Brine for Pulled Pork?

WildBore · April 2004

Do any of y'all brine your pork before making pulled pork? I haven't seen anyone mention it, so I didn't know if it was a big no-no or not. I brine almost every other large chunk of meat no matter what critter it came from, or how I'm going to cook it, so I was thinking of brining these boneless pork shoulders before cooking my first pulled pork for my son's birthday this weekend. Any input, suggestions or recipes would be appreciated.
On a side note, I did a pork tenderloin with Obie-Cue's Sweet Rub BBQ spice rub, Maple Leaf lump, and apple wood chunks and chips. Wow. No matter what combination of spices and woods, I love making pork tenderloins. They don't take long to cook, and positively melt in your mouth.
Thanks,
Bruce

Mike in MN · April 2004

WildBore,
I never brine pork. Birds, yes. Pork, no. Beef, no.[p]Prior to starting on the BGE, slather it with plain old mustard, work in plenty of your rub, and let it sit (refrigerated) for up to 24 hours. Make sure you throw it on the grill as cold as possible. (it absorbs more smoke when it is cold) Also, I don't preheat the BGE. Once I start it, and the temp is starting to rise, I throw on the smoking wood (chunks/chips) and the fire almost wants to go out because of smothering it with all the fresh wood...then I throw on the meat and allow the temp to slowly climb to my setpoint of about 225°. This whole process can take up to an hour to reach 225....but it really smokes! Maintain the 225 until the internal temp reaches 200 (20+hours on my BGE) and you are good to go![p]I also use a plate setter and a pizza stone with a drip pan filled with water for an indirect cook. I only open the grill a couple of times to add water to the drip pan, and towards the end I mop the meat with my concoction of apple juice, garlic rice vinegar, hot seasoned oil, and Scott's BBQ Sauce. [p]Mike in MN

clausenk · April 2004

Mike in MN,
What is hot seasoned oil?
Thanks

Brine for Pulled Pork?

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