I think I goofed on the Pulled Pork

Ric McN

Had an egg since Thanksgiving and everything I've cooked has been fanstatic; Until now. I did the 20 hour boston butt pulled pork recipe. I know, I took a shortcut. I did not let the butt marinate. But other than that, I pretty much followed the book. Smoked at 200, then last couple of hours up to 260. It looked great when it finished. The meat very, very tender. But, it has no taste to it. The fist sized piece of hickory burned. I put in 3 other pieces on top of the coals but they did not burn due to the fire burning irregular. So, no smoke taste. Without salt, no taste at all. Maybe it's just me being a southerner and liking a little fat in the meat Any suggestions other than marrinate butt? thanks

Elder Ward

Ric McN,
Marinate? Who's recipe did you follow? No salt no flavor. Even when you coat them with dry rub as in my method which should have tons of flavor, the end result is the different finishing sauces you use prior to surving.
There are other methods as valid as my own so give us more info and everyone here will walk you through this. [p]ElderWard

Ric McN

I may have been a little premature in my posting. I let the meat cool off real good and then tasted it again. It's got pretty good flavor but I reckon I'm missing the hickory smoke flavor. My piece of hickory must have not been enough, (maybe it wasn't a big enough piece). And you are right about the finishing sauce. I 'm gonna get one of the recipes for that, go to the store, get the ingredients and hoepfully have it ready for lunch. Elder, does the piece of wood you put in the middle of the coals burn or just smolder. thanks

Unknown

Elder Ward,
Maybe I need to learn more about the finishing sauces, but we always enjoy the flavor with just a rub. We don't even use finishing sauces. I can't hardly even get it pulled without the family coming over and "sampling" the pulled pork.

Elder Ward

Ric McN,
I have had it do both. If you soak it first and you start out slow sometimes it just does not get ignited well. I use mine dry. One of the things that I should have corrected in my recipe that appears on this site is that I build a small mound over the fire cube once this is burning well and it gets started then spread these pieces aroundthe area and place the fist of smoke wood in the center of the starting point without disturbing the fire that has begun under it. Hope this helps.[p]If you got em smoke em,
Elder Ward

Elder Ward

Kelvin,
If you liberal apply my vinegar sauce over the meat the second you get it pulled and then apply the piedmont sauce on top of that in sandwich form or on top on a plate you will have to have the National Guard standby at full alert the next time you serve it. Guarenteed. But don't take my word for it try it and you will see. I like to sample mine without also but it aint the same. :0 [p]If you got em smoke em,
Elder Ward

JonLadd

It sounds like the roast was fine and lightly smoked. Finishing sauce would have been perfect to my tastes but... Its a big world and if you want more smoke add some more pieces of hickory. The butt is a great peice of meat to learn on and try different woods too.. I usually use hickory or pecan (I have two trees of the latter in my yard) for smoking. As with most folks I made it way too smokey years ago and now my tastes have changed to enjoy a more subtle smoke. I do make my own finishing sauce but order peidmont style sauce directly from Lexington BBQ.
Back to watching...

MrCoffee

Ric McN,
I like mine finished on a cheap bun (as recommended on this site), a little salt and freshly ground pepper, and several bread & butter pickle slices. It doesn't need a whole lot more. Well, maybe a beer or two.[p]Terry

Unknown

Ric McN,I usually eat mine on a fresh bun with a homemade vinegar based bbq sauce, small amount of mustard, small amount of homemade thick bbq sauce, thick sliced dill pickles, and a healthy dose of Tabasco sauce, and although that sounds like alot, it seems to mix with the pulled pork very well. Sometimes i add tater chips or baked beans, sometimes both.I think that I would like joel Fermans burgers

Unknown

Elder Ward,
Thanks for the suggestion. I am always up to trying something new.