What's your tips for putting pulled pork over the top?

I've injected sometimes, mostly these days I don't. I do think wrapping is important though -- I definitely want to collect those juices. I separate the fat and add the rest back. Depending on volume, I'll save it for later as well. A couple tablespoons of the "jello" does wonders when reheating.

sudsandswine said:

Usually something along the lines of the "Chris Lilly" injection. I like those sort of injections because they seem more natural to me and complement the meat well.

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Chris Lilly was a PP game changer for me. Makes everything slightly sweet, a little acidic and tiny kick from the cayenne that even people that don't like spicy foods can enjoy. It's very well rounded.

I KISS it

I like all of the ideas with using a finishing sauce. However, for me, it is very simple. I pour in 1/4 cup to 3/4 of vinegar after I pull it, and the liquid from the foil after it has been resting. That is it. Any good finishing sauce is a great idea.

I find that injecting with a concoction that I learned from Harry Soo makes a huge difference. Basically a mix of apple juice, vinegar, sugar, liquid smoke, and hot sauce. It tastes a bit nasty, but when it cooks up, it really brings out the flavors.

Drown the buggers in VEGEMITE!!!! :becky:

Recently, I have started after cooking and pulling adding additional rub to mix in with the pork. It adds a heck of alot of flavor. It adds a nice touch. No idea if anyone else does this but it kicks it up a notch imo.

I agree with Rusty, add your/more rub when pulling. Adds much more flavor to that thick hunk of meat.
I also have been slicing around each muscle so I can rub in/around/on my home made apple sauce/chipotle (sweet heat) around each muscle and add my rub before cooking.
I catch the drippings and add some when pulling.

Back when I had Facebook, my sister-in-law posted a pulled pork recipe on my page. It calls for the butt to be cooked in the oven, which I would NEVER do. However, I was interested in the recipe because it instructs the cook to brine the butt before cooking. I read through the brine ingredients and thought "I should try this. What's the harm in trying something new?" The guarantee was that the pork would be more tender and flavorful after brining than it is without brining.

I gave it a shot, and I wasn't disappointed. I have tried it a few times now, and I really think it took my pulled pork up a few notches. I also inject with Chris Lilly's injection recipe. As for the brine, I substituted store bought rub once or twice, and I think making rub from scratch is far better when it comes to flavor.

In case anyone is interested, here's the brine recipe...

https://www.kevinandamanda.com/pulled-pork-recipe/

Most competitors rub, inject, and foil. The reasons are to enhance the flavor of the meat without overpowering it, limit/govern the amount of smoke on the meat, and to help keep the meat as moist and tender as possible. So, even on personal smokes, I rub, inject, and foil. The rubs I like to keep simple and not too much salt or sugar (the salt can overpower and the sugar can possibly burn). Nearly everyone who has experimented with injections ends up back close to Chris Lily's, at least the apple juice, woosy sauce, and rub in it. It helps get those flavors down in the meat. Me, I dont water down the apple juice but I dont add in extra sugar either, but that's a personal flavor preference (more fruity and a little less sugary). Foiling time really depends on your, your smoker, how much wood/smoke flavor you prefer, etc. On my extremely clean burning Lang 84 using seasoned hickory splits I'd foil at 4.5 hours. I did this (4.5 hours) yesterday using my new Bubba Grills smoker and the smoke flavor was a tad more than I prefer. So, experiment, you'll find what you prefer.

The result is well seasoned pork that is moist and tender, and the bark isn't so crunchy...


Another tip isn't so much with the cooking but with the final preparation. I know; when we pull it, it can be hot as he**. Please, pull the pork by hand, and try to keep the pieces about the size of your thumb. The thicker the piece is pulled, the better it retains moisture and frankly the better it tastes. Also, most people really hate biting in to a piece of fat. Some (particularly some here) love it, but most don't. I suggest that by pulling the pork by hand it gives you the opportunity to really make sure no fat makes it into the plate of bbq love.

ThePerfectBeard said:

What do you inject with? I love the idea of adding the reserve juices, but anytime I wrap, the bark kind of sucks.

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Stages....
The wrap is to drive steam heat deep into the meat to cook to the bone.
After your wrap time, firm up the bark with an hour (or as long as you prefer) until the bark is to your liking.
Moist inside, tight on the outside. :eyebrows:

use a simple rub with the sugar content that creates the bark you like

spend most of your time and energy on making sure you have a good fire that burns clean and maintains constant low temps throughout the cook

the rest is hocus pocus (secret rubs, slathers, bbq sauces, exotic wood, etc)

over the top bbq speaks for itself

just my $0.02 ....Good Luck!!

I plan on trying an experiment with a whole bone in shoulder this weekend for my Memorial Day Belmeat. The plan is to smoke the day before until 150 degrees, wrap overnight in a cooler and then steam with apple juice and water to temperature, similar to how you would do for a pastrami. Let you know how it goes

I brine the butt for a couple of days, dry rub, smoke and wrap with butter, toasted garlic and Rosemary. When the butt is ready I let it rest and I shred it. I let it sit in the refrigerator over night. The next day I heat it up on the stove. I start with diced onions in butter, then garlic and some white wine. Add the pork and let it soak up all of that flavor.

You could then make a vegetable rice with onion, more garlic and red pepper and add the shredded pork for ridiculous flavor.

Most folks are just used to pork being boring so they go straight to covering it in sauce...

I used to be a big proponent of cooking straight thru to get that bark super dark, pulling it, then adding a bit of rub in for a flavor boost, but lately I've been experimenting with wrapping with a sauce made of ACV, apple juice, worstershire and a few misc spices, then saving the sauce, separating fat, and adding it back to the meat with a bit of rub. My goal is to enhance the meat and add flavor without folks thinking it's already sauced.

Chop it up, splash of vinegar sauce. There's beauty in simplicity.

Wow so many good tips. Thanks all!

To all the folk who wrap: Can you achieve the same results with better bark if you just place a pan with a calculated amount of water underneath, such that the evaporation of the water doesn't *quite* dry out before the drippings after the stall replenish them? And then use that instead of foil juices? For me, the joy of pulled pork (versus braised shoulder) is the pieces of crispy bark mixed in...

Also, I'm a big proponent of using some (at least) of the rendered fat from the pork when mixing back into the meat. Nobody eats BBQ for health, why throw away all that flavor? Sure, remove the chunks of fat that haven't rendered, but the liquid fat is gold, especially for reheating.

I've done about 30 individual pork shoulder cooks in the past year trying to hone in something and I pretty much have settled on

1) Rub outside with salt, honey mustard, and Oakridge (either comp or secret wep)

2) Inject with Peach Apple Juicy Juice, Oakridge Game Changer, and a shot or 2 of Franks Red Hot

3) Cook @ 225 on grates until 165 IT, then foil pan and wrap with a little Peach Apple Juicy Juice

4) Cooler @ 202-204 IT for as long as I need then pull with a little more Secret Weapon rub and the drippings from the foiled pan.

My wife ends up eating more of it than I do, and she's a pretty damn picky eater.

I figure if the best Qers in the world rub, injection, and foil its a good place to start.

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The best PP I've ever pulled off used Chris Lilly's rub and injection. Be sure to let it warm up a bit so it can take the injection. I double wrap or put it in a pan to catch the juices. Once pulled I pour the juice over the pork and dust it with a finer ground version of the rub. Enjoy.