| The perfect pulled pork |
|
Purchase whole, untrimmed pork butts, either bone-in or boneless. To maximize bark formation (that dark, chewy, delicious outside meat) during barbecuing, trim off the fat cap, any false cap, and other large, easily removed pockets of fat from the roast. Don't worry, there will be plenty of fat left in the meat to keep it moist during cooking. I prefer the boneless option due to the fact it's quicker, and there is more surface for the dry rub leading to more bark, and that's always a good thing. Lay the shoulder out flat on a cutting board and start applying the dry rub. I recommend using Spice n' Stuff all purpose dry rub. Use a good amount of rub and cover every bit of the inside of the shoulder and then return the shoulder to it's natural shape and coat the outside with dry rub as well. Cover the shoulder and allow to sit at room temperature for at least a half an hour to ensure even cooking throughout. Now would be a great time to get you cooker ready. Most boneless shoulders will weigh in the 8-12 lb range and thus take around 10-12 hours to cook properly. The minion method for building your fire is highly recommended for long smokes and you can find all of the information pertaining to the minion method here. Once your fire is ready, aproxamately 200-225 degrees, you cooker is now ready for the shoulder. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees and add coals throughout the cooking process as necessary to maintain a cooking temperature in the 200-225 degree range. Once the shoulders reach an internal temperature of 190 degrees, remove from cooker and double wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil. Cover with a towel or I recommend you wrap in a towel and place in an empty ice chest, and let shoulder rest for at least 30 minutes. Once the shoulder has rested, it is then time to pull it. This can be done with a thick pair of rubber gloves or 2 forks work just as well. The meat should just literally fall apart and have absolutely no resistence when pulling. Place some cole slaw on a good hamburger bun or kaiser roll and top with a mound of the mouthwatering pulled pork. Pour some Q sauce or Southwest Chipotle Q sauce over the pork and get ready to have some of the best BBQ pork you have ever had. It's amazing that in just 12 hours you can take an extremely tough piece of meat and turn it into something people would line up around the block to enjoy.         |
