First pork butt on the 4th - guidance please

[aks801]

My youngest daughter asked if I was smoking on Independence Day, and if so could I make pulled pork. I like how she thinks!

This will be my first go at smoking a pork butt (I'm a Texan, so I typically restrict my bbq efforts to brisket, sausage and the occasional rack of ribs) so I'm doing my "due diligence" and putting together a game plan. Here is what I've come up with so far. Comments/opinions/direction would all be appreciated.

Will buy a bone-in butt probably 8#. The night before will trim it of excess fat, down to less than 1/4" in the thick areas. Score some deep-ish slices on the fat side to work in more rub. Pat it dry then work in the rub. I will not do any brines or marinades. Any recommendations on store-bought rubs for pork?

Smoking on a 22" WSM. Fire it up around 6 AM, get it all settled and ready then put on the pork at 7 AM. Will have a few chunks of peach or apple wood in the ring. Try and keep temps at top grate between 250 and 275. Will open the lid no more than a few times to spritz with apple juice/water, plus move it around a bit to keep it from sticking/attaching to grate too much.

Not planning on foiling while cooking.

Will cook until the bone is loose and wiggly. Hopefully that means internal temp of 200 or so.

Pull it, wrap it, place in cooler for an hour or so. Target pull time is between 3 and 4 PM, purely an estimate.

Around 5:30 place the blackened hunk o' pork into deep plan and shred using those bear paw dealios. Will use Roxy's Mustard Vinegar sauce and add while shredding (probably add about 1/2 cup or so).

Serve dinner at 6:00, piling pork on cheapo buns and topping with homemade cole slaw.

Does this look reasonable?

 

[olewarthog]

Sounds like a plan. I personally do not spritz butts. They have plenty of internal fat to keep it moist. I also tend to trim almost all the fat cap off so I have more surface area to create bark. For rubs for butts, I like Victory Lane All Purpose, 3 Eyez or Plowboys Yardbird. I know you are not planning to foil, but butts can hit a stall around 155-170. If yours hits a stall & knocks you off your timeline, be prepared to foil to help it thru the stall. After pulling, I like to give a light dusting of rub before applying any sauce.

 

[crgshum]

Looks like a well thought out cook. I'm doing 4 x 8lb butts this weekend as well..

I like to keep it closer to 225-250. Just a personal preference. I start low and bring it up once I hit the stall. Depending on your temp you can figure on about 1.5-2 hours per lb.

Good call skipping the foil. I don't like the way they turn out. That crunchy crust is the stuff dreams are made of.

If you're going to pull it and wrap it and let it rest for a couple of hours, be careful not to bring the IT up too high. The meat will continue cooking in the cooler (unless you let it come down first). So I would try to pull it around 190-195 and then wrap and rest. I let one get away from me last week and it was mushy and wayyy overcooked.

I would also suggest keeping the sauce on the side. Let the others choose how much they want to put on the meat. Plus, clean meat can be used in various other leftovers recipes. (pulled pork breakfast tacos anybody?)

Good luck!

 

[Right on Q]

Plowboys yardbird (add some pepper or sugar to taste) is great on pork.

Pork can take a good bit of seasoning because of the surface to mass ratio. Don't be afraid to give it a kick of flavor. Pork tends to be very mild in flavor

Good luck!

 

[Smoking Piney]

Your cook plan is solid. As for store bought rubs, I like the McCormick Memphis Pit rub on butts, and just about every grocery store carries it.

Have a great 4th and a great cook!

 

[m-fine]

Store bought rub is going to depend on what is available, but I would'nt worry about it too much. Between the pork, smoke, and sauce, the subtle differences between rubs is not going to be noticed by your family.

Skip the spritz. It does nothing but slow down the cook and soften your bark. That said, if the cook is going too fast, a water or juice based mop or spritz is an effective way to slow things down. Instead of the juice or water, I might suggest a coat of peanut oil seasoned with some rub (or whatever). The oil will keep the meat from drying out without causing evaporative cooling and mushy bark.

I agree with not planning on foiling while cooking, but be prepared to if necessary. The opposite of the spritz, if you find it going too slow, a combination of foil and increased heat can get you out of a jam.

 

[yakdung]

If this is your first go, I would highly recommend that you keep it simple and follow these two champions. I would not recommend that you go wandering in the weeds until you have a little experience under your belt. Good luck.
http://www.slapyodaddybbq.com/2012/04/slap-yo-daddy-bone-in-pork-butt-2/
http://virtualweberbullet.com/pork4.html

 

[Smokin J's PIts]

Sounds like a solid plan, cant say that I would recommend a off the shelf rub, but with that said you can buy everything here from the store. Its my go to, and hasn't let me down yet. The magic dust we keep on the table in a shaker, to add that little extra umph. Neither of these are my creation, got them from here and I don't really remember who's they are but if they read this than a big thanks for sharing

A Carolina BBQ Rub
•1/4 cup/60 mL paprika
•2 tablespoons/30 mL salt
•2 tablespoons/30 mL sugar
•2 tablespoons/30 mL brown sugar
•2 tablespoons/30 mL ground cumin
•2 tablespoons/30 mL chili powder
•2 tablespoons/30 mL freshly ground black pepper
•1 tablespoon/15 mL cayenne pepper
Magic Dust
•1/2 cup/120 mL paprika
•1/4 cup/60 mL kosher salt, finely ground
•1/4 cup/60 mL sugar
•2 tablespoons/30 mL mustard powder
•1/4 cup/60 mL chili powder
•1/4 cup/60 mL ground cumin
•2 tablespoons/30 mL ground black pepper
•1/4 cup/60 mL granulated garlic
•2 tablespoons/30 mL cayenne

 

[dalilama]

Sounds delicious, I like to use the Kings Hawaiian rolls and buns for pulled pork sammies.

 

[hammb]

Sounds like a solid plan, cant say that I would recommend a off the shelf rub, but with that said you can buy everything here from the store. Its my go to, and hasn't let me down yet. The magic dust we keep on the table in a shaker, to add that little extra umph. Neither of these are my creation, got them from here and I don't really remember who's they are but if they read this than a big thanks for sharing

A Carolina BBQ Rub
•1/4 cup/60 mL paprika
•2 tablespoons/30 mL salt
•2 tablespoons/30 mL sugar
•2 tablespoons/30 mL brown sugar
•2 tablespoons/30 mL ground cumin
•2 tablespoons/30 mL chili powder
•2 tablespoons/30 mL freshly ground black pepper
•1 tablespoon/15 mL cayenne pepper
Magic Dust
•1/2 cup/120 mL paprika
•1/4 cup/60 mL kosher salt, finely ground
•1/4 cup/60 mL sugar
•2 tablespoons/30 mL mustard powder
•1/4 cup/60 mL chili powder
•1/4 cup/60 mL ground cumin
•2 tablespoons/30 mL ground black pepper
•1/4 cup/60 mL granulated garlic
•2 tablespoons/30 mL cayenne

Magic Dust is Mike Mills's Memphis in May championship rub. It's published in Peace, Love, and BBQ, and plastered all over the internet. It is still my goto although I swap brown sugar for white, add a bit more cayenne for extra kick, and don't grind my kosher salt, I leave as is.

It's my goto rub for Butts and Ribs, and works well on chicken as well. Pretty much always have a shaker of it in the cupboard. Takes almost no time to mix up and I see no reason to purchase an off the shelf rub as easy as this is to make.

 

[DerHusker]

Cooking at 250 to 275 you may be OK. If it were me I'd start at 4:00 AM instead of 6:00. Each piece of meat will have their own cook time until done. If it happens to be done early just store it in the cooler longer. But if starting at 6:00, and not cooking until 7:00, there is a real possibility it won't be probe tender by your 2:00 to 3:00 target time.

My $.02

 

[aks801]

Ok, good stuff so far!

At this point I think I'll ditch the spritz, make a batch of Magic Dust and possible start a bit earlier in the morning (but not by much) just to have some time-margin for error.

 

[m-fine]

No need to start earlier. If it is not done by 3:00, wrap in foil and crank the heat up to 350 and it will be done by 4 with time to rest. Or you could put it in the oven. After 8 hours on the smoke at over 200, it won't take much to push even a stubborn butt across the finish line.

 

[KevinJ]

I 2nd the don't bother spritzing it doesn't add enough moister in the meat to make a difference. Your temps are fine but if the WSM wants to go higher don't worry about it, I cook mine at 300 and they turnout just as moist and tender as if I had cooked it 225 to 275, the bonus is you're just done sooner.

Good luck with your cook.

Myth busting mops and spitz

ThermoWorks, cooking Pulled Pork in almost half the time

 

[tnfan47]

Give yourself plenty of time. Don't get too carried away with temps. I love to be around 300 the entire cook. Check for probe tenderness at 195 IT. If it's giving you resistance, give it another 30-45 minutes and check again.

 

[Smoking Piney]

Give yourself plenty of time. Don't get too carried away with temps. I love to be around 300 the entire cook. Check for probe tenderness at 195 IT. If it's giving you resistance, give it another 30-45 minutes and check again.

Agree. It has to "probe like buttah" in several locations before you pull it.

 

[THoey1963]

At 275* butts on my WSM used to take about an hour per pound, but I wrapped mine. I think you might need a little longer.

Yep, nix the spritzing. Butts have a lot of their own juices.

Speaking of those juices, whether you foil or not, use a pan to catch the drippings. After I pull the meat, I like to add a little more rub to taste and pour some of those juices back into the mix. Some people will de-fat the juices. I don't, I like pork fat.

 

[aks801]

@Terry: thanks for mentioning a drip pan, I will do that. Can't let that goodness go to waste.

 

[jemezspring]

Like others have said skip the spritz. I like temps of 275-300 at the grate. If you have a meat thermo use ito especially to monitor the stall. After it reaches doneness, 195-205, wrap and hold for a couple hours. While pulling I like to add a little more rub. If you did use a drip pan add some of those juices back and/or look up finishing sauce and use that. Your plan seems solid and all will workout just fine.

 

[aks801]

Update - cook in progress

Most of the way through the cook now but no pics yet.

Got up at 5:50 this morning, got the WSM going, made up the Magic Dust rub, did some trimming on the pork butt, rubbed it up pretty good, and put it in the smoke at 6:50. Temp gauges indicated about 280, which is pretty much where my WSM likes to run.

Went back to bed at 7:45 until 9:30 or so. Went out to check things out, and temps right on 280. Gosh, I love this WSM!!!

At 12:50 PM opened the lid to check things out. Nice dark color. Did several temp probes and they ranged from 174 to 183. Good progress.

2:10 PM. Temp probes between 197 and 200. Bone wiggled easily, in fact it came right on out. I wrapped it in butcher paper and will check again at 2:45, at which time I'll probably pull it.