Boston Butts on the Smoker! This is how you get to pulled Pork!

 

Prep time to get Pork Ready:  Maybe 15 minutes tops  

Prep Time to get Smoker Racks Cleaned from last time:  10 minutes  

Prep Time to get Smoker all back in order and a water pan filled above the coals:  10 minutes.

Starting the charcoal in a charcoal chimney:  20 minutes

Realizing that the handle on the charcoal chimney is burning your hand when you grab it and that you should run and get a potholder before you pour hot coals into the smoker:  1 minute max…though, you may have to run your hand under cold water to cool the burn…in that case…add 3 minutes. 

Placing the Big Chunk of MEAT on the Smoker and positioning just right:  3 minutes.

Total prep and cooking time to amaze your friends and family (also known as hanging out time and impressing time):  This is a looooonnnnggggg recipe time wise…it takes hours and hours to get the Shoulder or Butt to the temperature you want for the type of chop or cut you when the meat is served.  6 to 8 hours should do based on how well you maintain heat in the smoker…tips on that in the directions. 
A word of caution…if you have 15 people coming over for a BBQ and they are expecting to eat around 6 pm…you should have the smoker going by 8 a.m. that morning….just to be sure you will be ready!  You can always re-heat after you get it all cut up.

Experience Level needed to pull off WOW Factor:  The hardest part about this recipe is not letting the meat intimidate you….it’s a BIG chunk.  Get past this and you will AMAZE your friends and family.  This is a recipe for a beginner if you are willing to take that first step.

How many people can you serve:  An 8 to 10 pound Shoulder or Butt will easily serve 10 to 12 people…unless of course Mike B. shows up for dinner…then you might scrape together serving 8.

Tools Needed:
A Bullet Smoker, A charcoal chimney, a meat thermometer, a pair of oven mitts, a Bag of Charcoal, 2 sheets of newspaper, and a match

Pork Ingredients:

1 - 8 to 10 pound Pork Shoulder or Boston Butt

Symphony of SeasoningsGrilling Rub from Sweet Life Sauce Company

Sweet Life and/or Spice of Life BBQ Sauce from Sweet Life Sauce Company

 

Directions:
Take your Pork out and get it ready to go in the smoker.  Remove it from the package it came in, wash it off, and pat it dry with a clean towel.  Place a generous amount of no-salt Grilling Rub such as Symphony of Seasonings Grilling Rub from Sweet Life Sauce Company all over the meat; work it into the nooks and crannies to completely cover as much as you can.  Pork has a good bit of salt already in the meat…don’t load it up with even more salt…you’ll cover up the porky goodness.

Loosely cover the chunk of meat and go get your Smoker ready…the meat will have some time to get in touch with its Grill Rub while you are out.

Get your Charcoal going in the charcoal chimney.  Crumble the 2 pieces of newspaper up and place them in the very bottom of the charcoal chimney.  Place the chimney on a surface that can get hot and on fire such as your driveway.  Fill the chimney from the top with Charcoal.  Light the newspaper at the bottom of the chimney and go away for about 20 minutes. 

Your coals are ready to dump in the Smoker when the top charcoal just starts to get some white tips on them.

When the coals are ready, dump them into the smoker.  Place your rack in above the coals and place your large pan of water on this rack.  Then place the top rack in the smoker and put your chunk of meat on it….right in the middle of the smoker. 

Position the pork so the fattiest part is on top…doing this will allow gravity to baste the pork as it cooks from top to bottom…mmmmmm….pork getting basted by itself…mmmm.

Insert the probe end of the meat thermometer into the thickest portion of the Pork.  Allow the wire to come out of the smoker and place the digital reader as far from the smoker as the cord will let you.  Here is where you need to make a decision on what type of cut or chop you want to serve your guests…it has everything to do with the temperature you hit in the smoker.

For a chop that will give you small chunks and slices of chopped pork, set the temp to 190 degrees

For a little chop and a little pulled pork, set the temp to 195 degrees

For a lot of pulled pork and a little chop, set the temp to 200 degrees

For all pulled pork, set the temp to 205 degrees.

 

Now the cooking begins….you will have to check the temp throughout the day and be sure you are maintaining a good heat inside the smoker. 

You want to maintain 200 to 250 degrees or right about the middle of the ideal zone on the temp gauge on the smoker. 

As the temp falls into the cool zone, prepare another batch of charcoal in the charcoal chimney and transfer the charcoal into the smoker using a pair of tong.  If your smoker lifts off the charcoal pan, gently lift the top of the smoker off and pour the hot coals into the charcoal pan.  Gently lift the top of the smoker back onto the charcoal pan and check to see if you need to add water to the water pan above the coals.  Watch the temp again over the next couple of hours.

Anticipate replacing the charcoal from 3 to 4 times throughout the day…again, all based on how well you maintain the heat throughout the day.

Using Wood Chips:
The charcoal will add plenty of smokiness to your meat but adding wood chips during the smoking process will bring another layer of flavor.  Peach, apple, pecan, and orange wood all bring wonderful flavor profiles to your pork as it smokes.  Just be sure you are using a wood for smoking…grabbing a branch off the pine tree in the back yard is a BAD idea.

Soak your wood chips in a bucket of water for a half hour or so before you place them in the smoker.  Add 4 to 6 chunks of the soaked wood chips directly on top of the hot coals in either the first or second batch of charcoal from the charcoal chimney. 

You don’t need to keep wood chips on the smoker the entire time as the flavor of the wood chip smoke will overpower the flavor of the meat.  A little goes a long way.  Stick it on the early coals and allow the flavor to work its way in for the entire time…you won’t be disappointed.

The end is near:
When you hit the temperature you were looking for, remove the Pork Shoulder or Butt from the heat and bring it to a cutting board.  Let it rest for about 7 to 10 minutes.  It will continue to cook for a little as it is resting and will cool off enough in this time to start your cutting.

It is time to cut the pork up and get it ready to serve.  There will be larger pieces of pork fat that will slough off…remove these as much as possible before you cut the rest of the pork up.  Get a pretty big knife, make sure it is sharp and go to chopping, cutting, slicing, and pulling in the pork until you have it all ready to go.

You will not be disappointed and more importantly, you will have conquered your fear of big chunks of meat…onto a Beef Brisket!

Enjoy as a Pulled Pork Sandwich!

ALL will be well in the land!