Pulled pork Ideas

[tmehlhorn]

So tomorrow(tuesday) I am doing some pulled pork. I have an 8lb butt. Been awhile and looking for some ideas. here is my general direction, going to get some really good gourmet buns to toast to serve it on, planning on serving it with coleslaw on them.
I seen on padio dadio's he has a couple that sound excellent, the killer slaw and sweet and tangy i think? Has anyone had either of these and which would you recommend on top of pulled pork?
The pork i just want to do a simple rub- what is a good rub. Then sauce it, i dont like alot of thick sauces on pulled pork looking for a simple vinegar based sauce maybe that would be put on sparingly and would compliment the coleslaw.
As for the cooking, i figure smoke 225-250, (roughly how long for 8lb butt?) cook to 190, then start checking for doneness, foil and rest about 45 minutes, pull, suace and serve.

Thats the plan in a nutshell, what you guys think? now for your input, Shoot!

 

[Crash]

Pretty much anything that John recommends on his site is gold. That sweet and tangy slaw recipe should turn out awesome and work well with the pork sammies.

As for your pork rub question, Plowboys Yardbird is an awesome rub for pork. I'm also digging the 3EYZ original lately. Sauce, if you want to go commercial, it's tough to beat Sweet Baby Rays. If you want it thinner, add apple juice to get the consistency you're looking for. Blue's Hog and Head Country also come to mind for a good pulled pork sauce.

For cooking, we personally cook at 250-300 depending on what we are cooking for. Try starting at 250 and cook until the internal temp is 165, then double wrap in HD foil and add some type of liquid to the foil. Then cook until around 195-203. You'll know when it's done when a temp probe slides in with absolutely no resistance.

I'm guessing around a 10 hour cook at 250, but each butt is a little different.

Best of luck.

 

[cameraman]

I found this from a post by Deep South posted back in June --

1 ½ cups white vinegar
1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
1 ½ tbls sugar
1 ½ tbls red pepper flakes
1 ½ tbls bottled hot pepper sauce
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

 

[jmellor]

Sounds like a fun Tuesday.

For a homemade rub, I like Mike Mills Magic Dust. http://bbq.about.com/od/rubrecipes/r/bl50617d.htm. I cut the salt in half.

For the sauce, I use Sweet Baby Rays as base and add a can of coke, some cider vinegar to thin it out, and some of the rub. When I pull the pork I mix in a little sauce thinned out some more with Cider vinegar. When you rest the pork, I wrap it in tin foil and then in a beach towell and set in a cooler for at least an hour. Really helps bring it all together in my experience.

For slaw, we like the recipe in Best Recipe. A link to it is on this page. Looks like you need to add an email address to get to it. But we have the book. http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/print/article.asp?docid=28092

I did an 8lb butt a few weeks ago and started the smoker at 5am, put the pork on a 6am. Pulled it off at 3:00pm. And pulled it at 4pm. So roughly 11 hours start to finish...of course, your mileage may very.

Good luck with the cook!

 

[NS Mike D]

look within for a great sauce that you describe here

it's the poobahs recipe for Down Home Pulled Pork.

 

[tmehlhorn]

thanks guys all excellent ideas so far. Jmellor, i like that rub, the coleslaw though, after giving email they want me to sign up and give a bunch of info and stuff, but ow well. Still appreciate the thought, if you could send it to me that would be great. Keep the ideas coming, i love thsi stuff

 

[bam]

Here is a idea from Doug Francis.

http://www.huckshut.com/2011/08/14/bbq-nachos/

 

[Kenny Rogers]

One note: Serve the sauce on the side. If the pulled pork is as good as it should be, don't make the mistake many do of drowning it in sauce. PLUS that will give you some AWESOME pork for a variety of recipes! I LOVE leftover pork!

 

[Big slick]

I always figure at least 12 hours for pork butts. It's better to over shoot then under shoot your cook time. I smoke as close to 225 as I can get and I have yet to pull a pork butt off the smoker in under 12 hours. I have had a few go 16 hours. Sure they were at temp but they were still tough. So I wrap them in foil now when I hit 170 and this really helps tenderize the meat and speed up the cooking process as well.

I make my own dry rub, but I hear lots of people raving about yardbirds. I also make my own sauce, but SBR is very good very a store bought sauce.

 

[Lake Dogs]

I try to smoke butts as close to 250 as possible (reduces cook time greatly). I foil at the 4.5 hour mark and pour the juices collected in the pan over the meat before sealing the foil tight. Large butts in the 9lb range usually take only about 9 hours, give or take an hour.

 

[NS Mike D]

One note: Serve the sauce on the side. If the pulled pork is as good as it should be, don't make the mistake many do of drowning it in sauce. PLUS that will give you some AWESOME pork for a variety of recipes! I LOVE leftover pork!

I did that this weekend, after pulling I added just enough to taste and keep it moist, the rest went into a squirt bottle for our guests to add to their taste.

I used cherry and apple chucks to the kingsford. At 140 I wrapped in foil, and rested when it hit 190. About 11 hours in the smoker at 225.

 

[plethoraofpinatas]

So tomorrow(tuesday)
I seen on padio dadio's he has a couple that sound excellent, the killer slaw and sweet and tangy i think? Has anyone had either of these and which would you recommend on top of pulled pork?

Patio Daddio's blog has several good slaw recipes, of which my favorite is the Sweet, Tangy & Crunchy Slaw. I put it on pulled pork and pulled chicken and vinegar base is an excellent compliment to both. People also really appreciate a vinegar-based slaw on a hot day. Everyone comments how mayo-based slaws just don't taste good when it is 90-100 degrees outside.

 

[NorCal Q Man]

I've tried Patio Daddio's slaw that you mentioned and would definitely recommend it, but if you're putting it on the sammies, you may want to cut back on the sugar and add some piquancy. You may not need sauce if serving this way, but if you do, you can just use the slaw sauce. Also, I don't see this posted very often here, but if you foil, you can save the liquid and mix it into the pork with some rub after you've pulled it. It adds a little punch to the flavor. Good luck on the cook tomorrow. Post some pics.

 

[atvalaska]

break out some super soft.... "country potato rolls" ....for that pork. i use dinner size...not the "buns",folks who never had them tater rolls are hooked.

 

[tmehlhorn]

Great ideas guy, think i got a plan down for this. one last thought does anyone here coat there butts with Mustard? why or why not?

 

[jmellor]

thanks guys all excellent ideas so far. Jmellor, i like that rub, the coleslaw though, after giving email they want me to sign up and give a bunch of info and stuff, but ow well. Still appreciate the thought, if you could send it to me that would be great. Keep the ideas coming, i love thsi stuff

NP. I will see if I can track it down and post it later tonight.

 

[jmellor]

Here you go. Easy recipe that everyone seems to like.

1lb shredded cabbage ( we just use the bag pre-shredded stuff when in a hurry)
1 large carrot shredded ( not needed if in a pre-shredded bag)
1/2 small onion minced
1/2 cup mayo
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Ground black pepper to taste

They recommend salting the cabbage with 2 tsp kosher salt and setting in a colander for 1-4 hours to drain. We don't usually do that but you can if you want as much water out of the cabbage as possible. Rinse well after though in cold water if you do salt it.

We usually double cut the slaw to make it finer as well as it seems to work better on a sandwich.

Sounds like you can't go wrong whichever recipe you choose from here.

 

[parrdist]

Yes to the mustard helps hold the rub on the meat and some say the vinegar tenderizes the meat. As far as sauce I like Blues Hog Tennessee Red for my Pulled Pork.

 

[NorCal Q Man]

I've tried both mustard and oil, and my experience has been that the butts I've oiled first taste better. Not by much, but now I always use olive oil instead of mustard.

 

[tmehlhorn]

Well guys got a late start, its been on about an hour and a half now. Decided since grills hot to throw something for lunch on to. Making some chicken cordon bleu. Pounded chicken flat and cut in half, couple layers of honey bourben ham and provolone cheese in between, and rolled and wrapped in BACON!. Pictures here a little later.