Hi all,
I'm pretty new to smoking and have been trying to figure out some good ways to cook pork. I've been able to get some moist and tender meat that has been good. Looking for a little help with what to improve on next to flavor a pork butt for pulled pork.
With this last butt, I injected an oz the pork brine every 1.5-2 inches around top, working around the bone, and then injected a couple spots in between the bone and fat cap on the bottom. A little olive oil and a good amount of rub (usually use Memphis Dust but I was trying a store bought Weber rub this time), wrapped in foil and put it in the fridge for about 24 hours. Looked good when I pulled it out of the fridge for the cook last night, though it looks like a bit of brine leaked out --
I have a 30" MBE smoker and I'm playing around with different temps and moisture/tenderness. Ran it at 250 for the first 5 hours with hickory chips. Every hour for the first three hours, I spritzed with an apple cider vinegar and water mix and added a few more chips. The meat climbed to 170, which was a little higher than I wanted, but I had some life reasons why I had to be away for a bit and it got away from me. Wrapped the butt at 170 and put it back in at 275 until it got to 200 --
The bone came right out, clean. It was very tender with a good bark and a light smoke flavor. Got the wife's seal of approval, so that's good. She said it's the first one I've done that she would eat without sauce.
I've got a good result that I think can be repeated, but I'm hoping to keep refine things. My question is, short of upgrading the smoker itself, what should I work on trying next?
I'm pretty new to smoking and have been trying to figure out some good ways to cook pork. I've been able to get some moist and tender meat that has been good. Looking for a little help with what to improve on next to flavor a pork butt for pulled pork.
With this last butt, I injected an oz the pork brine every 1.5-2 inches around top, working around the bone, and then injected a couple spots in between the bone and fat cap on the bottom. A little olive oil and a good amount of rub (usually use Memphis Dust but I was trying a store bought Weber rub this time), wrapped in foil and put it in the fridge for about 24 hours. Looked good when I pulled it out of the fridge for the cook last night, though it looks like a bit of brine leaked out --
I have a 30" MBE smoker and I'm playing around with different temps and moisture/tenderness. Ran it at 250 for the first 5 hours with hickory chips. Every hour for the first three hours, I spritzed with an apple cider vinegar and water mix and added a few more chips. The meat climbed to 170, which was a little higher than I wanted, but I had some life reasons why I had to be away for a bit and it got away from me. Wrapped the butt at 170 and put it back in at 275 until it got to 200 --
The bone came right out, clean. It was very tender with a good bark and a light smoke flavor. Got the wife's seal of approval, so that's good. She said it's the first one I've done that she would eat without sauce.
I've got a good result that I think can be repeated, but I'm hoping to keep refine things. My question is, short of upgrading the smoker itself, what should I work on trying next?
- I can cook slower, but, honestly, I'm pretty happy with the moisture and tenderness.
- Seems injecting the brine improved the taste, so will probably keep on doing that. Should I mess around with extra spices in the brine?
- Should I be adding the juice from the wrap back in?
- Should I be using a finishing rub for some extra flavor?
- Is there something else you do that gives your pork butt an extra kick?
Comment