First attempt at pulled pork...need some advice


 
Mike Gray

Mike Gray

TVWBB Super Fan
So after a few months of ribs and chicken I'm finally doing some pork butt! I have two boneless butts about 8lbs each that I plan to cook but I have an issue. I plan to take some with me on a trip to my parents place in WV (about 3 hours away). We're leaving on Friday morning so I had originally planned to cook them Wednesday night through Thursday to make sure they were finished in plenty of time and the coals were cool or out before I leave town.

Since they are boneless, should I just cook them starting very early on Thursday and cook them all day or play it safe and cook them on Wednesday night?

Also, I plan to pull one for dinner on Thursday (if finished) and take some to my in-laws before leaving town. Should I wait and pull the other one when I get to my parents, or bring it pre-pulled?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Mike
 
Last weekend I did Chris Allingham's high-heat method. I'd recommend that if you don't have 12 hrs to cook. I'll see if I can find a link.

I pull all the pork while it's hot (30-60 min's after it comes off the smoker).

Buy some Bear Paws. You'll be glad you did.
 
Mike-

If this is your first attempt, one piece of advice I'll pass along is give yourself PLENTY of time so that the butts will be done and to give you some wiggle room if the cook doesn't go as planned. With two 8lb butts, you're looking at anywhere from 12-16 hours depending on cooking temps.

If your parents house is 3 hours away (no traffic?), you should be ok to wrap them in foil, then a towel, place them in a cooler, and pull at your parents. I know plenty of people here cooler their butts for that amount of time with no issues and I've done it for a couple of hours...was still steaming when I took it out.
 
I second the suggestion on the bear paws!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Brian Nobles:
Here is the link :
http://virtualweberbullet.com/pork4.html

Google:
Bear Paw Meat Handler Forks
You can probably find them locally. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by craig hess:

If your parents house is 3 hours away (no traffic?), you should be ok to wrap them in foil, then a towel, place them in a cooler, and pull at your parents. I know plenty of people here cooler their butts for that amount of time with no issues and I've done it for a couple of hours...was still steaming when I took it out. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Check this link: Faux cambro
 
Unfortunately I can't seem to find the Bear Paws locally so it looks like I can't get them before this cook is done. I'll have to pick some up for the future, unless anyone knows where you can buy them locally?
 
Mike, I find the Bear Claws handy, but if you cook the pork butt long enough, you don't need 'em. Lots of folks would rather use just a couple of forks or their hands, in gloves, of course.

Never cooked boneless butts, but I'm sure it won't be too different, (maybe just a little shorter if I remember correctly?) I advise to do one of two methods, especially for your first butt cook:

The first method is to just cook 225-250 (measured through the dome VENT is preferred), allowing for a 2hr/lb cook. This method is relatively stress-free since you're giving yourself plenty of time, and since you can keep the butts hot for several hours the next day til lunch or supper, in a decent pre-heated cooler. Pulling is a cinch and done in seconds. The meat will just fall apart, and there'll probably be nothing but a piece of gristle and the bone left besides the fat cap after resting.

If you don't want to start cooking supper the night before, foiling after smoking is a great method, too. Ray Lampe (aka Dr. BBQ) has this method in his book and says to cook at 275*, and wrap in foil at 160*IT. I suspect his temp/times are close, and he says that a 160*IT is around the six hr mark, and the pork should take another 2-3 hrs, for a 7lb. butt. He recommends a half hour rest in the foil before pulling with "neoprene gloves or two forks". So basically, we're talking only 9.5 hrs til bbq for a 7 lb butt, and I like that method, too. Allow more time if doing more than one since the cooker will take more time to get up to temp, and you can poke a probe right through the top of the foil if you want to check for tenderness. Harry Soo (Slap Yo Daddy BBQ) foils butts too, but cooks 'em at 250 instead, if Im not mistaken. Regardless what cooking temp, don't use water in the pan if foiling since the bark is so much slower to develop. My newly discovered heat sink is the clay pot base that so many guys use, and yeah, I like it a lot better than just a foiled pan.

Good luck, whichever method you choose!
 
Get a good pair of insulated rubber gloves. The butt will be quite warm when you pull it. The gloves are also handy for taking meat off the smoker.
 
You will definitely want to pull the pork while it is still warm. If you let the butt you are taking to WV cool over night before pulling it I think you will have a problem.
Here's a great recipe for reheating your pulled pork, it will taste like it's fresh off the smoker.

1. Preheat oven to 300F.

2. Mix about 1/4 cup of reheating liquid per pound of meat.( For 1 cup of liquid, stir together, 3/4 cup apple juice, 1/4 cups
cider vinegar, 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper.

3. Gently toss the pulled meat with the reheated liquid.

4. Cover container tightly with foil.

5. Place the pan in the oven. Check the pork every 10 to 15 mi minutes, depending on the quantity of meat, it takes about five
minutes to heat one pound of meat.

Gary Wiviott's " Low & Slow

22.5 WSM
Nano Temp Controller
 
Thanks for the replies! I do have one more questions. I'm using the "Mr. Brown" recipe that I found on the site and have noticed that the rub and the sop are both very salty. Should they be salty because it's going on the outside of the meat an not the inside? I was just surprised with a small taste of each how over powering it was. Thoughts?
 
Mike, I haven't tried that rub on my pork butts, but I've never heard anyone mention that "Mr. Brown" was salty, either. I'm sure it's fine, and for the reason you mention, I like more salt and spice in a pork butt rub than in a rib rub.

The only way I'd think it was too salty is if you got a pork butt that was enhanced with salt water, or sodium phosphate, especially. If so, I'd cut the salt way back. To be honest, I've always smoked "natural" bone-in pork butts, but I know what the "enhancements" can do to ribs. I'll just about leave the salt completely out when I smoke Kroger ribs.

Regarding the sop, I'd skip it. It's more trouble than any flavor it adds.
 
I smoked a couple pork butts last weekend. Since I did not have time to cook it the day we ate it, I smoked it the day before and put it in zip top bags. I reheated it in a 250 degree oven in a covered pan with a little apple juice. It was just as good as when it was first pulled. I use the Bad Byron's Butt rub and the outer bark is pretty intense in flavor but when you pull it and it gets mixed in with the rest of the meat it is all good.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike Gray:
Thanks for the replies! I do have one more questions. I'm using the "Mr. Brown" recipe that I found on the site and have noticed that the rub and the sop are both very salty. Should they be salty because it's going on the outside of the meat an not the inside? I was just surprised with a small taste of each how over powering it was. Thoughts? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I coat the butt with oil before putting the rub on it, as I have found spices are more soluble in oil. Diffusion occurs quickly on raw meat
and the "Mr. Brown" rub isn't salty at all once it's on the butt.
I haven't used it in a sop.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. Firing up the smoker in a couple of hours for my first over night cook. Thinking of just skipping the sop this time around.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike Gray:
Thanks for the advice everyone. Firing up the smoker in a couple of hours for my first over night cook. Thinking of just skipping the sop this time around. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I rotate my grate after 8 hrs. and mop with natural apple juice then and each time I check the temperature of the butt.
 
I made the Mr. Brown butt the other week (my first pork butt) and it was not too salty. The BF thought it was excellent.

Petra
 
Thanks for all the advice! The butts have just been pulled from the WSM and have a nice looking crust on the outside. They took a little while longer than expected so I'm really happy I didn't wait to try and cook them today. Total of 13 hours for one and 14 for the other, but they look fantastic. I will post in the photo gallery after I pull them in a couple of hours.

Thanks again!
 
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