For the 4th of July weekend, I decided to try pulled pork for the first time. Pork is one of the meats in BBQ competitions (Pork, Brisket, Ribs and Chicken) and pulled pork is one of my wife's favorite BBQ meats. For pulled pork, you start with the pork shoulder or butt. Even though it is called a butt, it is really the butt end of the shoulder. I had chosen a 7.25 pound Hormel bone in pork butt roast a couple weeks back at Hy-Vee and had put it in my freezer. Since it was a solid 7+ pounds of meat, I started thawing on Monday in my refrigerator.
In preparation, I read about different rubs/marinades/injections and the like, but finally decided on Chris Lilly's 6 Time World Championship Rub and Injection. I figured that if the recipe has won six championships, it is probably pretty darned good.
On Sunday morning, I rolled out of bed (with the assistance of my alarm clock) at 6 am to begin preparation of the pork. First things, first....I had to make coffee! After the coffee was brewing, I removed the butt from its packaging and rinsed with cool water then patted dry with a paper towel. Recipes call for the removal of the fat cap, but this particular roast didn't have a cap. It had a thin layer of fat on the top, which was just fine for me. I had pre-mixed the rub the night before, but still had to make the injection. After making the injection, I began to inject the meat with my injector. What is interesting is that the meat is not a sponge and a lot of the injection runs through the meat...but, that is okay. It helps to keep the meat moist. There are different schools of thought on injecting. Some don't do it, while others say it is a must. As I am finding out with BBQ, injection, like most other things, is a matter of taste.
After injecting and rubbing, it was time to let the meat rest while I prepared the smoker. The meat rested for about an hour and 15 minutes.
I used apple smoke wood, about 7 pieces. It was the last of my batch and these pieces probably were the equivalent of 6 fist sized chunks. Below is a chart of the times and temps of the smoker along with other notable information:
| Time | Temp | Notes |
| 7:45am | 225F | |
| 8:30am | 231F | |
| 9:20am | 240F | |
| 10:05am | 200F | |
| 10:55am | 235F | Rain! |
| 11:10am | 260F | Closed down vents |
| 11:30am | 220F | Opened back up a bit |
| 11:48am | 250F | Rain stopped |
| 12:32pm | 240F | Internal temp 168F (don’t trust this) |
| 2:45pm | 180F | Rain…again! |
| 3:00pm | 200F | |
| 4:15pm | 255F | Internal 185F |
| 5:00pm | | Internal 191F – meat off |
In my notes, I exclaimed rain! Yes, it did rain on this day, which definitely played havoc with the smoker. I wasn't quite prepared for the fluctuating nature of the smoker as the rain was on and off. You will notice the 2 hour gap between 12:30 and 2:45. Well, I had looked at the radar and there was nothing in the area, so we decided to leave the house for some errands. Not 30 minutes into our errand run did it start raining. The showers had been so spotty earlier that I hoped (wrong) that maybe my house would be missed. When we did get back, I added some charcoal and opened up the vents. All was okay, but I did learn some lessons about cooking during changing weather conditions.
I made a note at the 12:32 internal temp check. I was using a remote thermometer and when I plugged it in (I had the probe in the meat from the start and the cord running up through the top vent), it read 168. At first, I thought this was probably a good number...maybe a touch high...given that the meat had been on for nearly five hours. However, when I checked temps again at 3, I was getting readings all over the board...197, 191, 185 (and dropping), so I had little faith in the remote thermometer on this day. I placed an instant read in the center and it read 170F at 3pm. I knew we still had some time to go. I was able to place the instant read in a location where I could see it with a flashlight through the top vent hole (so I didn't have to take off the lid again.
Once I saw the temp go between 190 and 195, I took off the lid and saw this:
I wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in a cooler for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, I prepped the smoker for some Scimeca's Italian Sausage (medium). Susan and I have always enjoyed Scimeca's sausage, so I figured what the hell? I would have some heat left and sausages only take about an hour. I put two small pieces of pecan wood on, waited 10 minutes and then added the sausages. At the end of there cycle, I brushed with Head Country sauce and left on for another 5 minutes. Then it was time to eat!
After 30 minutes of resting in the cooler, I took out the pork butt and began to pull it apart. It fell right off the bone and I was able to get some of the fat and connective tissue out and away from the meat. The outside layer and a nice pink smoke ring. Here are the pictures of the final product. It tasted as good as it looked.
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