The Pulled Pork Thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yup, I have that experience now, Coach. JL, Sounds like I need to keep some notes like you mention, and refer to them in the future to remind myself. Can't count on everything going perfectly every time I light the smoker. Thanks to you all for the comments.

Oh, you should absolutely keep an electronic journal with your recipes and cooking details (weights, times, temps, pellets), outcomes, etc. I refer to mine all the time. No way you can possibly remember everything.

[FN Phat]

Oh, you should absolutely keep an electronic journal with your recipes and cooking details (weights, times, temps, pellets), outcomes, etc. I refer to mine all the time. No way you can possibly remember everything.

It would make a great addition, to each thread dedicated to the various pieces of meat, if folks felt inclined to post said e-journals. It is good to learn from others and know where to make tweaks if you have similar variables.

[Joe Public]

I let it cook and cook and cook, and the meat temps just never really rose. After 10.5 hours, the temps were still around 170. I was pretty disappointed. I finally cranked up the heat to 275 and got the meat temp up to 185 when family arrived for dinner. I gave up and pulled it off the smoker and let it rest for 30 minutes, figuring we'd have to go with sliced pork instead of pulled pork.

Mine yesterday took 16 hours. Part of the reason was I cooked at 200 the first 6 hours trying to get more smoke flavor to compensate for no sugar in the rub. Turned out really different but really good.

The shoulders I cooked in my post in this thread, also a Costco two-pack, took 15 to 16 hours to get up to temperature. I know others have mentioned it, mtnbiker, but you can try wrapping the shoulders in foil (and perhaps a little apple juice) once they reach 150F degrees. That stops the evaporative cooling and shortens the cooking time. I have not tried it yet.

[FMCoug]

The BBQ adage "it takes as long as it takes" is a really accurate one. Ribs are about the only thing I trust to be a consistent cook time. Brisket and pork butts seem to range wildly. I've had butts cook in 8 hours and as long as 14 ...

[mtnbiker]

The shoulders I cooked in my post in this thread, also a Costco two-pack, took 15 to 16 hours to get up to temperature. I know others have mentioned it, mtnbiker, but you can try wrapping the shoulders in foil (and perhaps a little apple juice) once they reach 150F degrees. That stops the evaporative cooling and shortens the cooking time. I have not tried it yet.

I went through the first half-dozen or so pages of the thread before cooking, but don't remember seeing anything about the extra-long cooks. I also don't remember reading about shortening the cooking time once the meat reaches 150 degrees. I should have paid better attention. I was thinking that foiling too early would soften up the bark, though, so I was hesitant to do that.

We had about half of each shoulder left over, and put them into the oven at 225 degrees this evening after getting home from work. It's been an hour and a half, and it's already much better. My wife and I sampled a corner, and it pulled apart pretty well and tasted great, so I had to sample some more just to make sure. And a little more just to make sure of that. Yum! A little experience goes a long way with this stuff. And I really appreciate all the posts about each variety of meat and side dishes. Great stuff.

[San Juan Sun]

So I'm doing spur-of-the-moment pulled pork. It will be my maiden voyage.

I used this thread as a primer, and made a huge shopping list. I was going to the store, but I got really busy at work, and had to send my wife. She came through with 18 lbs of bone-in shoulder. I barely got home before sundown to clean out the Yoder (I had some nasty charcoal/oak pellets in there) and my girl had the butt washed, patted down, and ready to slather on some mustard.

So here's the deets:

Meat: Pork shoulder (two large butts)

Rub:
- 1. Butt Rub halved with brown sugar on French's Spicy Deli mustard
- 2. Slap Yo Daddy on French's yellow mustard

Wood: Hickory pellets (Lumberjack)

Temp: 225 degrees

Smoking Plan: Smoke for 12 hours (7pm-7am), then into the oven at 175 for another 5-6. (Son has football game at 9am, will need to be off smoker in time for game.) Not foiling, just putting it in a large roasting pan with a raised base over apple juice/water.

Sauce: Making a mustard based sauce from amazingribs.com

Extra: Making a vinegar/sugar slaw from fresh cabbage and carrots. The extra butt will be for homemade tacos at big family Sunday dinner

[San Juan Sun]

Quick update: it got pretty cold in the high desert last night. I reloaded the hopper at midnight (it was about halfway down) and at 7am the hopper was empty. I ended up using maybe 30 lbs in pellets, mainly hickory with some mesquite. My internal temps were still good, so I think I caught it just in time. I'm leaving the house now, but after being in the oven for 10 minutes, the whole house smells of pork goodness.

[FN Phat]

[Jeff Lebowski]

Quick update: it got pretty cold in the high desert last night. I reloaded the hopper at midnight (it was about halfway down) and at 7am the hopper was empty. I ended up using maybe 30 lbs in pellets, mainly hickory with some mesquite. My internal temps were still good, so I think I caught it just in time. I'm leaving the house now, but after being in the oven for 10 minutes, the whole house smells of pork goodness.

Wow. I think the most I have ever used on one cook is 12-13 lbs.

[Coach McGuirk]

Holy freaka moly SJS, 30 lbs!! That must have been a cold night.

[FN Phat]

Holy freaka moly SJS, 30 lbs!! That must have been a cold night.

or the Yoder is a hawg.

[CJF]

Holy freaka moly SJS, 30 lbs!! That must have been a cold night.

With my Memphis I've gone over night in single digit temps and only used about 10 pounds. SJS, you may have a problem with you seal somewhere.

[TripletDaddy]

With my Memphis I've gone over night in single digit temps and only used about 10 pounds. SJS, you may have a problem with you seal somewhere.

What do San Juan Sun and a walrus have in common?

They are both looking for a tight seal.

[San Juan Sun]

Not the thread, just my posts. So much going on today that I didn't get pictures taken. I guess that's what happens when you cook in the dark. I will get pictures tomorrow of our pork tacos.

Honestly, the butts turned out beautifully. So much delicious meat, we fed about 10 people and we still have two huge containers full of meat in the fridge. Great smoke ring, even better taste. I really like the Slap Yo Daddy rub. The mustard sauce (Columbia Gold from amazingribs.com) was pretty good. It completely changed the sandwich, but in a good way. While you could taste the mustard, it was pretty attenuated and pleasant. The vinegar slaw was awesome: fresh, tangy, but added a lightness to the sandwich that a creamy slaw doesn't.

We had a few family members come over, but I didn't know they had arrived yet. My wife told me the rub was really good, and I said (in a suggestive way) something like "Yep, I sure like to rub that butt." The family all heard me. At that point, I think you just have to own it.

[oxcoug]

What shld I expect to pay for quality pork shoulder?

My local highend grocery butcher just charged me $6.99 per lb - feeling like I got pork raped.