces are the norm, try a vinegar based sauce. Mix it with some slaw and put it on a CWB.
Any comments would be appreciated!
Joe
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