My wife and the other 7th grade teachers are getting together this Friday to celebrate the end of another school year. I asked her if the hostess would like us to bring pulled pork or something. She said yes, indeed. Apparently, I forgot I had a day job and lack a cooker that I can set and forget for that period of time. I consider the Weber semi-set and forget.
It dawned on me that since I got the Weber I have not cooked a thing inside the house including my never-bested pulled pork. I live in North Carolina and thanks to my friend, Sandy Brennan, my pulled pork has never failed to get rave reviews even though it is cooked in a crock pot. Yes, friend a crock pot. I used to cook it in the crock pot for 24-48 hours and very rarely threw it on the gasser for a little bit of smoke. It was hardly worth the effort to do so, frankly.
Since obtaining the Weber and SNS; everything, including several butts have been cooked on it. I follow the Perfect Pulled Pork recipe from this site. This week affords an opportunity to test out a combination of the Perfect Pulled Pork recipe with the ease of the crock pot. I have a mid-morning appointment on Thursday so I won't be in to work at my normal 6:30 am. I am going to dry brine the butt tonight and cook it on the Weber on Thursday. It should be done about the time I get home from work and college boy will be home during the day to make sure something crazy doesn't happen like everything catching fire or a pack of coyotes stealing the butt off the grill. Thursday night I will pull only the bark off and put the rest of the butt into the crock pot un-pulled and follow the recipe below. It will cook until Friday afternoon at which time the bear claws will come out and the pulling will begin. I will add the bark just prior to heading over for the shindig.
That's the plan, should be a good experiment. Below is my Ode to Sandy Brennan's Pulled Pork recipe and some ideas for modifying it that I have used for those that find themselves in a pinch or cook-don't pull-and-freeze their butts.
Ode to Sandy Brennan's Pulled Pork
INGREDIENTS
1 bone in BOSTON BUTT (or boneless)
1 tablespoon salt (seasoned salt or whatever)
1 cup water
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 large sweet onion
2 teaspoons cayenne or chipotle or ancho (play with the flavors)
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Original recipe calls for 2 tbs brown sugar. I do not use sugar in mine, sometimes I add honey.
DIRECTIONS
I don't make the sauce separately as the butt stays really juicy this way and we add a spoonful of the liquid on our plate if we want. When I make sauce I essentially follow a standard Eastern NC sauce.
I like to play with flavors. Once I added about a 1/8 cup cumin and everyone went nuts for it in the office. Another time I added a healthy dose of masala on and in it as well as Italian cherry peppers and baby bell peppers and that was good too. Sometimes I substitute chipotle salt for the regular salt.
It dawned on me that since I got the Weber I have not cooked a thing inside the house including my never-bested pulled pork. I live in North Carolina and thanks to my friend, Sandy Brennan, my pulled pork has never failed to get rave reviews even though it is cooked in a crock pot. Yes, friend a crock pot. I used to cook it in the crock pot for 24-48 hours and very rarely threw it on the gasser for a little bit of smoke. It was hardly worth the effort to do so, frankly.
Since obtaining the Weber and SNS; everything, including several butts have been cooked on it. I follow the Perfect Pulled Pork recipe from this site. This week affords an opportunity to test out a combination of the Perfect Pulled Pork recipe with the ease of the crock pot. I have a mid-morning appointment on Thursday so I won't be in to work at my normal 6:30 am. I am going to dry brine the butt tonight and cook it on the Weber on Thursday. It should be done about the time I get home from work and college boy will be home during the day to make sure something crazy doesn't happen like everything catching fire or a pack of coyotes stealing the butt off the grill. Thursday night I will pull only the bark off and put the rest of the butt into the crock pot un-pulled and follow the recipe below. It will cook until Friday afternoon at which time the bear claws will come out and the pulling will begin. I will add the bark just prior to heading over for the shindig.
That's the plan, should be a good experiment. Below is my Ode to Sandy Brennan's Pulled Pork recipe and some ideas for modifying it that I have used for those that find themselves in a pinch or cook-don't pull-and-freeze their butts.
Ode to Sandy Brennan's Pulled Pork
INGREDIENTS
1 bone in BOSTON BUTT (or boneless)
1 tablespoon salt (seasoned salt or whatever)
1 cup water
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 large sweet onion
2 teaspoons cayenne or chipotle or ancho (play with the flavors)
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Original recipe calls for 2 tbs brown sugar. I do not use sugar in mine, sometimes I add honey.
DIRECTIONS
- Slice the onion in 4-5 thick slices and lay in bottom of crock pot. Add water until the onions are just covered.
- Add 1 cup vinegar
- Lay the butt fat side down or up. if you put it up it is easier to remove. If you put it down you get a much richer flavor and you can still remove a lot of the fat.
- Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on the top of the butt.
- Place crock pot on low for 12-14 hours (I like to start this on Thursday night and we eat it Friday night and munch on it all weekend).
- After 12-14 hours, remove the butt and try to strip off the layer of fat. Use a fork or let it cool first and use your hands to shred it. I prefer the second method.
- Strain the liquid from the crock pot making sure to keep the onions and one to two cups of the liquid (depends on size of the butt).
- Return the butt to the pot and stir in the remaining dry ingredients. Now add in the remaining vinegar and the reserved liquid. Stir it and put that sucker on WARM for another 8-14 hours.
I don't make the sauce separately as the butt stays really juicy this way and we add a spoonful of the liquid on our plate if we want. When I make sauce I essentially follow a standard Eastern NC sauce.
I like to play with flavors. Once I added about a 1/8 cup cumin and everyone went nuts for it in the office. Another time I added a healthy dose of masala on and in it as well as Italian cherry peppers and baby bell peppers and that was good too. Sometimes I substitute chipotle salt for the regular salt.
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