Ever since the dawn of time, or at least that time that includes access to fire, man has been cooking meat over flame. It took a little while, but eventually, we got down the concept of not scorching or burning or incinerating the 
meat on the outside while things were still raw on the inside. So that meant regulating the temperature affecting the meat. Whether this was over an open flame and adjusting the distance between the meat and the flame or by enclosing the meat and flame within a space like a grill, we’ve found ways to control the reaction between fire and meat so that we get great results.
We’ve also discovered variations on a theme here. In some instances we like to sear the outside of the meat and then leave the inside only slightly warm such as when cooking a steak. Not all meats take to this technique though. Notably, both chicken and pork can cause pretty severe health problems if not cooked all the way through. So we can’t cook all our meats at a very high temperature. Sometimes we must vary the temperature and the time the meat cooks in order to have the meat done to completeness while still leaving it edible.
This leads us to the fact that some time and temperature combinations are better than others for leaving meat juicy and tender while cooking them completely through. We’ve also discovered that in some instances, the flavor of the items being used to provide the fire can be imparted to the meat being cooked. This is what brings us to barbeque.
As I was growing up, I learned that just about anything thrown on a grill was called barbeque. In fact, the grill itself was called a barbeque sometimes. As I got older, I had a lot of learning and unlearning to do. Just because something was cooked on a grill does not make it barbeque. No, barbeque is a special kind of cooked meat produced by slowly cooking the meat at a lower heat in a smoky and moist environment. This produces a final product that contains the flavor of the smoke infused into the meat as well as retains the natural juiciness of the meat itself.
One of my favorite things to make as barbeque is pork. A pork shoulder, either a Boston Butt or a Picnic (go here to learn about the different cuts of meat on a pig) is a wonderful cut of meat to turn into barbeque. It is however a lengthy process, one that often starts the day before one actually finishes the cooking and is ready for eating.
The first step is to prepare the meat for smoking. Once you have purchased the butt or picnic, all of the skin should be removed, either by the butcher or by yourself. Then, the meat should be tenderized by piercing it with a fork. It’s at this point that I apply a dry rub, the infamous Magic Dust. I then tenderize the meat with a fork again to drive some of those spices deep into the meat. The meat is then put back in the refrigerator for at least another four hours but not more than 24. Do not cut off the fat cap on the meat. When the meat is placed on the smoker, the fat cap is placed up. When the fat renders, it will essentially self baste the meat, helping add to its juiciness.
In addition to the spices on the meat, the woods used can and will impart a distinct flavor into the finished barbeque. There are three woods I’ll use for smoking pork, either together or separately. They are apple, pecan or hickory. The apple is the lightest of the smoke flavors, followed by the pecan then the hickory. Each has it’s own distinct flavor that it imparts with the flavor similar to what the name implies. The apple is slightly fruity, the pecan slightly nutty and the hickory has a strong sense of wood smoke, period. I will soak these smoking woods in water for up to an hour before I fire up the smoker, this have them throw off more smoke and to burn slower than the rest of the charcoal.
The charcoal itself is very important as well. If I were a purist, I would make my own by burning down wood until it is at the charred and completely dry stage, then transferring to the smoker. I do not have the time, patience or inclination to do this, so I go the next route, I buy my charcoal pre made. I do not use briquettes though. I only use lump hardwood charcoal. Briquettes can contain fillers that are not made of wood and these can produce off flavors in the food.
More importantly, under no circumstances should chemical lighter fluids or match light charcoal ever be used. The petroleum in these products most definitely will come through in the flavor of the barbeque. Only a chimney starter should be used to light the charcoal. This device has two chambers, one on the top to hold the charcoal being lit and one on the bottom for burning paper to start the charcoal on fire.
The final thing to prepare before actual cooking begins is a mop. A mop is a basting sauce used for keeping the meat moist while it is cooking. It is applied generously every 1 to 1 1/2 hours while the meat is cooking. My mop is a pretty simple one:
- 2 cups cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbs vegetable oil
- 1 Tbs kosher salt
- 1 Tbs chili powder
- 1 Tbs cayenne pepper
There are only a few other things one needs to know when smoking pork. The first is that the temperature of the pit or smoker should always remain between 225 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit. The next is that if you plan on slicing the pork, the internal temperature of the meat should be 175 degrees Fahrenheit and if you plan on pulling the pork the internal temperature should be 190 degrees before you pull the meat off the smoker. You can use an hour and a half per pound of meat being cooked as a general rule of thumb for how long it will take to cook the meat. When you pull the meat off the smoker, you should wrap it in aluminum foil and let it sit for at least another half hour. The meat will continue to cook during this time with the internal temperature rising another five or so degrees.
Below is the smoke log from the Boston Butt I smoked yesterday to give you an idea of what it takes to properly prepare pork for pulling.
- 7:00 PM. Just finished prepping a 9 lb pork butt (coated with the Magic Dust) and making the mop for an over night smoke. I'll fire up the smoker around midnight tonight and get this baby going. Sometime around lunch tomorrow we should have amazing pulled pork sandwiches.
- 11:30 PM. The pork butt marinated for 4 hours with the Magic Dust dry rub. The temperature of the pit is 250 degrees Fahrenheit and holding. The butt is on the smoker. This time I've chosen to smoke with only hickory wood.
- 12:45 AM. First check on the smoker. Temp is holding well, it only dropped about 5 degrees. There was some critter crashing about in the woods, this can't be a good sign.
- 2:00 AM, temp holding steady, starting the mop. The mop is made from cider vinegar, water, vegetable oil, kosher salt, chili powder and cayenne. There's still that critter about, I think its a raccoon.
- 3:30 AM. The wind off the mountain kicked up a bit causing things to burn down quicker than I expected. This resulted in a temp drop to around 200 degrees. I loaded up more charcoal, now I'll have to baby sit the pit for a while until the temperature stabilizes again. No signs of the critters any more. The butt itself is starting to develop a nice dark bark.
- 4:00 AM. The temperature seems to have stabilized at around 230 degrees. It looks like things will hold steady for a bit, I'm going to take another nap.
- 6:00 AM. The temperature stayed perfect for that burn. I re-loaded the charcoal and the water pan. The butt was sweating, most likely the first sweat. I'm guessing that meat has hit the first plateau as well. I'll check the internal temperature on the next mop.
- 8:00 AM. Everything looks good. Pit temp is around 240 degrees and the internal temp of the meat is 160. We still have quite a ways to go.
- 9:00 AM. Internal temp 167, everything looking good. Refilled the charcoal and the water pan. Plugged in the digital thermometer so that I can have constant temperature reading now. Also, I won't keep poking holes in the meat with the instant read thermometer.
- 10:00 AM. 173 Internal temp
- 11:15 AM. Internal temp still 173. Stuck on that plateau where the fat renders. The pit temp had dropped to about 225 so I'm gonna kick it up now. There is a nice dark brown bark on the outside of the butt now. mmmmmm...
- 12:30 PM. The internal temperature has bumped up to 174. It looks like we're starting to push through that plateau. Added more charcoal and refilled the water pan. Pit temp is riding right around 250 degrees again.
- 1:30 PM. Internal temp up to 179 degrees. We've made it through the plateau and now are on the final run. Letting the pit temp run up to 275 now.
- 3:00 PM. Success! We've finally reached an internal temp of 190 degrees. I'll pull the butt out of the smoker and wrap it in foil to let it rest for another half hour. The internal temp should continue to rise another five degrees or so, perfect for pulling.
There are some things in the log that I need to explain. The first is the sweat. Pork will sweat three times while it is being cooked. This is when the meat itself releases some of its moisture. The outside of the meat will look wet while it is cooking. This is normal. The next thing is the plateau. When cooking pork, very often the internal temperature of the meat will get stuck around 170 degrees Fahrenheit. This is called the plateau and it is the temperature that the fat in the pork is being melted down or rendered at. Depending on how much fat was in the piece of meat you’re smoking, it can take several hours to finish rendering and begin raising the internal temperature again. (note: in the above log, it took 2 1/2 hours to push through the plateau)
OK, so we have this hunk of meat that’s been smoked, now what do we do? I like to pull my pork instead of slicing it. That means taking a couple of forks and literally pulling it apart, bit by bit. Once this is done, I sprinkle a little more Magic Dust on the pork and then serve up. It can be served on a bun to make a sandwich or loose on a plate. A portion is between a third to a half a pound of meat per serving. Mound it up on a bun, slather it with my Tennessee Whiskey BBQ Sauce, throw some cole slaw on the top or on the side and you have yourself perfect barbeque.
Subscribe