What sauce do you use when smoking pork shoulders


 

DanielJJackson

New member
Hey everyone just got into smoking about a month ago. Upgraded from a 40 dollar home depot smoker to a 18.5 WSM. I am going to be smoking my first pork shoulder butt this Friday night to Saturday morning. Have a apple rub on it now just wondering what sauce can I put on them near end to to get that great pulled pork taste. Thanks guys.
 
Hey everyone just got into smoking about a month ago. Upgraded from a 40 dollar home depot smoker to a 18.5 WSM. I am going to be smoking my first pork shoulder butt this Friday night to Saturday morning. Have a apple rub on it now just wondering what sauce can I put on them near end to to get that great pulled pork taste. Thanks guys.

search for finishing sauces, some people will mix a little apple juice, defatted meat drippings, apple cider vinegar, or their mop, and add a tsp of rub per handful or pound of pulled meat.

I kind of just like the defatted juices and rub, but preferences vary.

I also like to go fairly heavy with stronger smoke woods for big cuts of meat (and thin too :) ), but start slow, especially if you plan on using water in the pan, I just run my pan dry.

Post pics, & Velcome to TVWBB!

https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?61360-Pulled-Pork-finishing-sauce-from-Bryan-S-the-RSC-man
 
I have never sauced a butt in the smoker. In fact on several occasions I've done them completely naked -- no sauce, no rub, just a big hunk of hog, heat, and smoke. Some have been better than others but even the worst of them has been pretty darn tasty.

I've done sauce for application at the table. I'm always trying something different, though usually it's a mix of ketchup, apple cider vinegar, some kind of sugar, and something to give it a little kick. I'm sure you'll be able to find several good recipes here in the forums and also on the main site.
 
Like others, I've never sauced the butts in the smoker, typically just a dry rub immediately prior to smoking. Good amount of cherry is my favorite. My friends are mixed, some like their pork sauced in BBQ sauce, the more refined ones like it "plain", but with a finishing sauce, either a mustard based or Scott's clone. We also tend to use the Pulled Pork in other meals such as mexican, where sauced would clash with the other flavors.

At the end of the day, there is probably no wrong answer, particularly if you like how it comes out! The fun comes in trying all the different approaches and figuring out which works best for you.
 
I inject my butts, use a rub, foil after the bark is set (typically 160-170 degrees internal temps) by placing the butt in a foil pan with some apple juice and tightly sealing with foil. I pull it when it is tender (normally 195-205 degrees internally). We defat the juices, then freeze them as we vacuum pack the left overs for later use. We mix some of the thawed juices with the pork when we re-heat it. We always cook way more than we immediate need. Pulled pork is VERY useful for a variety of dishes and on short notice.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Like others, I've never sauced the butts in the smoker, typically just a dry rub immediately prior to smoking. Good amount of cherry is my favorite. My friends are mixed, some like their pork sauced in BBQ sauce, the more refined ones like it "plain", but with a finishing sauce, either a mustard based or Scott's clone. We also tend to use the Pulled Pork in other meals such as mexican, where sauced would clash with the other flavors.
Have you tried peach smoke wood? I got a mixed box from Fruita Wood this year and really love the peach with pork. The milder fruit woods like cherry, apple and peach seem to compliment the pork rather than overwhelm it.

Pulled pork nachos! Mmmmm... One time I had some left over pulled pork but had run out of buns. The only "bread" I had at hand was a package of tortillas. So I rolled up some pulled pork topped with a cooked tomato/chile salsa I'd made and rolled it up in a tortilla. Expecting a serious clash of cultures I took my first bite. To my great surprise that was one of the tastiest things I've ever put in my mouth. Sorry to deviate from the topic of pulled pork sauce, but you mentioned Mexican and I couldn't help thinking of that.
 
Thanks you guys right now shoulder is in there smoking right now its at about 166 waiting to see when It stalls so i can wrap it

I haven't been smoking a long time like most the guys here, but through experimentation I've grown accustomed to (learned) foiling between 147-150F IT range. The foil (double) really lets it push through the stall like it's not even there.

Like Robert, I don't sauce. I pour off the juices, de-fat (and strain), then boil (to reduce and concentrate the flavors). I pour 1 cup over 1 butt and mix it in (toss, as in like a salad). Store bought sauce is available on the side, but we don't really use it.

We also use vacuum seal bags and freeze. I usually measure them out in 1# packages (2-4 sammies). What's easy here is re-heating. I boil the bags. It retains the juices so the meat is always moist.
 
With my most recent Pork Shoulders (and I have cooked-up about 8 of them in the past 2 months..) I have:

-Trimmed the fat cap and some of the externally visible fat seams out more thoroughly than I have in the past
(I think that this gives me more bark that otherwise gets tossed with the gobs of fat)

-Applied a fairly heavy coat of rub somewhere between 4 and 10 hours before putting them on the smoker
(I have a "tweaked" version of the Chris Lilly championship rub - use ALL Turbinado Sugar in place of white / brown, cut-down on the Paprika and up the Oregano [And mill it fine in a Mortar/Pestle])
(I used to use yellow mustard before the rub - but the rub that I use actually wets-out fairly quickly and tastes better without it)

-Smoke over lump with quite a bit of 50/50 chunks of Apple & Hickory

-NO Sauce or mop during the smoking - my butcher has pretty fatty shoulders that are usually around 20-lb for a 2-piece cryopac

-Mix-in a little dusting of rub with the pulled meat (gets some salt / flavor into the deep-inner meat that doesn't get reached by the rub/bark)

-Put on a sammie with some Slaw and my doctored sauce that is a bit vinegary, but also has some Chipotle in Adobo and Bourbon in it
 
My father in law does a pork shoulder a couple of times a year and I don't think he uses a sauce during the cook, just on the table. That sauce he uses is a mixture of Sweet Baby Ray's and Cattleman's. It's not complicated, but you get a little heat, a little sweet, and it's pretty good.
 
We've always used Blues Hog Tennessee Red on our pulled pork. A little sweet, a little heat, and a little vinegar, plus that definitive Blues Hog flavor.
 
Thanks you guys right now shoulder is in there smoking right now its at about 166 waiting to see when It stalls so i can wrap it

Wrap when butt is the color you want no matter the temp. At that time, you are done smoking and just want to tenderize. My sauce is always just on the side.
 
I inject a mixture of apple cider/juice and a couple of Tbsp. of the rub I'm using. No sauce or mops during the cook and have # 5 sauce available on the side.
We use the pork for various dishes from omelets to tacos and enchiladas so I don't sauce during the cook, just the rub.
 
I'm another one who doesn't sauce butt during the cook No. 5 sauce is always available on the side.

I've served pulled pork to friends before and set the table with commercial sauces and No. 5 in a squeeze bottle. Folks almost always go for the home-made, and they love it.

I have a double batch of No. 5 warming on the stove right now. It's going on some spares tonight.
 

 

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