@mentat It was an odd one... The rub was improvised and had been applied the night before: powdered paprika, onion, garlic, and mustard, some cayenne pepper, and a liberal amount of black pepper, along with a bit of kosher salt and a bit of dark brown sugar. The 8 pound shoulder was in the smoker for a total of about 2 hours, smoking very heavily, but it was running WAY too hot and I couldn't seem to get the temp down. At the two hour point I figured it had gotten a fair bit of smoke and started to develop a slight crust but it was going to cook way too fast so I wrapped it in foil and shoved it into a 200F oven. It stayed in there for another 6 hours until it came up to 185. Then I dropped it into a cooler for half an hour to rest and it kept rising to 192 before finally leveling off.
The end result was way beyond what I'd hoped for, especially given the relatively high heat start.
Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich With Mustard & Cider Vinegar Sauce
@jer nice. i have had more shoulders work out better that way than actually long term on the old smoker - it was a cheap Char Broil side box barrel smoker that was shit for keeping steady temps. I left it behind in the move, and now have a Weber kettle, so I will need to learn proper smoking via this vessel, but it already seems to hold a steadier temp.
guys, for someone living accross the ocean with no past history of smoking food (just weed) how should I do it. I mean, how shall I smoke a large portion of food like this?
@Allanpoe http://amazingribs.com is a great introduction to the many, many, many parts of the world of smoking meats. Use it as a starting point, and then head off from there.
Surprisingly, I also find http://reddit.com/r/smoking to be handy as well (/r/bbq also, but there's less food porn on there, just techniques).
@jer, what did you serve with it on the first meal?
Surprisingly, I also find http://reddit.com/r/smoking to be handy as well (/r/bbq also, but there's less food porn on there, just techniques).
@jer, what did you serve with it on the first meal?
@Allanpoe If you don't have a dedicated smoker, then here's your best bet with a standard Weber-style grill: Get a 3-4 pound pork shoulder, boneless. Have your butcher tie it up like a roast for even cooking. Coat it with a rub made from paprika, black pepper, garlic, onion, and mustard powders, kosher salt, and brown sugar. Give it a good rub and put it in the fridge overnight.
Next day, take your pork out of the fridge and let it rest, covered, on your counter while you do your prep work. Ready your grill by putting a layer of unlit coals down on one side of the grill. Put a disposable aluminum roasting pan down on the other side (this keeps the coals (and thus the heat) on one side of the grill and also acts as a drip pan. While this is going on, soak some fruit wood chips or chunks in some water. Apple, pear, cherry, plum, they all work great with pork. Now if you have a chimney starter, light half a chimney full of coals. If you don't have one, just light maybe 15-20 brickettes, something like that. When they're going, pour them on top of the unlit layer of coals. Open the bottom vent about halfway. Put a good heaping handful or two of wood on the lit coals, put the main grate on the grill, and put the pork shoulder over the drip pan with any fat cap on top. Put the lid on the grill with the vent positioned over the meat and open the vent about halfway.
I recommend using a pair of probe-style thermometers, one that can stay in the meat throughout the cooking and another that can be stuck just inside the top vent of the grill to keep an eye on the temp inside. Your target should be 105-120C in the grill and eventually, after at least 3 hours, around 90C in the center of your pork shoulder. Low and slow is the name of the game. You want to give all the connective tissues in that meat ample time to melt away into delicious fatty goodness.
Once you hit your target temp, I like to take the meat, wrap it in foil, and then toss it into a drinks cooler to rest. The insulation of the cooler allows the meat to rest very gently without cooling down excessively. Give it at least 15 minutes. 30 is better. Then pull it to pieces carefully (hot!) and eat the everloving hell out of it.
Next day, take your pork out of the fridge and let it rest, covered, on your counter while you do your prep work. Ready your grill by putting a layer of unlit coals down on one side of the grill. Put a disposable aluminum roasting pan down on the other side (this keeps the coals (and thus the heat) on one side of the grill and also acts as a drip pan. While this is going on, soak some fruit wood chips or chunks in some water. Apple, pear, cherry, plum, they all work great with pork. Now if you have a chimney starter, light half a chimney full of coals. If you don't have one, just light maybe 15-20 brickettes, something like that. When they're going, pour them on top of the unlit layer of coals. Open the bottom vent about halfway. Put a good heaping handful or two of wood on the lit coals, put the main grate on the grill, and put the pork shoulder over the drip pan with any fat cap on top. Put the lid on the grill with the vent positioned over the meat and open the vent about halfway.
I recommend using a pair of probe-style thermometers, one that can stay in the meat throughout the cooking and another that can be stuck just inside the top vent of the grill to keep an eye on the temp inside. Your target should be 105-120C in the grill and eventually, after at least 3 hours, around 90C in the center of your pork shoulder. Low and slow is the name of the game. You want to give all the connective tissues in that meat ample time to melt away into delicious fatty goodness.
Once you hit your target temp, I like to take the meat, wrap it in foil, and then toss it into a drinks cooler to rest. The insulation of the cooler allows the meat to rest very gently without cooling down excessively. Give it at least 15 minutes. 30 is better. Then pull it to pieces carefully (hot!) and eat the everloving hell out of it.
@jordanbrock It was a potluck so we had a fresh green salad from one guest's garden, fresh grilled zucchini from another guest's garden, a fantastic black bean and couscous salad, and some Korean-style kalbi thin cut beef shortribs.
@jer you know you got me drooking, right? and I haven't had my breakfast yet..
thanks a lot for the info.. I'll need to try this soon ..
@jordanbrock thanks as well!
thanks a lot for the info.. I'll need to try this soon ..
@jordanbrock thanks as well!
I'm with vidiot. :) Everything about this is epic sans mustard. I didn't know you had a smoker Jer... *packs 38 pounds of meat into a cooler to bring to work*
@Vidiot @thranx I don't know what you guys have against mustard, but even if you're not a big fan, you have to trust me on this: The tangy mix of that yellow mustard and the cider vinegar brings out the sweet smokiness of the meat in an amazing, magical way.
You say magic, I say dark sworcery. I also dislike vinegar. *shudder* Your "Carolina" nasty mix is about as evil as they come.
Everything else about this is breathtakingly good.
Everything else about this is breathtakingly good.
as a North Carolinian, I am duty-bound to abhor the abomination that is mustard in barbecue sauce. That's for South Carolinians.
how long?