4th Cook on 22.5 WSM and First Pork Butt


 
MickHLR

MickHLR

TVWBB Fan
I cooked a pork shoulder weekend-before-last on my new 22.5 WSM. Was very impressed, so thought I'd try a butt this past weekend. Had a 9 lb butt, rubbed it up Friday night and put it in the fridge. Set it out Saturday night about 10:00pm, then started up the WSM. About 11:00pm, the smoker was ready for meat.

IMG_7366_zpsbj1yk19e.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

11:00pm...I've got TBS, and the Auber temp controller has it sitting right on 235*...put the butt on the WSM...goodnight, see you in the morning.

IMG_7413_zpsuuajm8j3.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

At 8:00am, still sitting on 235*. I used an Auber this time, as last weekend I woke up to a 200* grate temp. The Auber was awesome. I stirred up my coals, and added 6-8 double handfuls charcoal...and, I'm still amazed that I have not had any thick white smoke when doing that. Internal temp was sitting on 169*. I took off the cover, spritzed it and left it alone for another hour...then spritzed it again once an hour for the next 5 hours, before it finally reached 200* internal.

In the pic below, it was about 11:00am, the butt had been on 12 hours, and we still had a couple hours to go...this was the last spritz. It was really starting to look good, and you could see the bone loosening up.

IMG_7419_zpscuj1qgay.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

When I finally took it off, I had to be careful, as the bone was wanting to fall out. It had that Jello-wiggle feeling that I love in butts and briskets. Knew it was going to be good.

IMG_7421_zpsnzlgktgj.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

One little tug, and the bone came out cleanly. And, it was so juicy...I couldn't help but do some "testing" just to make sure it was fit to serve. :rolleyes:

IMG_7423_zpswglcax3u.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

It was by-far the best one I've ever cooked, and even though I got all the credit, I owe it all to the WSM and the Auber. I'm getting lazier and lazier by the week, as I use this WSM. :wsm:

That's a lot of meat right there. This 9 lb butt made a whole lot more meat than that little 7 1/2 lb picnic shoulder I did the weekend before.

IMG_7427_zpsm9q9c5cu.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

And, a lot of my Texas friends give me heck because I love pulled pork with a vinegar-based sauce. Actually, I can't imagine eating it any other way. This is the sauce I make up, and I really like it with pulled pork. I've played with it through the years, and some people say it's too spicy, but I like it like that. ;)

  • 2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 3 tbsp Ketchup
  • 2 tbsp Paprika
  • 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 1 tbsp Tabasco Sauce
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tbsp Granulated Garlic
  • 1 tbsp Onion Powder
  • 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 2 tsp Black Pepper

Finished product.

IMG_7430_zpsdmnz9mxe.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
Great job on the pulled pork. I agree that it is needs a thin vinegar based sauce that is spicy. I could practically just put on some Louisiana hot sauce and be perfectly fine.
 
Thanks guys...I have to say, I'm liking pulled pork more and more. And, these were just test cooks, preparing me for a brisket, that turned out to be outstanding.

Sam, I hear you...this is the 3rd day in a row I have gone home for lunch to eat one. Now, I've got to make up some more sauce tonight, for tomorrow's lunch.

Cliff, you're welcome...hope you like it. I actually think I put at least 2 tablespoons of Tabasco though. My measurements for anything are not exact...as I don't really measure that much. But, it's close...and plenty spicy.

Andy, a man after my own heart...I think I could get by with just Tabasco sauce as well. ;) I sure couldn't use the thick sweet sauce like my wife likes, like Sweet Baby Ray's. I'd rather have no sauce. Being from Texas, and mainly have always cooked brisket, beef ribs, shoulder clod, and steaks...I'm not into any sauce anyway. In fact, when I smoke beef, and have people over, I won't even put sauce on the table...and tell them they have to try it without first...then if they think they just have to have sauce, I'll get 'em some. Pork is different...for my taste, anyway. But, even on this pork butt, I enjoyed picking around in it while pulling it. It was great with no sauce at all.

Bob, you are correct, it is enjoyable again. Kinda like it was 30 years ago, when I first started playing around with smoking meat. I didn't mind the work when I was younger. But, if there is a smoker made that takes all the work out of it, why not? Especially, for the cost of a 22.5" WSM...at $400. I think they could charge double that, and still sell the heck out of them. So far, I've gotten just as good, if not better, barbecue off this WSM as I could do on my stick burners, with not even a fourth the work.
 
Cliff, I also play around with a lot of different rubs...except on beef, then it's just salt and pepper. But, this is the rub I used on this butt. I've used it quite a bit without the mustard, and just added that for the first time on this smoke. I really liked the extra taste. See what you think. I also used to make it without the Allspice...just added it last year, and it gives it a totally different taste that I like.
  • 1 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Chili Powder
  • 1/4 Cup Paprika
  • 3 Tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 3 Tbsp Coarse Black Pepper
  • 3 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
  • 2 Tbsp Cumin
  • 2 Tbsp Coriander
  • 2 Tbsp Allspice
  • 2 Tbsp Onion Powder
  • 2 Tbsp Dry Brown Mustard
  • 1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
And, as you can tell in my first pic above, I apply it liberally. :)
 
Thanks guys...appreciate it.

Enrico, I use about 2/3 apple juice to 1/3 apple cider vinegar to spritz with...it does a pretty good job.

That's what I thought too, Dustin. And, I only used what would've been 1 post oak split...cut up into 8 chunks. A 14 hour cook on my stick burner would've used about 20 splits.

Now, I don't know what I'm going to do with all this wood I keep on hand. LOL!! Front 1/3 cord is post oak, middle 1/3 cord is red oak, and back 1/3 cord is hickory.

Homemade%20Wood%20Racks_2_zps7hebwagw.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
Mick, you are just taking names and kicking butt with your WSM. I've been printing your recipes you post, I hope I can do them some justice. Fantastic cook Mick!
 
Great looking pulled pork. Thank you for the recipe. Going to have to try that. A lot of high tech stuff going on there with the temp control. Maybe I should get more high tech. Your results sure do look worth it!
 
Thanks for the kind words guys. I've been smoking meat for a long time...over 30 years. And, I have debated on purchasing a WSM for years. But, I always said...Nah, I'm a purest, just give me some wood and let me go. Now that I have finally taken the plunge, I really wish I'd done it years ago. It's making my life so much easier...and I can actually sleep, as well as do other things, WHILE I'm smoking meat. That whole concept still amazes me. And, this 22.5 WSM is without a doubt the most amazing smoker I've ever seen. I've yet to smoke anything on it that didn't turn out perfect, with hardly any effort from me. My WSM has even cost my sister money, as her husband is getting him one now. He said he never had time to smoke meat the way I always have...but said he could do this. LOL!

ChuckO, I play with a lot of rubs and sauce concoctions, and think it's fun. Most of the time, when I make changes to one, it's when I'm eating, and thinking I want to add a little taste of this or that...or more of something. So, I'll make a note on my phone to try whatever it may be. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. But, a few have stood the tests of time.

Robert T, I agree on the "high tech stuff" and never thought I'd be one of "those guys". LOL!! I'm just an old country boy from a small town in East Texas, and I've always considered myself a meat smoking purest. But, lately I've been rethinking that, and going more for less work...which is what led me to the WSM in the first place. I actually debated back and forth between the XL BGE and the 22.5 WSM for a while. And, have friends with both. And, when all is considered, I think the WSM is a lot better fit for me. So, after my first weekend of smoking a couple slabs of spare ribs, a ham, and a pork shoulder, I thought it was the easiest cooks I ever had. Even though I woke up on my first overnight cook to a 200* grate temp on the pork shoulder, it didn't affect anything on the cook and came right back up to temp when I stirred the coals and added more charcoal.

And, I saw on here where others were talking about their Digi Q or their Auber, and how they would hold temp. And, I thought if I could do an overnight cook, and have a device like this really control the temp, that would make it even easier. So I started researching them. Both of those are fairly affordable, with the Auber being the least expensive at only $140...so, I thought I'd give it a shot. And, if I didn't like it, I haven't lost much. And, I have to say, I'm sold...as this overnight cook stayed right there on 235* all night, and still chugging along the next morning, when I checked on it 9 hours later. I opened my charcoal chute, stirred up my charcoal, threw in 6-8 double handfuls of unlit charcoal, and went back inside for coffee and breakfast. I did keep checking it through the window to see if adding that unlit charcoal would cause any thick white smoke when it ignited. It still amazes me that it doesn't. And, for the next 5 hours, all I did was go out and spritz it once an hour. My Maverick told me when the internal temp got to 200*, I pulled it off, let it rest for a couple of hours, and produced a great pork butt with very little effort on my part. I kinda felt like I cheated! LOL!!

I've also been using Weber kettle grills for 40 years, and went through a lot through the years. Then, about 20 years ago, I bought my first Weber Genesis propane grill. And, I went through 4 of them in the past 20 years. I have an E330 now. However, I bought a 26.75" kettle last year, and have not used the propane grill since. I actually have it and my Old Country Wrangler stick burner on Craigslist now. I'm convinced there is nothing I can't cook outside with a 26.75" kettle and a 22.5" WSM. And, when I get rid of the Genesis and the Wrangler, for the first time in forever, I'm planning on only having 2 cookers on my patio. With the 22.5" WSM, 726 sq in cooking area, at $400 and the 26.75" kettle, 508 sq in cooking area, at $350, I'm still saving about $500, when compared to the cost of one XL BGE...which only has 452 sq in cooking area.
 
Mick, the PP is awesome, the bark is spot on and that plated plate of food WOW!!! Yes that is a lot of wood, but I'm sure you will put it to good use.
 
Great post and thanks for all the insight and recipes. I'm doing a PP on my 18.5 next week and will give some of your hints and recipes a try.
 
Mick... with your newfound appreciation for bbq'd pork (grin) , specifically the Boston Butt, might I suggest trying sliced money muscle. Maybe some pulled tubes.

Both of the above require attention to the pork's condition. But the rewards are in the tasty morsels.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top