Newbie on here & to smoking

[RobinT]

Just got our first smoker. First attempt to use was for Father's Day. Second use is to make pulled pork sliders from two relatively large Boston butts for an event Sat evening. I'd love some feedback on the following questions:

1) Dry or wet brine?
2) With me hosting the event & having other tasks that also have to be done on Sat, any thoughts on having meat done the day before? If so, best way to rewarm the meat & I should wait to shred it until just before serving, right?

I'm cheating & buying a really good sauce from a local barbeque place to take that stress off myself because I would be likely to get worked up over details like that.

 

[JLeonard]

Hey Robin! Welcome to the forum. Lots of info to be gleaned from the search feature. There are a ton of folks on here with lots of knowledge.I steer you to the search feature 'cause i'm still a newbie and learning also. And we like food porn, so brush up on your picture taking.

 

[JC in GB]

In answer to your questions:

1) Dry or wet brine is your choice depending on what your end product expectations are. Both work fine. If I am trying to impress folks, I like to inject my pork shoulder then put a dry rub on the outside. I will also rub the shoulder generously and wrap and chill it overnight in the fridge if I don't inject it.

2) Pulled pork works very well for making ahead of time. When I am going to do that, I make sure to collect all the juice while it is resting and mix it back in before after shredding and before putting in the fridge. You don't want to put a whole hot roast in the fridge. It may not cool fast enough to remain in the safe zone. Shred the pork then put the pan in the fridge. You will need to get the IT of the shoulder around 200 F to shred it.

Additional notes: Good pulled pork won't require sauce. That said, I love sauce on my pulled pork sandwiches. I like to serve my pulled pork with an array of condiments such as, pickled jalapeno and/or banana peppers, raw sliced onion, sweet/hot pickles.

Hope this helps.

JC

 

[schlotz]

Looks like you are diving right in. Personally I'd shred and let cool before placing in the fridge, then reheat in the oven on Saturday. Make sure you mix all the the juices in when you shred. Don't know what kind of smoker you are using but if it's one that doesn't require tending it's pretty easy to have both butts done by 3pm and then stored in a cooler with towels until you are ready to shred for pulled pork. Butts are quite forgiving and can be smoked at all different temps 225-350º. I favor starting @190º for 1-2 hours then bumping to 250º-ish. For a brine (I don't inject) take a look at the recipe in my sig below for an idea.

 

[smokerjim]

Welcome to smf, I agree with JC, smoking and pulling in advance is no problem, when I reheat it I put in covered aluminum pans, I mix some bbq sauce in with it for a little more moisture then put more sauce on the side if people want to add more. You can even smoke the sauce a little to to give the pulled pork a little more smokey flavor.

 

[flatbroke]

Welcome to SMF.

 

[D.W.]

Only thing I would add to all this advice that has you covered, is sprinkling the pulled pork with your dry rub when you go to reheat it.

 

[RobinT]

Looks like you are diving right in. Personally I'd shred and let cool before placing in the fridge, then reheat in the oven on Saturday. Make sure you mix all the the juices in when you shred. Don't know what kind of smoker you are using but if it's one that doesn't require tending it's pretty easy to have both butts done by 3pm and then stored in a cooler with towels until you are ready to shred for pulled pork. Butts are quite forgiving and can be smoked at all different temps 225-350º. I favor starting @190º for 1-2 hours then bumping to 250º-ish. For a brine (I don't inject) take a look at the recipe in my sig below for an idea.

Maybe I'm not sure where to look, but I'm not seeing A signature with a recipe. Thank you for helping out a newbie!

 

[smokerjim]

Maybe I'm not sure where to look, but I'm not seeing A signature with a recipe. Thank you for helping out a newbie!

if you look at the bottom of his post you'll a link that reads your first butt.

 

[RobinT]

if you look at the bottom of his post you'll a link that reads your first butt.

Thank you. Interesting discovery, it depends on how my phone is turned whether that portion shows or not. Portrait orientation doesn't include it on any of the posts, but if I turn it sideways - there it is. Thanks for "pointing me in the right direction" (ha!)

 

[RobinT]

Prepped butts yesterday. Got smoker lit around 0410, meat on by 0440. Here's current status. Pan was a bit full of "gold" so I took some off to save for adding back. Temp low b/c just rotated pan so the door had been open. Never posted pics of my cooking before, but it was suggested so when on SMF do as the smokers do. :-) Bumping smoker up slowly b/c of rain. Any other recommendations? My plan is to take it off before heading to the ceremony & let it rest then pull it after back home & get in fridge until tomorrow then warm up in electric roasting pan that we will be serving it in.

 

[schlotz]

You might want to consider removing some of the fat cap for your next smoke.

 

[RobinT]

You might want to consider removing some of the fat cap for your next smoke.

From the grocery it was trimmed to where there was only a fat cap covering maybe 2/3 of the surface. What was still there was pretty thick but since it didn't cover it, I was a bit skittish of removing any more. But yes, I agree in seeing how it is doing.

 

[phatbac]

Welcome to SMF from North Carolina!

looks like you found a new addiction/hobby and we all love it. ask all the questions you want and dont be afraid of the search to see what was done before.

For pulled pork i like to keep it simple. trim the fat cap it wont render and no one wants to eat it. i coat liberally with Lowery's seasoned salt and let sit overnight in the fridge. in the morning i put it on a pit at about 250-275 and smoke for 7-8 hours until about 200 IT and then wrap in foil and let rest for a couple hours and pull warm or save until im going to eat it reheat and pull warm. YMMV.

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[RobinT]

Hey Robin! Welcome to the forum. Lots of info to be gleaned from the search feature. There are a ton of folks on here with lots of knowledge.I steer you to the search feature 'cause i'm still a newbie and learning also. And we like food porn, so brush up on your picture taking.

I added some below.

 

[JLeonard]

R RobinT Good start on the butts. One of the reasons we like pics, other than the obvious (gawking at your food) is sometimes a pic helps to visualize what you got going on. Especially if your asking questions about smoker performance and etc. But mainly we are food gawkers.

 

[RobinT]

R RobinT Good start on the butts. One of the reasons we like pics, other than the obvious (gawking at your food) is sometimes a pic helps to visualize what you got going on. Especially if your asking questions about smoker performance and etc. But mainly we are food gawkers.

That makes sense. Left to my own devices, I wouldn't have posted pics until I felt confident or as it pertained to a specific question. I fully acknowledge being a newbie.