Pulled Pork Extravaganza

So, you may have read my last post, Don’t Burn the Burgers! which was written after that weekend, but not posted until yesterday. For that I apologize, and I’m telling this to my readers so you won’t be confused when I write this expose on my pulled pork from last weekend.

The winter can be brutally cold here in Asheville, and despite my one frustrating attempt to smoke chicken this winter in seventeen degree weather with a two degree wind chill, I haven’t been using the smoker much in the “off-season.” Since this past weekend was nice and sunny with highs in the mid 50s and low 60s respectively, I had to get out and fire up the smoker.

I decided I would invite over some friends for some cold beers, good times, and delicious pulled pork. I want to preface by saying that pulled pork and I have a love-hate relationship, since it is probably the one thing I find most frustrating, not because of the flavor, but because of the texture.

Boston butt trimmed and ready for rub

Understanding all that, I want to describe the process by which pulled pork should be properly prepared. Again, all of this stuff is something that anyone who is a backyard chef can do, and if you don’t have a smoker, you can emulate with indirect heat in a large kettle charcoal grill.

First, you must trim your meat. Some folks like to skip this step, gesturing that the fat will melt off over time in the smoker, but I like to go ahead and get a clean rub up front. I want to make sure that my rub is on the meat, not on the fat which is melting away. Trim the fat until there is just a thin layer showing on the “fat side” and then you are ready for rub.

Homemade shaker from a Parmesan can

Rubbing the pork is a crucial step. I’ve done this many ways, including coating the butt with olive oil and then rub, a little apple juice then rub, but my favorite is getting the pork good and dry and literally rubbing the spices into it until it has a nice coating. For my rub, I used a custom homemade concoction, which is a little sweet, a little spicy, and has plenty of salt for tenderizing. My next feature article will be on rubs and BBQ sauces made from scratch, so keep your eyes peeled for that one. I will give you a little preview, and it is my homemade rub distributor – a used parmesan cheese can. For something the size of a Boston butt, it spreads great, doesn’t cause a lot of mess, and keeps your hands clean until you begin rubbing.

After your shoulder is rubbed, I like to let it sit in the house for about an hour. Your meat will not go bad, the temperature will be rising from about 34 degrees to a little closer to room temperature. This also gives you the chance to go fire up your charcoal chimney, and get your smoker ready for the meat.

Boston butt seasons and sitting before the smoke

After the smoker is fired up, the temperature should be normalized right at 225 degrees. This is a perfect temperature for slow and low smoking as I have explained previously. With the smoker normalized, place it on the grill grate, above a pan of water (I custom fabricated my smoker to have a shallow one built in which doubles as a heat shield to the firebox.

Close the cover, and keep your eyes on the temperature. Do your best to keep the temperature around 225 degrees throughout the smoke.

After about four hours, I like to take my butt off the smoker and wrap it in aluminum foil. This is colloquially known as the “Texas Crutch.” This will preserve moisture in the meat. Some folks don’t like doing this for a butt because of its sheer size, but for me, it produces the best results. Remember, I don’t have a $1200 smoker.

After that, just keep an eye on your pig, checking it every couple hours or so. The total cook time should take 1.5 hours per pound. For me, this never holds true, and I always end up having to cook it longer for some reason. The internal temperature of pork is not done until it is at least 160 degrees according to the USDA. The ideal temperature for a Boston butt is 190 degrees, because at that temperature it has fully broken down the meat inside. I didn’t quite get mine to 190, closer to about 185, but that was fine because people were getting hungry, and the meat still turned out awesome!

Boston butt ready to be pulled

Once your pork is done, pull it off the smoker and let it sit inside for 30-45 minutes. When mine is “resting” I like to keep it wrapped in aluminum foil to retain heat and moisture. This gives the juices inside a chance to reset, and normalize. It also will allow the pork to cool enough that you can pull it without burning your fingers (been there, done that!)

After your pork has sat for that time period, you can begin pulling it. I simply take two forks, and pull it into large chunks. Once I have those, I pull it into smaller chunks, more manageable for a sandwich. I pull it and toss it into a bowl, and it is ready to eat!

Have your guests serve themselves with tongs and buns on paper plates! I live in Western North Carolina, where the sauce of choice is typically a tomato based, so I had that in two forms – normal and spicy. Additionally, since I am from the Piedmont of North Carolina, my favorite is Eastern NC style which is a vinegar based, so I had that available as well. I’ll be featuring recipes for these sauces along with my rubs in my next piece.

My friends loved it. I had a 6 pound shoulder, and about 10 people over eating and it was all gone – you do the math – with potato and macaroni salad, cole slaw, and macaroni and cheese, each person still manage to eat on average over a half a pound of pork.

Please come back and read up on the sauces and rub feature coming before the end of this week and check back regularly!

Smoke Versus Fire

INTRODUCTION
The age old debate is in grilling is gas versus charcoal. While there are benefits and detriments to each method of cooking a cut of meat, large or small, I want to focus specifically on smoking meat with charcoal versus grilling meat with gas. Some of the comparison will bring to light deficiencies in charcoal and gas generally, but this is a specific comparison of smoking with charcoal and grilling with gas.

The reason for this is that you can modify this comparison any number of ways. You can smoke with gas, or grill with charcoal. Personally, I think if you are grilling items like hamburgers or chicken, charcoal should be reserved for portable situations, like tailgating. Likewise, I am a firm believer that if you are smoking something it should be with charcoal (or wood if you have the equipment) and that gas or electrics cheapen the process.

Below you will find an overview of each, and some detail on their application. I will close with my final thought on the comparison.

CHARCOAL SMOKER
The charcoal smoker is in some ways an evolution of cooking since the beginning of time. Charcoal is just a simple way to have a controlled wood fire, and putting it in a smoker helps you obtain a safe environment, and (semi) stable cooking temperatures. Smoking with charcoal is a great way to enjoy an entire afternoon or day outside with your dinner, watching it progress over time.

The Benefits
As previously alluded to, charcoal smoking is particularly good at cooking large cuts of meat. These include things like pork shoulders, beef briskets, beef and pork loins, whole chickens and turkeys, pork and beef ribs, and really, anything else that is over 5lbs and could benefit from sitting in a smoke filled chamber for 4-12 hours.

The reason that this piece of equipment is so well suited to these types of cuts is because of its ability to cook at a low temperature over time, and the ability to force a smoke flavor onto the food. Sitting somewhere between 200-250 degrees (I prefer 225, but opinions vary) you can hold that temperature and smoke the meet to the point that it is so tender it falls apart at the touch of a fork for some things. For most cuts, you should be able to get a nice crisp outside, a smoke ring (I'll be doing a post on this soon) and a mind-blowing, juicy inside.

The Detriments
The downsides to charcoal smoking are almost as numerous as the upsides, depending on how you look at it. First of all, charcoal is not cheap. You could easily spend $20 on charcoal that you would use in a day with a fully loaded smoker and 12+ hours of smoking. By comparison, you could spend about $20 for a propane tank exchange, and it would last you for dozens of grilling sessions. Also, charcoal is dirty; you have to clean up the ash and you have to wait for it to cool down before you can do that. There may also be problems depending on your setup and duration of a smoke with ash interfering with oxygen flow to your coals. Finally, you have to wait for charcoal to be ready, which depending on your setup could take anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour.

GAS GRILL
The gas grill is also an amazing innovation. The idea that without ever striking a matchbook or flicking a stick lighter, you can have a burning hot grill in 10 minutes is quite appealing. Whether it is a piped in natural gas unit, a sub-$100 unit from the hardware store, or a massive expensive ceramic lined unit, the general mechanics are the same. Gas grills are best suited to quick fires for hot items, and easy cooks during the week.

The Benefits
Gas grills are perfect for smaller cuts of meat, as well as items sensitive to charcoal or wood smoke. Gas grills are great for quick fire items, like beef steak (cook with the cover OPEN please) or more medium fire items like chicken breasts, drums or wings. It's also very good at fish like salmon, also shrimp, vegetables, hamburgers, hotdogs, and yes, even fruit!

Gas grills are substantially cheaper to operate than charcoal, create very little mess which means very little cleanup, and are usually ready in about 10-15 minutes. They are also extremely stable once the temperature is set, and very easy to change the temperature on if you didn't have it quite right to begin with.

The Detriments
The number one detriment to a gas grill, is that it isn't charcoal! What I mean by that is that it doesn't produce the smoke, the flavor, or the general experience that cooking with charcoal does. Most inexpensive home gas grills are also extremely difficult if not impossible to keep at a low enough temperature to cook even medium cuts, like a small roast or a rack of baby backs. There is also always the problem of running out of propane mid-grill if you are not prepared.

CONCLUSION
There you have it - a brief overview of the benefits and detriments of each cooking tool / method. For your big cuts, stick to smoking it low and slow. It produces better flavor, and you can make an entire day out of it with friends if you like. For an evening dinner, or an afternoon of burgers or similar sized fare, go ahead and fire up the gas grill. By the time your charcoal smoker would have been ready to put the meat on, dinner will be done!