pulled pork


 
anyone else not impressed by this? ive tried it several times and i think im just going to give up on it. its tender and all but not very flavorful. just wondering if anyone out there feels the same.
 
That's why we have barbecue sauce!
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Seriously though, the outside bark has all the flavor. The inside tastes like...cooked pork.

You may want to follow the lead of competitive barbecuers who inject the pork butt with a flavored liquid before cooking. You can see an example in this article. In addition to or in lieu of injecting, you can add rub and/or a thinned sauce to the pulled meat to give it added flavor.

If injection is not your thing, you can brine a pork butt a la Alton Brown.

For more ideas, click the "Find" button and try some search terms like "injection" or "brine pork butt".

Regards,
Chris
 
Brady,you can also mix some rub with the pork after you pull it. That will add flavor throughout the meat. Keep up the good work.
 
It's true, Brady. The flavor is in the bark. Immediately after pulling, try adding a cup of Carolina Red while the pork is still hot, mixed with another tablespoon or two of rub:

1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot dried red chile flakes
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
Stir together all ingredients, dissolving the sugar and salt.
 
Really?

Most of the time all I do is throw it on the smoker from the cryovac and smoke it with hickory. What smoke wood are you using?
 
Another trick is to cut a boneless pork butt in half horizontally, creating more surface area for more tasty barkage.

Regards,
Chris
 
Pulled pork is not impressive??? Chris, ban him immediately!

Actually, yeah, PP does need a little playing with you get that great flavor throughout. I smoke mine over hickory and apple, but have done it over cherry, oak, and mesquite(just once). The key to good PP is bark distribution once its pulled, and a little sauce to mix in with it as well. LOTS of threads about PP on this site, do a search, and you'll have more info that you can handle!
 
The last pulled pork we did, we sprinkled it with Wolfe Rub Original and mixed it in. I was surprised how much difference adding the rub made.
 
I've used the Alton Brown brine method several times and have never been disappointed. Nice flavor all the way through. I've got two eight pounders in the freezer so next time I'll brine one and inject the other with Lilly's WC injection. I only did one butt with just rub and smoke and the meat was really plain so I think I know what you're talking about.
 
This sounds terrible... but when my wife makes pulled pork sandwiches she pulls some from the freezer, dumps BBQ sauce over it, and puts it in the microwave to heat it up in the sauce. The microwave works better because of the water and sugar in the sauce, and the pork soaks up the sauce nightly. She stirs it a couple of times as it warms up.

They're really, really, good that way and it takes just a couple of minutes to go from a rock hard lump of frozen pork to a yummy hot sandwich. Just one of those things.
 
i use dizzy pig rubs mostly and different types of wood, just depends. i dont brine and i dont inject. im sure that would help.

i think i will try a tacos al pastor version instead of the bbq pulled pork next time.
 

 

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