A different approach to making pulled pork

JohnInCarolina

I have been meaning to try this for some time, but have so much vac-sealed PP in my freezer it just hasn't made sense yet.  In any case, I thought some of you might be interested in this.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASs0RsE8AxI

If you don't want to watch the video, the basic idea is to butterfly out the shoulder so that you increase the surface area a lot, and thus maximize bark formation (and smoke).  He smokes it in large chunks (bone removed) until it gets to the stall (about 170F IT).  Then to prevent it from drying out, you braise it in a foil covered pan to finish, adding some lard to increase the moisture and deliciousness. 

Money shot of the end result:



Looks worth trying, at least once. Do it up!  

fishlessman

if im short for time ive done the boneless ones this way but have not braised at the end, theres always a small area that dries out but not bad. you can get alot of mop liquid in the nooks and crannys if you cook the inside bone area up.

Legume

I'll bet that's faster 

MaskedMarvel

I did something similar once with the Costco pork that was pre cut into long strips. Maybe 2”x2”x12”…

worked reasonably well for those who crave “the brown.”

decided it was better with char siu 

Legume

MaskedMarvel said:

I did something similar once with the Costco pork that was pre cut into long strips. Maybe 2”x2”x12”…

worked reasonably well for those who crave “the brown.”

decided it was better with char siu 

The boneless country ribs?

FrostyEgg

Interesting, but bark is built with time. I wonder if this would hit temp before the egg could even build a bark i'm happy with? Guess there's only one way to find out.

MaskedMarvel

Legume said:

MaskedMarvel said:

I did something similar once with the Costco pork that was pre cut into long strips. Maybe 2”x2”x12”…

worked reasonably well for those who crave “the brown.”

decided it was better with char siu 

The boneless country ribs?

That may have been what they called it. I’ll check it out when I hit Costco again this week. 

JohnInCarolina

FrostyEgg said:

Interesting, but bark is built with time. I wonder if this would hit temp before the egg could even build a bark i'm happy with? Guess there's only one way to find out.

Giddyup!

MotownVol

Smoking three pork butts this weekend for a class reunion picnic.  I think for this event I want to stick with the tried and true method.

GregW

An interesting cooking method. I have always thought that cooking time was directly related to flavor.  Who knows, maybe the increased surface area of the meat will compensate for the reduced cooking time.
This new method would certainly be worth a try. 

Ike

https://www.smoking-meat.com/texas-style-pork-butt?awt_a=2AWb&awt_l=CKYYy&awt_m=JsztXi6MAv9lWb

I've cooked the last couple of butts this way and it was awesome and went over very well...variety is the spice of life, or so I've heard.

JohnInCarolina

I’ll be giving this a shot today, will let y’all know how it turns out!

JohnInCarolina

First time actually deboning a butt for me. I did an OK job, not great.  I left a fair amount of meat still on the bone.



Was able to cut off a few small bites, gave them to the boy - he was happy!

JohnInCarolina

Just before the final finish in the oven.  Using some Wagyu beef tallow there to add some moisture:



Bark formation wasn’t great.  Next time I’ll try using a rub with some sugar, or @YukonRon’s tried and true peach preserves.

JohnInCarolina

And pulled!

JohnInCarolina

This was as good as pulled pork made the standard way, if not better. Next time I’ll definitely up the bark game.  But this is pretty easy.

For reference, this was an 8lb butt that was on the Egg for six hours at 250 dome, then finished in the oven at 300 for 1:15.  

lousubcap

Granted time of cook is needed at some point but I find the enjoyment is the protracted event.  Seven hours plus for a going in butt weight (unknown after the deboning) is not out of line for any butt when juicing the cook with foil is the desired end game.  
As long as it hit the target taste/texture just another option.  BTW- what rig for the cook?

JohnInCarolina

lousubcap said:

Granted time of cook is needed at some point but I find the enjoyment is the protracted event.  Seven hours plus for a going in butt weight (unknown after the deboning) is not out of line for any butt when juicing the cook with foil is the desired end game.  
As long as it hit the target taste/texture just another option.  BTW- what rig for the cook?

I just used the BGE for the smoke, Frank.  I had plenty of work to do today and needed a set it and forget it option.  

lkapigian

Looks killer @JohnInCarolina ! 

dbCooper

Looks great, thanks for sharing the idea and cook.  Did the tallow add anything noticeable?  Seems their could be lots of options for the "liquid" used during braising.

lkapigian

JohnInCarolina said:

First time actually deboning a butt for me. I did an OK job, not great.  I left a fair amount of meat still on the bone.



Was able to cut off a few small bites, gave them to the boy - he was happy!

Seam Butchery is your friend 

JohnInCarolina

dbCooper said:

Looks great, thanks for sharing the idea and cook.  Did the tallow add anything noticeable?  Seems their could be lots of options for the "liquid" used during braising.

The tallow did add some moisture and flavor to the final pulled batch for sure.  It’s subtle, but you can definitely pick it up.  And I agree, there are many options for substitutions.

Legume

I think you need a "pulled pork, how I do it" thread since this includes a braise.

xfire_ATX

I do mine whole on egg till about 165 then put in DO with onions and apple cider vinegar until ~200 and then I check with probe.

I also do it turbo at ~350.

Legume

I live in an area that has little to no bbq to speak of and what there is commercially is kind of sterile compared to what I was surrounded by in Austin.  In five years I have never smelled good bbq smells coming out of a backyard near me. I take it as a personal responsibility and moral obligation to cook low and slow here and fill the neighbors open windows with all the smells - especially on a nice day when their windows are open.

DoubleEgger

Legume said:

I live in an area that has little to no bbq to speak of and what there is commercially is kind of sterile compared to what I was surrounded by in Austin.  In five years I have never smelled good bbq smells coming out of a backyard near me. I take it as a personal responsibility and moral obligation to cook low and slow here and fill the neighbors open windows with all the smells - especially on a nice day when their windows are open.

What do you believe are the drivers behind the lack of barbecue in your area? I’m surprised as I thought the area would be loaded with BBQ joints. 

Legume

There are a few bbq places and some food trucks - I've had some bad and some decent, but I've kind of stopped trying them except there is one food truck that smokes beef cheeks - I will try that next time I see them, I think cheeks signals a level of expertise I need to try.

I don't know why such a dearth of places, maybe people that move here from Texas try to keep a lower profile? Or the ones that open places were never good at it anyway?

local Ace carries BGEs and lots of lump and smoking wood, local wood place brings in post oak by semi from Texas, so someone is smoking the meats, but I never smell it which is impossible in Austin.

MaskedMarvel

JohnInCarolina said:

I have been meaning to try this for some time, but have so much vac-sealed PP in my freezer it just hasn't made sense yet.  In any case, I thought some of you might be interested in this.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASs0RsE8AxI

If you don't want to watch the video, the basic idea is to butterfly out the shoulder so that you increase the surface area a lot, and thus maximize bark formation (and smoke).  He smokes it in large chunks (bone removed) until it gets to the stall (about 170F IT).  Then to prevent it from drying out, you braise it in a foil covered pan to finish, adding some lard to increase the moisture and deliciousness. 

Money shot of the end result:



Looks worth trying, at least once. Do it up!  

Our Costco has pork butts cut into 1x1 long strips. 

Might work? 

I wanna say I smoked those years ago to try and maximize the brown…

looks fantastic my friend!