Pulled pork is usually made with either the pork butt (or Boston Butt, as you may see at the butcher) or the picnic ham, which is cut closer to the leg of the pig (and is more commonly used for pernil, which is a fantastic dish I may cover later).
So much pork, so little time
As I have mentioned in earlier posts, BBQ is quite regional. The flavor that you consider to be perfect for pulled pork (or even if the pork is pulled, chopped or sliced, as we will see in a bit) will differ depending in what region you live in. But the basic preparation and cooking technique doesn't really change much and is quite easy to do. Shall we begin?
First, get yourself some pork.
Most of the butts I have seen in my area range anywhere from 6-10 pounds. This butt that I got from Wegmans was around 9 pounds, which is more than enough for my family, friends and some leftovers to boot. Cut the cryovac pack open and give the pork a quick rinse, the place on a cutting board, fat side up
Depending on what pitmaster you ask, you may get differing thoughts on what to do with the fat cap on your pork butt. Some leave the entire cap on, figuring the fat will help baste the meat as it cooks, and provide a bit of insulation for the meat through the cooking process. Some will try to cut the fat cap down to about 1/4" of fat all around, and others will remove as much of the fat as possible, reasoning that the rub won't really adhere to the fat and exposing more of the meat will provide more 'bark' on the butt once it is cooked.Use your discretion on this one.
I prefer to cut off as much of the fat as I feel at the moment. There's no real way to get the cut even, or a real need to worry if it is even as the meat will be pulled at the end of the day
Once the fat side is trimmed up, I'll flip the butt over and cut out any big fat pockets I see. I'll also go in and cut out some of the nasty tendons or bloody spots that really don't render off during the cook. If you do the same, just be careful not to cut too much or too deep, as those tendons are what's holding everything together!
If you don't feel like going through all that, you'll be fine; anything that doesn't render off can be tossed once you're pulling the meat. Once you're done, you'll have something that looks like this:
At this point, you have a big decision to make: to inject or not to inject. Pitmasters are pretty split on this one as well, though plenty of competition cooks go the injection route. Personally, I'm with the injection camp, as it does help flavor the butt more thoroughly that just rub alone. If you chose not to, skip this part and go on to the rub. If you are going to inject, read on.
Take the trimmed butt and put it in a pan or plastic container. This will catch any of the injection that leaks out of the meat (since there's no skin to hold the liquid in). Next, prepare the injection. As of late, I've been using a recipe from Chris Lilly from Big Bob Gibson's BBQ:
| 3/4 cup apple juice 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup white sugar | 1/4 cup table salt 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce |
| Combine all ingredients and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. | |
Next, get your injector:
You can usually find these at your grocery store or Bed Bath and Beyond (That's where I picked this one up). Heavy duty injectors can be ordered on Amazon. Fill the injector with the liquid and insert into the butt, Repeat every 1-2 inches apart, moving the needle around in the butt as you're injecting to spread the liquid around. The injection will start to leak into the container, which is fine; you can suck that back up in the injector and shoot it in another part of the butt. Be careful when injecting, as some of the liquid may shoot out of one of the previous injection spots (and have some paper towels nearby to clean up)
Next up, the rub. Much like my earlier rib post, your choice of rub is totally up to you, as is the choice on whether to use a rub a coating of olive oil or mustard on the butt before applying the rub. Liberally season all sides of the butt.
What time to put the butt on the smoker is another item up for debate. If the butt was not injected, only rubbed, some will wrap the butt in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to let some of the rub set on the butt. Some pitmasters will toss the butt straight on the cooker as soon as it has been seasoned and the cooker is up to temp. Others prefer to let it chill in the fridge for a few hours, the idea that the cooler meat will absorb more of the smoke from the cooker. For me, it depends on if my smoker is up and running or not. If I still have to light the fire, I'll park the butt in the fridge until the temperature on the smoker is stable. If I already have the smoker ready, the butt goes right on the grate.
Time to get your cooker started. The butt needs to be cooked low and slow, so a temperature of 225-250 is ideal. That said, if the temps go up to 275, you should still be fine (keep it under 300, though. While the butt is quite forgiving the meat will be a bit chewier the hotter you cook it). Generally you can plan for 1 1/2 to 2 hours cook time per pound of pork butt. If you're using charcoal, your best bet is to use the Minion method, which will help maintain a solid temperature throughout the cook, without having to constantly add coals. Once the fire is lit, add a few chunks of wood and let the cooker get up to temperature (you do have that digital thermometer I talked about in my earlier post, right? No? Then go get one. With a long cook like this, you need to be sure your temps are stable, and the thermometer that came with your cooker won't cut it).
Once your temperature is stable, add the butt to the grill grate. Depending on your grill or smoker setup, place your water/drip pan between the fire and the meat. You can add some more rub is you wish. Then, close the lid. We're in for a long haul.
For the first 2-4 hours, I don't even bother opening the lid or looking at the meat. The only concern I have is making sure the temps are stable (which is why the digital thermometer is so important). After that, it's decision time: to wrap or not to wrap. Some pitmasters will simply leave the butt the grill uncovered throughout the entire cook. While there is a chance the pork will turn out too smokey if you added too much wood (and you shouldn't as a little can go a long way), leaving it unwrapped will allow the creation of a firmer 'bark' around the butt, which is quite prized in some circles. Other pitmasters will wrap the butt in foil or butcher paper to cut down on the smoke penetration and help push through the 'stall', which I'll get to in a bit. The only downside there is the 'bark' around the butt won't be as firm. Others, like Myron Mixon, will take the butt and place it in an aluminum pan with some apple juice, and cover the pan with foil. This will catch some of the juices from the butt as it cooks, which can be used to toss the pulled pork with. This method works for me.
Whichever way you go, now is the time to start checking the temperature of the butt. If you have a thermometer with 2 separate probes (and really, why don't you?) insert it into the butt. We are looking for a temperature of 195-203 degrees (again, depending on who you ask the exact temperature varies. Just go for that range and you should be fine). This is going to take another 4-6 hours. As you check the temperature, you are likely to note when the butt his around 150 and 160 degrees, the temperature is just going to sit there for what will seem like an eternity. After some hours, the temperature will start to rise again. This is called the 'stall', and can be infuriating to a cook, especially if they are on a schedule. This is normal. Do not freak out and try raising the temperature on your cooker. The butt will be fine. If you wrapped the meat in foil, this can help cut down or the time of the stall, but it will likely happen. For more detailed info on what the stall is and why it happens, feel free to look HERE or HERE
Once the butt has reached your target temperature, you can check for doneness by twisting the bone in the meat (use gloves or tissue for this, as it's plenty hot). If the bone twists easily or slides out, you're good. If not, close the lid and check it in 30 minutes. Once it's done, pull the pork off the grill and let it rest for about 30-60 minutes. If you have an clean empty cooler toss it in there (a cooler makes a good bootleg cambro in a pinch), or you can toss it in an oven at 170 degrees (enough to keep it warm, but not enough to cook it anymore). Pour any juice that you have in the pan in a saparate container or pot, which we will use in a bit. Now comes the fun part.
As mentioned earlier, some areas like their pork sliced like a brisket. This makes for more uniform pieces, in a way, with a bit of bark on every piece. Other areas prefer to chop the pork into small bits, which mixes the bark with everything else (this is quite popular in the south when a whole pig is roasted). Personally, I prefer pulled pork, where the individual muscle strands are pulled apart from the butt. Now, some like to use a set of meat claws like THIS, which can work if you have a few butts to pull at once (or just want to live out some bad Wolverine cosplay). Personally I like the joy of using your hands. Get a second pan and grab some gloves. The pulled meat goes in one pan, and the fat and anything that didn't render off is left behind.
When the pork has been pulled, pour the juices back on top of the pan of pulled pork and toss the pieces until coated.
Now, assuming friends and family haven't already started picking at it, you can go to town. If you want to add sauce to your pulled pork, be it sweet tomato based or a thin vinegar based sauce (my preference for pulled pork) feel free. But the pork as prepared will stand tall on it's own merit. It takes patience, for sure, but in the end it's well worth it.
That's all folks!
