Had my parents and gf over for dinner. This was my first attempt at pulled pork / pork butt, and everything came out fantastic!

My 2 beautiful butts from the butcher
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First I oiled my butts
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Then I added my homemade rub
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Flavory goodness
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Rubbed and ready to chill overnight
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I also brined my salmon over night
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The next morning, my fridge smelled amazing!
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Smoked with hardwood (oak) charcoal and cherry wood chunks and chips, this was after about 2 hrs
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This is after about 4 hrs, I sprayed water on the outside to keep it moist. Bought apple juice but didn't really want to add sugar or sweetness, the bark was awesome
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Lifted the butts after about 8 hrs when internal temp hit 195 deg
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Once the pork was lifted I threw on the salmon
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Highly recommend getting a set of bear claws, they really help with shredding the meat
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Everyone agreed that this was the best pulled pork they had ever tasted. I learned a lot and definitely will make this again in the future. And now I have leftovers for days!
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^Is 8 hrs the recommended time, or that is your preferred time?

Reason I ask, being very much a noob to 'Smoker life', is if there is a way to cook the pork so that the bark is not quite so dark.

Wondering if that is a cooking preference or if there is another way to avoid that.

Looks good, still maintained alot of moisture, I assume?

 

That's what's recommended. It's about 1.5 hrs per lb, and both of mine were 5 lbs. The bark definitely was a bit too blackened for me, but the flavor was incredible. The issue is getting the internal temp to 195 deg. It stalled around 170-180 and hung there, so I had to keep smoking to get it all the way up to temp.

Like I said it was a learning experience for me, next time I probably will smoke for a bit less time, but yes the meat had plenty of juice and moisture.

 

Ah ok, looked good at the last stage you posted a picture of before the done stage......

Regardless, once pulled, that looked great.

How did the salmon turn out?

 

Salmon was awesome, probably the best I've made yet, it was super juicy and flavorful

 

You can get less bark by wrapping in foil once the temp hits ~150F-160F. The time is irrelevant. You cook to a temperature, not to a time.

Report from the london broil. Epic fail. Cooked with hickory (WAY too strong) to a nice medium rare at 225F and it was awful in taste. Guessing it was a combination of smoke and marinade that botched it, oh well can't win them all. Would definitely toss in a sear before serving next time though.

 

Yeah, hickory is a bad choice, should have used something lighter

 

Color of the bark really doesn't make a difference. I wouldn't focus on that. The color of Ack's bark is pretty typical. Pork butts may/will stall at ~150F and ~170F. I didn't wrap my first 2 butts, but I'll probably wrap the next one at 150F, stall or no stall.

Here's some pics from Meathead's website. Note the bark, it's pretty dark.



And here's one of my butts (no wrap). The bark is pretty dark, but it was awesome!!:

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Yeah, I read on his site not to wrap them, I definitely will next time

 

As a time saving measure or something else?

What wood do you use for your london broils?

 

More as a general practice, I always wrap my ribs to keep them moist, so I think the same should apply to the butts. Some of the bark on the edges was dried out although the meat was still juicy. Plus I'd rather have a bit lighter bark. Like I said, it was a learning experience and I think 8 hrs of direct smoke was just too much

I use oak hardwood lump charcoal as well as mesquite wood chips usually since I marinate in a chimmichurri sauce with a bit of a spice to it, I find that the mesquite gives it a great flavor

 

Yeah...I usually only smoke the first half of the cook. After a while, it just can't absorb any more smoke flavor anyway.

I'll give that a try, sounds a lot better. Do you cook at 225 or higher? I marinated in a soy based marinade and it was gross with the hickory.

 

For me, just a time saving measure. I think it could easily save 2 hours on a pork butt. I have no complaints about the 2 butts I've done unwrapped.

 

225, never higher than that

 

Appreciate the tips/advice.

I had a feeling foil would be the way to go, which still allows the flavour to be absorbed.

Guess the next argument about foil would be which side you put on the outside shiny vs dull side. lol

I need to try pulled pork without the sauce vs with. Not a huge fan of bbq coverered in sauce, so, the pic Ack posted of the pulled product, is exactly how I would enjoy it.

Ribs definately need wrapping in foil, I would agree......still haven't even tried grilling beef ribs, let alone smoking them.

 

The pulled pork without the sauce is the way to go, my gf and I were eating it straight out of the pan as I was shredding it. I did use a bit of sauce just to kick up the flavor though. Made a sandwich with my homemade pickled banana peppers, pickles, a dash of sauce and some pepper jack cheese. OMFG amazing!

 

Just made pulled pork scrambled eggs, omfg amazing!

 

I'm going to have to try that!!

 

So freaking good

 

Ack, your butt looks awesome. No homo.

 

Thanks buddy :gheylaugh:

 

So friday i was browsing on offer up and saw an ad for a Weber Smokey Mountain with a Weber wireless thermometer for $70. Judging by the picture and the price i knew it had to be the 14.5" WSM which I didn't want to get (was hoping to find a 18.5" or 22.5") but for the price I decided to bite the bullet and buy it. Guy bought it used it once and decided charcoal was not for him and decided to sell it and get electric. I haven't used it yet but looking forward to using it and see how much i like it compared to me 40" MES.

 

sweet deal!

 

I know i was happy! 14.5" is a little on the small size but I can still get a decent amount of meat on there. With two rib racks I can get 4 slabs of ribs which is usually more than plenty for us. I do want to get a 18.5" or 22.5" WSM in the future so I can smoke a nice 14-18 pound turkey but until then I will be enjoying what I have.

 

Ack - what size is Brinkman smoker? Probably 18-20"?

 

18" I believe

 

I wish my WSM was 18" but I know i will have either a 18" or 22" WSM in the near future because I often smoke meat for guests and stuff and the 14" just won't cut it for that.

 

I hear ya, I'm still planning to get the WSM 18" but I've been seriously contemplating just saving more and buying the 22"

I'll get to it sooner or later, when I'm not remodeling 2 bathrooms at once

 

Just smoked my first ever brisket, turned out pretty good.
~10 hours of smoking and 2 hours wrapped in foil in the oven at 250F

 

I was in Austin Texas a few weeks ago, some barbecue visit while there
Saltlick


Black's

 

Brisket looks amazing!

 

I went to Salt Lick a few years ago, and it was unbelievable. If I lived closer to that place I could never diet, it's unreal how good their food is

 

Thanks, it was a very simple recipe I found on Epicurus.com with only course salt and pepper rub.


Amazing barbecue place, IMO the quality has gone up over the years (not sure if it's because of their competition or whatever).
The $25 all you can eat is a bargain considering I got three plates of their great sausage/ribs/brisket.
Never been to Franklin's but my friend in Austin has once, he said their brisket and ribs were outstanding but not worth the wait.
His favorite now is Black's which I thought was also great but I'm partial to Salt Lick.

 

How did the brisket turn out on the grill? Did it get a good amount of smoke?

 

For those of you doing brisket, what wood are you using for smoke? I'm going to do one this weekend as a trial for a get together we have coming up and need some tips. Probably just going to do the flat since a whole packer won't fit in my smoker...

Thoughts?

 

I would probably say something like Apple will be good, not too strong yet has good smoke flavor.

 

Very good even if I did it myself, considering it was my first time .
Nice smoky flavor with some bark on the outside.

I used hickory chucks on top of the heat shield of my gas grill.
This brisket was from Giant Food (local grocery store), so it was nothing special like getting it at a butcher.
It was fairly close trimmed on one side, and ~1/4" fat on the back. The recipe said to leave the fat on, and have it on the top while smoking to allow the juices to permeate the meat.
My only issue was I was never able to get the brisket up to 195-205oF, so I wrapped it in foil and transferred it to a electric oven at 250oF for the last two hours.

I'll try apple next time and also smoke some ribs at the same time.

Smoking is easy once I learned the the technique and peculiarities of using wood chips then chunks on a gas grill.

 

Smoking can be very addicting but I enjoy it! You plan on getting a smoker or just continue using your grill?

 

Wouldn't apple be too light in flavor for something dense like brisket?

 

If you want stronger smoke you can go Hickory or Hickory mixed with a lighter wood. I know a lot of people use hickory for brisket but for some it is too strong because of the longer cooking time. Another good one is Pecan, its milder.