Smoking a pork shoulder also known as a pork butt. Curious name, and mostly curious because the cut of meat refered to isnt from the "dairy-aire," of the pig. Its instead of the shoulder blade area. Maybe the term "butt" referes to the shape of the cut, or the something that escapes me right now. But it's not the back end of the pig in any event. This past Saturday with the willing donation of one said pork shoulder I commensed to smoking with soaked Mesquite and Hickory chips. The process is simple really.
Soak that wood chips or chuncks in a bucket of clear water. I usually soak them during the smoking process, but the first round of wood, usually soaks all of an hour or less to get the process going faster. Early smoke does my heart good. Makes me think I am a head of the game. Smoking last depending on the amount of meat and the temperature of the smoker that I am smoking. I like to keep mine between 200 and 240 degrees.
I have not yet met the person who can maintain exactly 220F for 14 hours. If you meet him or her, shake their hand 'cause they have done it skatee 8 million times already, and can smoke meat with one allergy inflamed eye closed. For me, I am lucky that the gall darned thing actually keeps pouring out on a regular basis. Normally, or recently normally I use a remote temperature senser that I stick in the meat. I click the remote to my belt or sit it on the table next to me. An alarm sounds when the meat is at temperature. Very handy. cuts down on the opening of the lid and the subsequent eye blasting. However I do admit its fun to play with fire and smoke...
This time I was without devices so a smoking I 'attended pretty frequently. Below please find the Alton Brown method of brining and seasoning. Now I tweak my seasoning a bit, and like all good BBQ-ers we dont release our exact recipe, unless of course your a regular cook and just feed friends and family, then its just a matter of pride..
Brine:
8 ounces or 3/4 cup molasses
12 ounces pickling salt
2 quarts bottled water
10 pound Boston butt
Rub:
3 teaspoon whole cumin seed
3 teaspoon whole fennel seed
3 teaspoon whole coriander
3 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoon onion powder
3 tablespoon paprika
Preperation:
Combine molasses, pickling salt, and water in 6 quart Lexan. Add Boston butt making sure it is completely submerged in brine, cover, and let sit in refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours. 12 hours is ideal. Place cumin seed, fennel seed, and coriander in food grinder and grind fine. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and stir in chili powder, onion powder, and paprika. Remove Boston butt from brine and pat dry. Sift the rub evenly over the shoulder and then pat onto the meat making sure as much of the rub as possible adheres. More rub will adhere to the meat if you are wearing latex gloves during the application. Preheat smoker to 210 degrees F. Place butt in smoker and cook for 10 to12 hours, maintaining a temperature of 210 degrees F. Begin checking meat for doneness after 10 hours of cooking time. Use fork to check for doneness. Meat is done when it falls apart easily when pulling with a fork. Once done, remove from pot and set aside to rest for at least 1 hour. Pull meat apart with 2 forks and serve as sandwich with coleslaw and dressing as desired.
Now I made my own coleslaw with items from the winter garden, but you can just buy the regular stuff and add things to it. I like a sweet apple, raisens, salt pepper, bread and butter pickle juice, and carrots in mine. You can add what you like. Let it sit for several hours before eating, that gets the juices to mix and then it tastes really yummy on top of the pulled pork. I have added the pulled pork to Ramen noodles and man what a nice asian tasting kick. Skip the coleslaw, please.
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