Little did he know, but that was EXACTLY what I was planning to do this AM, LOL!!! Heck, we have to have something to eat during the week anyway & everybody like pulled pork.
I got them seasoned up, ready to go yesterday morning & also did the final sauce at that time (I'll post the recipe for the sauce at the end - it's dead simple).
To prep the butts, rinse them off & pat them dry. Now trim off the excess fat, what we want is no more than 1/8" - 1/4" cap of fat on the top & then clean it up to shape it so there no hang pieces to burn/dry out. Get some yellow mustard & coat the entire butt with it (yes it is best to use your hands)... Not too much, just enough to make your BBQ rub stick. Once that is done, double wrap it in Saran Wrap & put it back into the refrigerator for 12 - 24 hrs (make sure you have it on a plate (or pan) - it will leak).
Now get your finishing sauce ready. This is our version of Eastern NC Pulled Pork Sauce
The prep is now done and you're good to go.
Now I don't know what the weather is like elsewhere, but its hot here, yesterday was 109 degrees so I prefer to start smoking things early... Like 0'dark thirty (1:00 AM) when it is a cool 80 degrees.
That being the case the butts went on the smoker as soon as I got the coals in & the pit's temperature stabilized at 225 (which was about 2:00 AM).
Now it's just a matter of time, so I went in the house to make coffee & peruse the internet for a while...
Every hour or so I added more coals to keep the temperature at 225 & to check the butts... Here is what they looked like at 7:00 AM (5 hrs) & looking real good!!!
I got them seasoned up, ready to go yesterday morning & also did the final sauce at that time (I'll post the recipe for the sauce at the end - it's dead simple).
To prep the butts, rinse them off & pat them dry. Now trim off the excess fat, what we want is no more than 1/8" - 1/4" cap of fat on the top & then clean it up to shape it so there no hang pieces to burn/dry out. Get some yellow mustard & coat the entire butt with it (yes it is best to use your hands)... Not too much, just enough to make your BBQ rub stick. Once that is done, double wrap it in Saran Wrap & put it back into the refrigerator for 12 - 24 hrs (make sure you have it on a plate (or pan) - it will leak).
Now get your finishing sauce ready. This is our version of Eastern NC Pulled Pork Sauce
- 2 Cups Cider or white vinegar (I use Cider)
- 2 TBS sugar or packed brown sugar (I use brown).
- 2 TSP salt
- 1 TSP fresh ground black pepper
- 1 TSP cayenne or hot red pepper flakes (I use cayenne)
The prep is now done and you're good to go.
Now I don't know what the weather is like elsewhere, but its hot here, yesterday was 109 degrees so I prefer to start smoking things early... Like 0'dark thirty (1:00 AM) when it is a cool 80 degrees.
That being the case the butts went on the smoker as soon as I got the coals in & the pit's temperature stabilized at 225 (which was about 2:00 AM). Now it's just a matter of time, so I went in the house to make coffee & peruse the internet for a while...
Every hour or so I added more coals to keep the temperature at 225 & to check the butts... Here is what they looked like at 7:00 AM (5 hrs) & looking real good!!!
