Directions: |
Directions:Trim most of the fat from the exterior of the meat but not all of it. Leave no more than 1/8-inch (3mm). The goal is to season the meat not on the fat, allowing the meat to get a crunchy flavorful, seasoned bark. Get smoker running steady at 225 degrees F. My favorite woods for making smoked pulled pork is either hickory or Pecan (or a combination of the two). Both are mild enough to complement the pork without overwhelming you with smoke.
paint butt with soy sauce, then coat butt with oil Sprinkle salt, lawrys's, pepper over butt. Once the pork has been prepped, place it directly on the grill grates of the smoker (preferably fat side up). Best use is a water pan beneath the butt to keep butt from becoming dry. Close the lid, and smoke for 6 hours, remove from smoker and wrap with aluminum foil and add basting sauce to fold aluminum foil and transfer to oven. Cook on 250ºF until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 195-201 ºF. Remove from foil and return to smoker(or oven) to dry the butt approximately 10-15 minutes.
Holding the meat is optional but preferred. If you are more than an hour from mealtime, you can leave the meat on the cooker with the heat off or put it in the indoor oven and hold it there by dialing the temp down to about 170°F (77°C). If you are more than 2 hours from mealtime, wrap it in foil to keep it from drying out and hold it at 170°F (77°C). If you are taking the meat to a party, use a faux cambro, which is simply a tight plastic beer cooler that can hold the meat. Wrap the hunk tightly in foil, wrap the foil with more towels, and put it the whole thing in the cooler. Fill up the cooler with more towels, blankets, or newspaper to keep the meat insulated.
Pull it. About 30 minutes before sitting down for dinner, put the meat into a large pan to catch drippings. If your butt came bone-in, the blade should slide right out and have virtually no meat attached if it was cooked properly.
Pull the pork butt apart with Claws, gloved hands, or forks. Discard big chunks of fat. If you wish, you can slice it or chop it like they do in North Carolina, but I think you lose less moisture by pulling it apart by hand since the meat separates into bundles of muscle fibers. Hence the name pulled pork. Try not to eat all the flavorful crusty bits when you are doing the pulling. Distribute them evenly throughout the meat instead. Make sure you save any flavorful drippings and pour them over the meat. serve with BBQ sauce on the side. |
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