The Pulled Pork Thread

[Joe Public]

I smoked two pork shoulders and a brisket this weekend. It was a little tricky at times, but it's nice to know I can do it.

For the pulled pork, I went with the Costco two-pack. I rubbed the shoulders with a homemade rub based on Alton Brown's 8-3-1-1 method. I liked the rub and plan to post the recipe in the rub thread when I get a chance. It was cold and windy when I smoked, but the ceramic cooker held a constant 220F degrees. I smoked with pecan wood; I'll be doing that again.

When the shoulders were at around 150F degrees, I placed them in a foil pan with a little apple juice and sealed it with aluminum foil. I let the pork get to 199F degrees internal temperature, then I put it in a 180F-degree oven for another 90 minutes instead of FTCing.

It's probably the best pulled pork I've done yet. Here's a phone shot of a sandwich with the pork and some amazingribs.com South Carolina mustard sauce on a kaiser roll:

[wuapinmon]

If anyone wants me to send them any Uncle Albert's Mustard BBQ sauce, I can get it here for about $6 per bottle. I don't know what a gallon costs. The stuff is perfect mustard sauce. Perfect.

http://unclealbertsbbqsauce.com/index.htm

[Drunk Tank]

Got an early start on a cook for a "support group" my wife is part of. Really it is just a social club consisting of some of my wife's co-workers who get together once a month and party. It is usually a pretty good time. Normally they meet in a restaurant or bar but they decided to have a potluck this time.

2 pork butts with Byron's butt rub and a brisket with just salt and pepper. I am going to try the Franklin method with the butcher paper wrap. Hope it turn out good.

[FN Phat]

How did it turn out, DT?

[Drunk Tank]

How did it turn out, DT?

Pulled pork turned out great! I made this Eastern N. Carolina vinegar based sauce that everyone loved. I had never had PP with the vinegar sauce but it was pretty good. The brisket was sub par. It was really small at just a little over 8lbs when trimmed. It cooked much faster than I had expected. i went golfing in the morning and when I got back, it was too late. The flat was really dry but the area with the point was still moist and delish! I really like the salt and pepper rub. I'll try it again but with a bigger brisket next time.

I am smoking 4 more pork butts for Thanksgiving. Our extended family is all getting together and that is what I have been asked to bring. I am a little bummed I wont be smoking a turkey this year.

[mtnbiker]

I cooked 2 pork shoulders from Costco two weeks ago, but hadn't written anything about it yet. Time to rectify that. I rubbed one in Spade L Ranch, the other with Bad Byron's Butt Rub, but heavier application with both than I'd done previously. The other time I tried pulled pork, the meat was way undercooked from what I'd wanted. I put that one on at 5am, so this time the pork went into the smoker at 225 degrees at 12 midnight, using Traeger Apple pellets.

The pork stalled at 155 for quite a while, then finally started moving up. By about 3pm they were up to 185. They didn't seem to go beyond that, so I finally pulled them at 3:45 (after having used about 2/3 of the bag of pellets), put them in foil pans, covered with foil, and put in the oven at 225 with a little over a cup of liquid, 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice. At 4:30 I reduced that to 180. Pulled from the oven and rested for 10 minutes or so, then pulled. One pulled apart very easily, the other, which was thicker, was a little tougher to pull. They were very tasty, though. Bark was a little dry. We thought the Spade L Ranch was more flavorful. The Butt Rub seemed to be a little bland, like last time, even though I put more of it on this time.

After dinner, as my wife was putting the meat away, she thought it was maybe a little more tender after having sat for the extra half hour. It seems crazy that it took so long to cook through, but that seems to be my fate with pork. I'm not sure if I'd start even earlier next time for a longer cook, or if I should just pull it off the Traeger earlier and finish in the oven at a higher temp to save pellets. I don't suppose I'd lose any smoke/wood flavor by doing that?

We froze some, and had it a week and a half later in yakisoba. It was definitely a different taste for yakisoba, but very tasty.

[Joe Public]

I cooked 2 pork shoulders from Costco two weeks ago, but hadn't written anything about it yet. Time to rectify that. I rubbed one in Spade L Ranch, the other with Bad Byron's Butt Rub, but heavier application with both than I'd done previously. The other time I tried pulled pork, the meat was way undercooked from what I'd wanted. I put that one on at 5am, so this time the pork went into the smoker at 225 degrees at 12 midnight, using Traeger Apple pellets.

The pork stalled at 155 for quite a while, then finally started moving up. By about 3pm they were up to 185. They didn't seem to go beyond that, so I finally pulled them at 3:45 (after having used about 2/3 of the bag of pellets), put them in foil pans, covered with foil, and put in the oven at 225 with a little over a cup of liquid, 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice. At 4:30 I reduced that to 180. Pulled from the oven and rested for 10 minutes or so, then pulled. One pulled apart very easily, the other, which was thicker, was a little tougher to pull. They were very tasty, though. Bark was a little dry. We thought the Spade L Ranch was more flavorful. The Butt Rub seemed to be a little bland, like last time, even though I put more of it on this time.

After dinner, as my wife was putting the meat away, she thought it was maybe a little more tender after having sat for the extra half hour. It seems crazy that it took so long to cook through, but that seems to be my fate with pork. I'm not sure if I'd start even earlier next time for a longer cook, or if I should just pull it off the Traeger earlier and finish in the oven at a higher temp to save pellets. I don't suppose I'd lose any smoke/wood flavor by doing that?

Just saw this. It looks good. I think common consensus is that the meat stops taking smoke at around 140F to 150F degrees internal temperature. If you move to the oven at that point, you shouldn't lose any flavor.

You might also try crutching the meat if you want to avoid the stall. I wrap in foil and a little apple juice once the internal temp hits about 150F degrees. It literally shaves hours off of your cook time (at least that's been my experience).

[CJF]

I'm doing my first boneless butt tomorrow. I'm turning into a huge wuss the older I get. I'm contemplating doing them in the oven since it is so ridiculously cold right now.

[Drunk Tank]

Going to be a long weekend!

[Joe Public]

Going to be a long weekend!

That's awesome.

[Drunk Tank]

[Jeff Lebowski]

Wow. What a beautiful sight. I had a tough time getting four of those to fit in my smoker a couple of weeks ago.

I am doing a brisket/ribs duo today for about 14 people. That works out nicely because I can stagger the time in the smoker.

[Surfah]

Hey Drunk Tank how do you like your frog mats? What size did you get? That's a lot of pork to pull.

Also am I the only one who didn't know there is a gland you're supposed to remove from the pork shoulder. I attended a sausage making class at our local butcher and he showed us how to prep a shoulder. On the neck side there is a small gland about the size of a jelly bean that should be cut out. It won't kill you, but it will be an unfortunate tasting bite for whoever gets it.

Btw, I got a vacuum sealer. Two weeks ago I smoked a Costco two pack. I pulled it and sealed it in two pound portions. Last night we had some. Just dropped the vacuum bag into boiling water to reheat. It was just as juicy and fresh tasting as it was two weeks ago.

[Drunk Tank]

Hey Drunk Tank how do you like your frog mats? What size did you get? That's a lot of pork to pull.

Also am I the only one who didn't know there is a gland you're supposed to remove from the pork shoulder. I attended a sausage making class at our local butcher and he showed us how to prep a shoulder. On the neck side there is a small gland about the size of a jelly bean that should be cut out. It won't kill you, but it will be an unfortunate tasting bite for whoever gets it.

Btw, I got a vacuum sealer. Two weeks ago I smoked a Costco two pack. I pulled it and sealed it in two pound portions. Last night we had some. Just dropped the vacuum bag into boiling water to reheat. It was just as juicy and fresh tasting as it was two weeks ago.

First time using the frogmats. My sister got it for me for Christmas. I think it was a 20" square that I cut to size.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Btw, I got a vacuum sealer. Two weeks ago I smoked a Costco two pack. I pulled it and sealed it in two pound portions. Last night we had some. Just dropped the vacuum bag into boiling water to reheat. It was just as juicy and fresh tasting as it was two weeks ago.

We love our vacuum sealer, but I haven't tried it on pulled pork like that. Great suggestion. Thanks.