Memorial Day, normally we have a shin-dig however the weather was a bit weth with Tropical Storm Alberto pissing all over the state, so decided to get the Traeger out, Saturday was smoked blue cheese burgers, Sunday, baby back ribs, Monday, Boston Butt.

Smoked the butt from 10 AM till about 5pm at 250, then panned it, covered and cranked up the heat to get internal up to 200. Injected the pork with apple juice, sugar and vinegar mix, seasoned with some McCormicks Pork seasoning I had left over.


Served it with a sliced dill and some home made cole slaw sauce is from Starnes BBQ in Paducah KY.....

That looks so delicious

I did the same, but put mine in crock pot to finish.

Doesn't that coleslaw belong ON the sammie?

This weekend I bought a Treagar and a Kamado Joe. I'm just entering the world of smoking.

Been something I've been wanting to get into for a long time, so I jumped in with both feet.

I'm going to try my first pulled pork this weekend. Any tips or lessons?

I'm also going to try and make some jerky.

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
I'm going to try my first pulled pork this weekend. Any tips or lessons?

Welcome to the club.

Three tips:

I recommend starting off with AmazingRibs.com's recipe. What I like about all of their recipes is the Meathead Goldwyn is a chef and tests all of the recipes and then has other chefs test the recipes before he posts them. Additionally, they have a meat scientist on staff and they blend theory and sound science with recipes or debunking old BBQ lore.

Cook everything to temperature not time. Here is my latest post on the subject as well as recommended products.

Read everything LastManStanding writes about BBQ on Sigforum. I've learned a ton from him over the years.

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
This weekend I bought a Treagar and a Kamado Joe. I'm just entering the world of smoking.

Been something I've been wanting to get into for a long time, so I jumped in with both feet.

I'm going to try my first pulled pork this weekend. Any tips or lessons?

I'm also going to try and make some jerky.

Welcome to the club, smoking a boston butt isn't super complicated or difficult like a brisket, a few simple steps and you'll come out just fine

1) Bone in Boston Butt - Bone provides more flavor (JMO)

2) Trim the fat cap - I know some folks think it shouldn't be touched but I can't stand a big ol wad of fat in my pulled pork, so I trim it down thinner, there's also Fat on Top or Fat on bottom clubs. I put it on the bottom so it drips down the tray. (this is your option)

3) Inject- This more than makes up for trimming the fat in keeping it moist. Get an injector from Bed Bath and Beyond, I mix up Apple Juice, Vinegar, Sugar and Accent, heat but not to boil, then inject after the mix cools and let sit overnight in a container in the fridge. I cut the mix down by 3/4 and still have some left over, it will last a year.

Link to Injection Recipe



4) Season, whatever seasoning you like, hot, sweet, a mix of the two, there are plenty of choices a good staple is McCormmicks Applewood, it's sweeter not a lot of heat but good flavor. Anyway, coat the outside of the boston butt before injecting, let it sit up overnight after injecting in the bowl so it seasons the meat.

5) Cook to temp, 190 for sliced pork, 200 to 205 for pulled pork, don't worry about time.

I put it on the smoker at 250-275 for about 4 hours right on the rack, the temps will get up in the mid 160's to 170's. At that point I've smoked the butt enough, the rest is just cooking.

Pan the butt in an aluminum cooking pan, add in some of the apple injection mix, just to cover the pan bottom and cover with foil, put either back on the smoker, or in a preheated oven to 325 and cook to 205 internal.

You can leave the pan on the Traeger if you want but at this point it's just cooking to temp, no reason to burn up wood chips to apply heat, but you can, it's your choice, I've even moved it to a crock pot to finish because its about heat and keeping the juices in the pan/crock pot.

It will come out super moist, nice crust, and at 205 it will pull easy.

Bear claws are a must for pulling, you can use your hands or a fork etc but the claws are the deal.

It's day 3 and I"m still working on mine and its good.

Since you're getting into cooking and smoking get an iGrill temp monitor, works with your smart phone via blootoof. 4 probes, run one right into the butt and set the app for 200 degrees.

This keeps you from going out and opening the lid every hour to check the temp, killing off the heat and having the grill cycle back up to temp.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm looking forward to trying!