Greetings from the UK
I’m having a few chaps round for a Royal wedding BBQ when our two great nations will be joined in holy matrimony.
I rather fancy doing pulled pork. I have absolutely no idea what a Boston Butt is but I intend to use a piece of pork shoulder about 2.5kg which I think is around 6-7 lb .
Two questions , assuming a Egg temp of of around 250f , What is the core temperature I should be aiming at and how long is that likely to take ?
From various posts I’ve read vinegar based sauces seem to be the weapon on choice , and suggestions on recipe ?
Also any recommended rubs ?
Should i spritz or not .
I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheerio
Kevlah
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Comments
Good luck!
May as well give my opinion on this. I've cooked thousands of pounds of butts. I know this because I've done 30+ 200lb cooks alone (not on my egg).
Only a few things actually matter.
A rub that has enough salt and some flavor you like. Rub is WAY less important than people act.
I inject every single butt I cook no matter what. It adds flavor and after cooking thousands of pounds of butts I like the additional flavor and control I have from injecting. It's a flavor profile change not a way to make it "juicy"
Juicy is a matter of cooking it long enough and resting long enough that you don't steam out your juice. I'm also a huge advocate of collecting drippings to pour back into my pulled pork. Wrapping does this, water pan can do this if you don't add too much water. It helps.
Break about 200 internal on the smoker and the pork will be good. I just wiggle the bone and when it's ready to pull it's ready.
You can't screw it up as long as you cook it enough. (and not so much that you end up with mush.. time and temp are important 24 hour cooks will be tender at 190 (this only happens to me when I'm cooking 30 butts on the big rig), 6-10 hr normal egg cooks at like 200-205. All that matters is tenderness when you poke it.
sorry for the ADHD bullet points. I'm bout drunk #SundayFunday
OOH yeah... smoker temp. After manning an offset for 2 years. IT DOESN'T MATTER! I shoot for 275 on the egg and expect 8-10 hour cooks
The Grocery Cart
I use this sauce most often for pulled pork. I squirt some into the pork right after pulling and mix it in -- not enough to really taste a lot, but to give it a little tang, and I also have a squirt bottle at the table in case I want more on my sandwich. The most common way pulled pork is served in North Carolina is on a plain, cheap hamburger bun with some cole slaw on top.
I hate to mention this, because I'm sorry, but I really hate the name of this sauce, but just in case it might be interesting, here's another sauce that I actually like a lot. It's similar to the one above, but has more flavor than a regular "vinegar sauce." I usually like the pork flavor to be the main thing you taste in pulled pork, which is why I love the Eastern NC vinegar sauce most of the time. But once in a while it's fun to have something with a little more flavor, like that Giddy Swamp mustard sauce (more typical of South Carolina) that I linked-to above, or this one: "Dead Guy Sauce." Maybe they had a good reason they called it that, and have happy, warm smiles whenever they say it because of a secret meaning or something, but to me, it just sort of makes me not want to use it. (I renamed it for my own use...)
Pork butt = Boston butt = pork shoulder = pork collar = kata
In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’ Dare to think for yourself.
Approximate cooking times for pork butt/shoulder:
225º: 2 hours a pound
250º: 1.5 hours a pound
275º: 1 hour per pound
350º: 30-45 mins per pound
There is a good amount of variability between individual pieces so take all times as rough. Times assume a full sized butt - 7-10 pounds. Temps are dome and ºF.
In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’ Dare to think for yourself.
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/elder.htm#rubs
Given enough time, I prefer a dome temp of 250F, and the biggest butt available. I do prefer a rather sugary rub for butts. I really like the crunchy bark that forms from the sugar bonding w. the baked fat. But I do favor a tart sauce, either vinegar or mustard.
You will want a drip pan underneath to catch the copious amount of fat that will render out. Usually there is so much that while it boils, it doesn't smoke and produce bitter flavor.
If you have a bone-in butt, you can tell its done when the bone can be pulled away with just ones fingers. The butt as a whole will begin to quake like a mass of gelatin. I've had a few fall to pieces taking them off the Egg grill.
There are some people who pull the pork, cooked w. little or no rub on it, and then mix the rub spices in to taste.
If being served in a sandwich, the sauce can be mixed with slaw. Works well, because one gets both the unctuous feel of the sweet meat and the crunch of the fresh tart cabbage mix.
Good luck, and happy wedding day celebration!
The Shoulder is actually the lower section of the pigs front leg. It generally has a short section of the lower leg bone showing. It is below the butt section.
The description of them being the same may have not been meant to have been taken literally. (And then again I could be totally wrong in my description of the difference)
I have cooked a Shoulder before and I really liked it. The shoulder has a different taste and texture.
Best of luck with your cook - I'm sure it will be awesome.
LBGE, 2 SBGE, Hasty-Bake Gourmet
A large and it went very well but the stall was a bit of a worry
I experiment with different rubs and I never use sauce. I recently started putting the butt in a disposable aluminum pan to finish the cook.
MiniMax 04/17
Unofficial BGE MiniMax Evangelist
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Thanks as ever for your suggestions and encouragement.
Kind Regards