Wanting to try smoking pulled pork

[BeeFarmer61]

I've always wanted to try doing my own pulled pork, but always a little afraid to try it. I did a little research on here a couple weeks ago, looking at smokers. I have a Cookin' Cajun II, only have smoked ribs and jalapeno peppers in it, and I have a 22 inch Weber kettle. I saw a lot of folks saying use the kettle, if you don't have a good smoker, and I know the Cookin' Cajun isn't so hot.

I found a link someone posted on here about using the Weber kettle for smoking, and saved it for reference....Now the problem, my wife was going to the grocery store anyways, so I told her to get us a Pork butt. She said they were all thrown together, and she was mostly looking at price, and mistakenly got a pork roast-loin. Can we use this for pulled pork, or will we have to save it for the crock pot?

 

[Mikhail]

Pork loins generally don't have enough fat to slow smoke and are better for brining and roasting, although you could smoke it at a higher temperature, much shorter time. You can make a delicious hunk of meat with them, but I wouldn't try it for pulled pork.

 

[LYU370]

^^^ What he said. ^^^

You can roast it or cut it up into pork chops and grill em, I like thick cut chops. In either case, brine first.

 

[IamMadMan]

I agree brining and putting it in the grill is a good choice. Don't overcook as it will turn dry and tough very quickly.


If you have good knife skills; I like to completely cut the lion lengthwise working in a circular fashion to keep the loin in a sold flat slab about 3/4" thick. Fill it with a nice cornbread sausage stuffing and roll it up and tie it securely. The stuffing will keep the inside moist, and with a good marinade basting as it cooks, the outside will also stay moist and flavorful.

 

[BeeFarmer61]

Thanks ya'll.... it's going in the freezer right now.

 

[Mikhail]

But as far as being wary of smoking a butt for pulled pork? Don't be. It is the easiest and most forgiving of long smokes.

 

[Gore]

But as far as being wary of smoking a butt for pulled pork? Don't be. It is the easiest and most forgiving of long smokes.

I just wanted to second (and third that if I'm allowed). I used to think that you could not fark up a pork butt. I realized you can as I had a friend who decided he would make a little snack when he was drunk. He got the pork butt on the smoker before passing out. Of course he forgot all about it and discovered it a week later. So, just don't get drunk and pass out and forget about it for a week and you should be good. :thumb:

 

[SmokinAussie]

"A friend" Gore. I wonder...

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

"A friend" Gore. I wonder...

My thoughts...

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

I agree brining and putting it in the grill is a good choice. Don't overcook as it will turn dry and tough very quickly.


If you have good knife skills; I like to completely cut the lion lengthwise working in a circular fashion to keep the loin in a sold flat slab about 3/4" thick. Fill it with a nice cornbread sausage stuffing and roll it up and tie it securely. The stuffing will keep the inside moist, and with a good marinade basting as it cooks, the outside will also stay moist and flavorful.

A very good choice.
But make sure your knives are very sharp.

 

[Dweverett]

When you do get the right hunk of meat, the kettle will do a really good job with it. You can look online for a lot of different approaches to setting up the charcoal but one thing to keep in mind is that you don’t need to cook it the whole time on the kettle to get a great result. You can smoke it for 3-4 hours then wrap it up and finish it in the oven. You’ll still get a great result and won’t have to stress over keeping an even heat on the kettle for a very long cook.

I have a slow and sear that makes it even easier but you can do basically the same thing just by banking the coals.

 

[jzadski]

Here's one way to do it. I really like his stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uIc9WzntcI&list=PLmrZantoFPM_mOoclYc9Xqv49v51UdP4-&index=5

 

[oldgfbbq]

What SmokinAussie said about what Gore said.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

When you decide to do it I hope you tell us about it

 

[Service Call]

I used to go to a BBQ place that smoked pork loins and chopped them rather pulled them. They had a very good sauce and their sandwiches were very good.

 

[Smoking Piney]

Pork loins are not meant for pulled pork. They will get very tough and dry on a long smoke. Use a butt.

Pork loins are great seasoned, roasted, and sliced.

 

[1MoreFord]

For those of you that say no to pulling pork loin our MIA brother Bigabyte made pulled pork loin successfully a number of years ago as an experiment. Apparently most folks have forgotten this.

I routinely take loin to the old safe temp of 170°F and above w/o dryness problems.

 

[SirPorkaLot]

For those of you that say no to pulling pork loin our MIA brother Bigabyte made pulled pork loin successfully a number of years ago as an experiment. Apparently most folks have forgotten this.

I routinely take loin to the old safe temp of 170°F and above w/o dryness problems.

Loin is pulled in almost every whole hog cook, it’s not an oddity.

However, it is not as well suited for that like the shoulder is

 

[bacchus99]

Get a bone in pork butt about 8lbs or 4lbs if you want a smaller test one first. Set kettle up for snake method(research this). Rub butt with favorite rub and smoke til probe tender...about 202F. Let it rest and pull. Enjoy.

 

[BeeFarmer61]

Thanks ya'll, you all are nice and helpful too....
Got an almost 6 pound pork butt, going to give it a shot tomorrow. I'll update, and may even have a pic or two.