I Have Much Pork

[Chad]

Howdy folks, I just picked up a 6lb and an 8lb pork butt from my friendly butcher. I'm going to do a Lexington/WNC style barbecue tomorrow with the 8 pounder. But I do have two smoking questions.

1) How long should I allow on the smoker to reached proper pulled pork consistency? I'm thinking about 8 hours to reach 190+. This'll be on a Weber kettle, by the way.

2) I've never done this, but several recent BBQ technique articles I've read mentioned trussing the pork shoulder into a compact cube. Do any of y'all do this? Does it help?

Thanks!

Chad

[fifi]

In my experience, an 8 pounder will probably take a lot longer than 8 hours. I run my Weber Smokey Mountain at 225F at the grate (about 250 at the top vent). You really shouldn't have temperature "at the meat" much above 225. I also pull it off at an internal temperature of more like 200. I use one of those remote probe thermometers in the meat. I currently have a Redi Chek Remote that works well now that I have replaced the batteries that came with it.

If you are not monitoring temperature, you can see that it is at the "pulling" stage when the bone practically comes out (or does) when you wiggle it.

I have never tied one and can't think of a good reason to do so.

I do, however, highly recommending brining for about 24 hours before you start this.

[fiftydollars]

I would plan on 1.25-1.5 hours per pound. I usually shoot for at least 190-195 degrees for pulling, but I have been known to pull it at 200+ and 180. At the lower temperatures it won't pull as readily. In my experience the actual smoking of the meat will only take 6-8 hours as the meat will not continue to absorb smoke past that point. However, the rest of the time is required to properly cook the thing. You can finish it in a slow oven (225) until it reaches whatever temperature you like. I only mention this because, since you are using a kettle and not a smoker, you might get tired of wrestling with the coals to keep the temperature at a proper level.

[fifi]

Good point, fiftydollars. I am pretty spoiled with the WSM. I just load it with charcoal, get the temperature settled out and pretty much forget it. All I have to do is maybe add water to the pan a couple of times. With a Weber kettle, I would probably be inclined to move it to a 225 oven to finish. Would you wrap it in foil to do that?

[Chad]

Thanks, folks. I'm not new to barbecue. I'm heir to the one true Lexington/Western NC barbecue recipe, as revealed to my family in a vision of a talking pig many years ago .

Sidenote: To those who might be new to eGullet or to the various styles of NC/SC/Georgia barbecue, suffice it to say that religous wars have been fought over the inclusion of ketchup to the vinegar and crushed red pepper sauce. Try bringing SC-style mustard-based sauce into the conversation and, well, you're likely to lose friends. We're serious about this stuff. Please excuse my misguided attempt at humor.

I've never tried it on a Weber kettle, before, though, so I really appreciate the assistance. Looks like I'll have to get started a little earlier than planned. So, I'll keep the grill (indirect heat, drip pan full of water & moist wood chips, of course) about 200-225 if I can manage it, finish in a 225 degree oven when I get tired of messing with it.

James Villas recommends turning at two hours, slashing and dousing with the vinegar sauce at four hours, then putting it back on to finish. Any thoughts on the efficacy of the slashing/dousing method?

Chad

[Mayhaw Man]

Thanks, folks. I'm not new to barbecue. I'm heir to the one true Lexington/Western NC barbecue recipe, as revealed to my family in a vision of a talking pig many years ago .

I suppose it's no different than putting "magic stones" in a hat, I can believe that it happened if you say so.

[fifi]

Funny you should ask about the "James Villas method". I just finished reading that book and thought that sounded like a good idea. In fact, I intend to try it the next time I do a pork butt.

I think you will do fine with the kettle. That is where I started. I used the pan of water under the meat in the middle and coals on each side. I think that having the meat and pan on one side and the coals on the other may be easier to mess with. I put a thermometer in the top vent to give me at least a guess at what was going on "inside". Leave the top vent wide open and adjust temperature with the bottom vents.

I have discussed trying to adapt the Minion method of burning the charcoal for a kettle with a friend that only has a kettle. I think it can be done but we haven't tried it yet. While I don't think you have enough space to get that many hours in one load, adapting the concept may save some hassle.

[Chad]

Thanks, folks. I'm not new to barbecue. I'm heir to the one true Lexington/Western NC barbecue recipe, as revealed to my family in a vision of a talking pig many years ago  .

I suppose it's no different than putting "magic stones" in a hat, I can believe that it happened if you say so.

Hell, I think I have "magic stones" just for posting that kind of shit in the first place.

And if you're willing to believe it . . . well, gullible friends are the best kind to have.

Chad

[fiftydollars]

Good point, fiftydollars. I am pretty spoiled with the WSM. I just load it with charcoal, get the temperature settled out and pretty much forget it. All I have to do is maybe add water to the pan a couple of times. With a Weber kettle, I would probably be inclined to move it to a 225 oven to finish. Would you wrap it in foil to do that?

With a brisket, I wrap it in foil because it doesn't have quite as much fat and I fear drying the meat out in a dry oven. But with a pork butt, which has so much fat and whatnot, I do not wrap it so the bark stays nice and crispy. I've found it's almost impossible to dry out a good pork butt.

[ScooterQ]

Chad,

I would truss only if I had a boneless pork butt. Of course, the butt will be better bone-in. BTW - I hope you have nothing else to do tomorrow but fuss with that kettle, because it's going to take a lot of fire-tending to get that butt to pullable stage. My advice is go out now and buy a WSM, fire it up, put the butt on, go to sleep, and then wake up in the morning to pulled pork happiness.

[fifi]

I concur. Hell, Chad. You have the bucks to buy all of that photography equipment for that macro of your salt cellar. Go get a WSM and be done with it.

And...

edit: to delete comments about magic stones.

[dls]

I've smoked a lot of butts but I've never done one on a kettle. I would not even attempt it it. You're going to need at least 1.5 per pound assuming that you can maintain a constant smoke temp of 225F (Good Luck). At 8 lbs, thats 12 hours and, with a kettle, you're going to be very busy during that time. As suggested by others upthread I recommend that you run it for about 6 hours under smoke then finish in the 225F oven to an internal of 190F.

A couple of tips....

1. If the butt is fairly lean, apply a generous coat of mayo. It's basically oil (fat) in the first place and you'll never taste the mayo with the finished product.

2. At 190F, yank the butt, double foil it, wrap it in an old bath towel, and place in a cooler for an hour. Remove from the cooler and pull. It will still be very warm. You'll end up with a much better and moister product than if pulled straight from the smoker/oven.

[snowangel]

I've done quite a bit of smoking on the old Weber Kettle in the past year.

Do read Klink's Class on Smoking because he does talk about the Kettle and offers some great advice on controlling the temp. If you have one of the grill things that has the hinged sides, it's a whole lot easier to add fuel as needed.

I think it's easier with wood chunks than chips.

Somewhere deep in EG are some threads about smoking that talked seriously about at what temp meat ceased to absorb smoke, so after a few hours, you should be able to take it off and put it in the oven to finish.

I agree with wrapping it in foil afterwards for some "stand" time. If the cooler is full of beer, I'll just put it in the oven with the light on.

For some reason, I'm having trouble using the search function, but I recall a thread called "Behold My Butt" and another one called something like "Controlling the Smoke" and "Smoking Meat" that are worth your while to look up. There are a number of other threads, as well, some talking about Smoking Ribs. All of these have wonderful advice. I almost wish someone would collect all of these and merge them into one thread and add a link to it in Klink's class.

[Mayhaw Man]

Ask and ye shall recieve: Behold my butt.

Excellent photos provided in this thread.

Controlling the Smoke

You would think that I would have some work to do since I am stuck at work, but alas, I do not. Nice work if you don't have it.

[Chad]

I've done quite a bit of smoking on the old Weber Kettle in the past year.

Do read Klink's Class on Smoking because he does talk about the Kettle and offers some great advice on controlling the temp. If you have one of the grill things that has the hinged sides, it's a whole lot easier to add fuel as needed.

Yep, I reread Klink's class last night as a matter o' fact. Just brushing up because I haven't done this in a while.

You'd think that with a softball question like this he'd get his lazy ass in here and pontificate.

I don't have the hinged grill grate, so there's a little more heavy lifting to do. Of course, I've scheduled nothing else for the day. "No, honey, I can't. I've got to watch the barbecue. Can you get me another beer?" Heh!

I've got a good book, a fresh pitcher of tea and a deep and abiding love of laziness. I'm set.

Chad

[Chad]

I hope you have nothing else to do tomorrow but fuss with that kettle, because it's going to take a lot of fire-tending to get that butt to pullable stage.

Ah, hell, I do a two-day Tuscan bread that requires more attention than a purebed Chihuahua. A couple of hours playing with meat and fire? Piece of cake.

Chad

[snowangel]

Thanks, Brooks, for the links.

Chad, in the Controlling the Smoke thread, Dave the Cook offers the advice that "smoke flavoring ceases when the surface temperature of the meat reaches 140F. Therefore, you can boost the smoke flavor (although you increase overall cooking time) by putting your butt on the grate directly from the icebox. (Thanks to CathyL, Goddess, for the tip.)" This is great advice.

Further down, Klink discusses mopping. Do read that thread.

And, if you make sure that one of the handles on the grill thing is where you've banked the coals, you should be able to add without lifting the grill and meat.

What's your thermometer set-up? I really need to go higher tech than an oven thermometer (the dial kind).

Trust you are brining?

Have fun. Hoist one or more for the rest of us.

Don't forget to make some of =Mark's South Carolina Mustard Barbeque Sauce. It is essential!

[Chad]

What's your thermometer set-up?  I really need to go higher tech than an oven thermometer (the dial kind).

Trust you are brining?

Have fun.  Hoist one or more for the rest of us.

Don't forget to make some of =Mark's South Carolina Mustard Barbeque Sauce.  It is essential!

Thanks for the heads up on the links. I'll peruse them tonight.

I swapped the 8 pounder for the 6 pounder to ensure that we'll actually be able to eat dinner tomorrow night. It's brining as we speak. If this goes well, I may do the 8 pound butt later. If not, I've been itching to haul out the sausage grinder, and that butt is looking just about perfect.

I have a Polder probe that'll go into the meat and a digital instant read that I'll use for checking ambient grill temp by pushing it through a cork and placing the cork in one of the upper vent holes, making allowances for the 15 degree increase from surface temp to vent temp.

Mark's SC style sauce sounds pretty good, but I'm making Western North Carolina style barbecue:

• 1-1/2 cups of white vinegar (more or less)
  
• 1-1/2 cups of cider vinegar (more or less)
  
• About an ounce of crushed red pepper flakes (two heaping tablespoons or so)
  
• A shot of hot sauce
  
• Kosher salt (about a tablespoon)
  
• Coarse black pepper
  
• About a tablespoon of sugar
  
• All of that has been steeping in a Mason jar for about a week. In the morning I'll mix that with
  
• A cup of ketchup (Lexington, NC, influence)
  

I'll bring the sauce to a very gentle boil, adjust sugar and salt, and let cool for about an hour before putting it back in the Mason jar and refrigerating. I'm going to try James Villas's suggestion of slashing the butt at about four hours and dousing with the sauce. The rest will be added once the pork has been pulled & chopped.

I'll recharge the batteries in the digital camera so I can upload pics of the process.

Chad

edit to firm up recipe

[Chad]

I like big butts and I ain't lyin'!

The pork shoulder is on the grill. Here are a couple of pictures of the process. I'll post more as events warrant.

Coals about ready to go. Please ignore the dead spots in my lawn. We're working on it.

Up to temp. The cork trick is damn handy. Thanks to whomever came up with that.

Big salty butt. Ahem. 6lb pork shoulder brined overnight.

The other side. Nice fat layer! There's a 9x12 baking pan full of water directly under the shoulder. It'll catch drips to prevent flare-ups, and the water acts as a heat brake to keep the kettle temperature more stable. I did use the Minion Method for the coals. There's a layer of unlit briquettes under the lit layer, both shoved over to the left as far as I can get them. The vent holes on the lid are positioned to the right to draw the smoke across the shoulder.

Chad

[Chad]

Barbecue sauce simmering. This stuff is not as thick as it looks. It's extremely thin, as a matter of fact. All I want it to do is add a hint of vinegar, heat and a little salt to the final pulled pork. Just tasted it. Yow! Way too sharp. Added another tablespoon of sugar (pretty close to a tablespoon, anyway; I just dumped sugar into my hand until it looked about right) and another 1/3 cup (or so) of ketchup.

Pork shoulder is perking along nicely. Temp at the upper vent is running between 250 and 260, which, I think, is about perfect.

Chad

[Stone]

Thanks, folks. I'm not new to barbecue. I'm heir to the one true Lexington/Western NC barbecue recipe, as revealed to my family in a vision of a talking pig many years ago .

Talk, pig, talk.

what's the recipe?

[Chad]

Thanks, folks. I'm not new to barbecue. I'm heir to the one true Lexington/Western NC barbecue recipe, as revealed to my family in a vision of a talking pig many years ago  .

Talk, pig, talk.

what's the recipe?

It's upthread a little ways, but here it is again:

Mark's SC style sauce sounds pretty good, but I'm making Western North Carolina style barbecue:

    * 1-1/2 cups of white vinegar (more or less)

    * 1-1/2 cups of cider vinegar (more or less)

    * About an ounce of crushed red pepper flakes (two heaping tablespoons or so)

    * A shot of hot sauce

    * Kosher salt (about a tablespoon)

    * Coarse black pepper

    * About a tablespoon of sugar

    * All of that has been steeping in a Mason jar for about a week. In the morning I'll mix that with

    * A cup of ketchup (Lexington, NC, influence)

I'll bring the sauce to a very gentle boil, adjust sugar and salt, and let cool for about an hour before putting it back in the Mason jar and refrigerating. I'm going to try James Villas's suggestion of slashing the butt at about four hours and dousing with the sauce. The rest will be added once the pork has been pulled & chopped.

It's a pretty standard Western NC style mop/sauce. I like mine a little hotter than most, so I use 2-3 tablespoons of crushed red pepper rather than the more usual 1 tablespoon. I also let the red pepper, salt, sugar and black pepper steep in the vinegar for several days. I can't be dogmatic about it, but I believe that infusing the vinegar marries the flavors better and leads to a smoother tasting sauce. Some folks add a dash of Worcesteshire sauce and a tablespoon or two of prepared mustard.

Hmm, I should note that the line "the rest (of the sauce) will be added once the pork has been pulled and chopped" is not quite right. I'll add it to taste rather than just dumping it on. Less for the kids, more for me .

Chad

[Chad]

About ready to turn. I'm going to give it another 20 minutes or so. The turn will be right at 3 hours on the smoker. A constant Kansas wind is making temperature control a little tricky. My ambient temp is about 300 right above the meat. I'm a little concerned, but not ovely so. I have the bottom vents completely closed and I've shoved the other half of the thermometer cork into one of the top vents. We'll see how that works.

I've got to say, that butt is looking good!

Chad

[Chad]

Just turned the shoulder. It's been on about three hours. I added some water to the drip pan and put on a fresh batch of soaked hickory chips. That (and having the lid off while turning) brought the ambient temperature back down where it should be. Removing the grate to add the chips was an adventure. I didn't think to bring my welding gloves down, so I used a garden trowel and my tongs to hook under the grate to lift it. Precarious at best. Must remember gloves.

How's it look to y'all?

Chad

[fifi]

That is looking excellent. Does the Minion method seem to work out ok with this set-up? I agree that wind can wreak havoc with temperature control. I remember that from doing the same thing on the kettle. You also have a larger surface area to volume ratio that works against you. On my WSM, there are 3 vents along the bottom. If the wind is coming from a particular direction I can deal with it by closing off the vent on the windward side. That doesn't always work if it is gusty and making eddies around the building. The good news is that pork butt is very forgiving of temperature fluctuation.

Don't forget to photo the slashing. (That sounds pretty gruesome now that I read it. ) Are you going to slash the fat side or the "bottom" side?