Who makes the BEST pulled pork? Help me.....

krobertsmsn · October 2012

I have a 6.97 lb Boston butt that I want to do next weekend for out of town family. I have never done one. My searches have revealed that it is hard to mess up. Just asking for thoughts/advice on best method/rub. I have assortment of DP rubs. I expect an overnight cook with foil, towel and cooler. Thinking of putting on 11 pm ish....would I be better off starting 5 a.m. ish? Please forgive my "greenish" questions...just trying to sort it all out...I'm fairly new to egg and inexperienced to pulled pork. Take it easy on me....

Boileregger · October 2012

I did my first one about a month ago, an will be doing my second one next Saturday for some friends. Mine was a little over 9 lbs and took about 12 hours at 250ish grid. With yours being smaller, there is no way I'd do it overnight if it was me. If you keep the temp where I did, you should be looking at 1 to 1.5 hrs per lb. So, probably putting it on at 7am or so should do the trick.

pezking7p · October 2012

I'm not here to say that I make the best pulled pork, but in my experience:

-Rub doesn't seem to matter much, as long as it has paprika, brown sugar, chili powder, and cayenne if you want. I wouldn't go too spicy, though. I use mustard underneath, works great every time.
-I never seem to get 1 hr/lb or anything close to that. Usually closer to 0.75 hr/lb. That said, I usually screw up the fire somehow and end up taking 2 hours to get the thing started and get the butt on the grill. If you're planning on being up at 5am anyway, I'd start it at 11 pm, it'll probably be done around that time anyway.
-I prefer a higher cooking temp, 275-300 as opposed to 225-250. Egg stabilizes much easier at that temp for me, too.

-MOST IMPORTANT: don't sweat it. It's hard to screw up a butt. My first two butts I thought were complete disasters and they were amazing once we ate them.

krobertsmsn · October 2012

Great....I don't have to get up too early! Thank you...forgot about the mustard trick...can't wait!!!! Do I really need to mist it? I think not....

pezking7p · October 2012

I don't mist or put any water in the egg...just because I do it doesn't mean it's right, though. I've been doing this for about 6 months.

Sgt93 · October 2012

I did a butt just under 8 the other day an it took me 17 hours to cook it. I put water in the pan at the start and spray with apple juice and apple cider vinegar. Cook at somewhere between 235 and 250 (your choice). A lot of patience but rewarding afterwards.

thailandjohn · October 2012

I have done 100's of Butts

This is way way I do mine....start with a large cold bone in butt, (8-10 lbs), rub with the seasoning of your choice....I only rub the meat side, not the fat cap....insert meat probe (I use a Stoker)....set pit temp at 215 degrees....put in butt, fat side down.....close lid and let the Stoker and Egg do their thing....after 9-10 hours, I raise the pit temp to 250 and when the internal meat temp gets to 180,I raise the temp again to 275......when internal temp hits 195-200 that is when I remove from Egg....I prefer not to wrap but if it is going to be a while before we eat, I have no choice.....if I an at home, I will put it in a 170 oven unwrapped for holding......as you can see, I am not a big fan of turbo cooked butts.....I think there is a difference.....if applying sauce to the meat, it does not matter, turbo or slow, because the main flavor is the sauce.....I am a serve sauce on the side kind of a guy.......again, this is my way for a butt....there are many ways, read, practice and then do what you like best.........I will be cooking 8 butts this week....2 cooks, 4 each

Hashmaker · October 2012

This is how I do butts....

Make rub

Rub recipe:
1 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup paprika
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder

This next step sounds crazy but it's good...

Rub your butt liberally with bacon grease.

Then rub with rub.

Platesetter legs up with an empty drip pan on balls of foil.

Put butt on grill and cook 250-275 dome temp til the butt reaches 195 degrees.

Remove butt, double wrap in heavy duty foil, wrap in a couple towels and put it in a cooler. I try to keep it in the cooler for a couple of hours.

fishlessman · October 2012

rub mustsrd rub 250 dome 14 hours plus minus done inderect. cooler if you have to for time but if its done i just rest it in the counter for a half hour and pull, resting is a conveinience not a must. look for the elder ward method, its a good read for a first cook, two sauces etc

Village Idiot · October 2012

Don't ask a Texan. We cut out the ribs and bacon, save a little for sausage, then throw the rest away. Well, the Tejanos use the head for tamales. :D

thailandjohn · October 2012

hapster said:

I can't recommend any methods being a rookie myself; and despite people telling me they've loved it, I have always been less than impressed by my butts... Starting to think that it just isn't my thing. They never seem to taste "wow" to me no matter the rub. I add sauce and it sort of defeats the whole egg advantage. I used to do them that way in a crock pot. Good luck. There is a wealth of knowledge on the forum and great people always willing to help. H

I know what you mean by the WOW factor........before getting an XL Egg, I always cooked on a stick burner and it took me awhile to get the same flavor from my Egg as I would get from my stick burners.......what finally starting working was using only Mesquite charcoal and mixing in alot of wood chunks and chips......starting with a low temp (see my post above) and doing everything I said in my post......I do know it is more difficult maintaining a low temp without some kind temp controller......I still use my other pits and grills, but on my long slow cooks, I only use the Egg and Stoker.....here is a picture of a pulled butt with no sauce I did a couple weeks ago.......this was moist and had great flavor.....most of the people used no sauce, just a little vinegar shake like they do in North Carolina http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww116/JohnPatterson/adb0a228ef9f3c5ccd2a69484bb5ff70.jpg

rsmith193 · October 2012

Use the rub of your choice, we use 7 different rubs. I start layering the rubs at about 3:00pm and let them rest between each rub. I only rub meat side. place in a disposable pan and get it as cold as posible. About 12:00am I'll put the butts on at 250. I am a big fan of Peach wood for smoke with butts, it has a great flavor. I leave them in the pans during the cook.

After internal temp is at 170 I will wrap them in 2 layers of foil. before closing the foil, put a vinager based chile sauce, and honey (the honey take the viniger taste out). Wrap as tight as you can get it and return to the egg, until it reaches 195 to 200. Doff the liquid, then put them in an empty ice chest losely wraped. hold for a few hours, pull and amaze your guest, or attempt to amaze judges.

Smokin_Trout · October 2012

There's 100's of ways to do them-

I don't use mustard. I cut off most of the fat. Rub it just before putting it on. I try to cook at 250*- 7lb will take about 12 hours. Internal temp of 190-200. No foil until it goes in the cooler to keep for later.

The new thing I do now is pull the pork and then mix in some rub.

100's of ways- pick out the parts that sound good to you and go for it. Don't forget pulled pork pizza.

crmilt · October 2012

I cook mine like Thailand John said:

set pit temp at 215 degrees....put in butt, fat side down.....close lid and let the Stoker and Egg do their thing....after 9-10 hours, I raise the pit temp to 250 and when the internal meat temp gets to 180,I raise the temp again to 275......when internal temp hits 195-200 that is when I remove from Egg

I like to start the cook at low temp the night before. Then during the next day I can raise the temp and somewhat control when finished. I also have a temperature controller. Thatt helps.

thailandjohn · October 2012

Smokin_Trout said:
There's 100's of ways to do them-
I don't use mustard. I cut off most of the fat. Rub it just before putting it on. I try to cook at 250*- 7lb will take about 12 hours. Internal temp of 190-200. No foil until it goes in the cooler to keep for later.
The new thing I do now is pull the pork and then mix in some rub.
100's of ways- pick out the parts that sound good to you and go for it. Don't forget pulled pork pizza.

I have never done pizza on the Egg....what else do you put on the pulled pork pizza.....what sauce, BBQ sauce or pizza sauce, etc

krobertsmsn · October 2012

Lots of great advice. Thank you all very much. I have a few days to mull it over, but seems lower/slower, grid around 215-225, with a light coat of mustard or maybe try the bacon grease if I have it, and one of my DP rubs will do the trick. I'll likely use a little bit of the cherry chunks I have on hand. It looks like I should expect around 8 hrs for my 7 lb. butt, but I will plan 10, just in case. I will shoot for the magical 195, foil, towel and cooler til we are ready. Leftovers, if any, will be used for quesadillas, burritos or pizza. Thanks to all!!!

BTW thailandjohn-your pics literally made my mouth water...

DawgDays · October 2012

Not to hijack the thread but on the subject of PP -- anyone ever try sriracha either underneath the rub (instead of mustard) or in a foil stage? I'm of the opinion that sriracha is the nectar of the gods and just had this light bulb. May have to try it next weekend and report back...

krobertsmsn · October 2012

what is it?

DawgDays · October 2012

It's a hot sauce from Thailand or Vietnam. I'm biased but I think it blows away the Tabascos/Crystals of the world. I would practically put it in my Cheerios. Garlicky, sweet, definitely spicy. I'm sure Memphians and Carolina Qers would scoff at its use on a butt but I bet it would be a winner.

Since this butt is your first I might advise you to go traditional. I would also say to leave the Dizzy dust in the pantry and make your own rub. Dizzy is great stuff but given its cost I have a hard time justifying the 3/4 cup necessary to do a butt rub. Lots of opinions on that one though, I suppose.

Butts are maybe the most forgiving cook there is. As long as you keep the dome temp between 200 and 275, there's nothing to screw up. 250 is the sweet spot and don't pull it before it passes the fork test. I've had butts be ready for pulling at 190 and others that weren't ready 'til 215. The hog determines that so just leave yourself enough time.

Smokin_Trout · October 2012

@thailandjohn - I use a homemade BBQ sauce (search Larry Griffin), a good layer of PP and either mozzarella or muenster cheese.

jlsm · October 2012

Sriracha is a semi-Vietnamese-style hot sauce between the thickness of ketchup and Frank's. It was invented by a Vietnamese immigrant in California, one of those great success stories. It has a wonderful fresh taste along with great heat.

I would think you could use it sparingly and cut the hot pepper in your rub. I'm always afraid of going too spicy in the rub. Some folks just don't like it, and it can compete with your sauce (served on the side).

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Who makes the BEST pulled pork? Help me.....

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