Pulled Pork
Apply The Rub
Take pork butt out of package and rub liberally with your favorite BBQ rub. (you can apply a yellow mustard before to help rub stick, but I never have) Place in refrigerator until ready to cook. (I let mine sit in refrigerator overnight until ready to cook the next morning.) Take the pork shoulder out of refrigerator 30-60 minutes before cooking to bring to room temperature. |
Prep the Smoker
Clean the grill. (If not already done) Fill bottom charcoal bowl almost the whole way. Fill the Charcoal Chimney about half way and light about 20-min prior to being ready. After most of the charcoal is white (approx 20 min), pour into the charcoal bowl. Add some wood chunks. Fill the water pan. Start bringing smoker up to 225 degrees. |
Smoke the Pulled Pork
Place the Pulled Pork on the smoker. Cook at 225-250 degrees for about 1 hour per pound. NOTE: I actually find it has been a little over this for me every time, and probably closer to 1.5 hours per pound. So my 8 pound pork butt took about 12 hours. I check the temperature about every three hours (even with the BBQ fan) and add more charcoal to the bottom and/or water to the water pan as needed using a long & skinny shovel for both. I also spray the pork butt with some apple juice to keep moist. Cook until the pulled pork until it reaches an internal temperature of 195 degrees. Cook to temp.... not time... NOTE: At about 165 degrees, the temperature is going to stall for a long time. This is to be expected, and just trust it. Once you get past the stall, you are perfect to go to 195, where all the fat inside melts away into the meat.... yummy !!! |
Rest the Pulled Pork
Take the pulled pork off the smoker and wrap it in aluminum foil. Then place into a cooler with some towels wrapped around it. Let it rest for 30 minutes to several hours. (I let mine rest for 4 hours before pulling, and it is still very warm) NOTE: You can cook the pulled pork several hours ahead of time, and it will stay perfect in the cooler for eating. |
Pull the pork & Eat
I like to pull the pork into manageable size pieces (about fist size) I then press them down on a cutting board so that I can see the muscle strands. And then using a chefs knife, I chop along the muscle strands, as I find this works great, goes a little faster, and is easier on my hands. (I saw this at a local BBQ place where the guy was doing it with two butcher knives... he was really fast) My favorite part.... EAT... Oh year, then I freeze my leftovers in quart size freezer bags. They go great in:
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