Pulled pork rub and advice

[TedEbear]

Thanks guys. Do you think that 225 is too high to cook at? How long would you guess ill be on a 5lb butt?

They say 1.5-2 hours per lb.  From what I've experienced, the larger the butt the longer per lb it seems to take. I always cook mine to an internal temp of 195.

My guess is 8 hours.  Wind and ambient air temp will have an affect.

[smokinjoe73]

This is very informative thread, just curious about the FTC..is this done after the desired IT of the butt is reached.. So for example you would had that time on after the 8 hours approx mentioned int he previous thread?
Thanks

[Spliner]

I personally have tried many methods mentioned on this forum for pulled pork but have settled with the following:

1)  24 hours before I intend to smoke.. trim the excess (leave a little bit) fat off the butt, and rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
2)  Rub all over (be generous here, get in all the crevices, etc.) with your favorite rub.  I use Jan's or any store bought that sounds good.  Last time I used a Maple Bacon rub from Wal-Mart and it was delicious.
3)  wrap tightly in plastic and store in your fridge until the day of the smoke.

The day of the smoke...

4) pull out the butts and put them on foil pans or on a cutting board (just to keep down the mess) after unwrapping them.
5) rub a light to moderate coat of molasses all over the butts.. don't miss any spots!
6) sprinkle lightly with more of your rub and place them on the wire racks for the Bradley.

Let them sit out (cover lightly with plastic if you feel the need) while you pre-heat the Bradley.

I have the newer OBS Bradley 4-rack.  So generally 2 butts is all I do in it, but I have squeezed 4.  Pre-Heat the Bradley with it maxed out until it hits 225-250.  Make sure your water bowl is installed, your drip tray, and put in the butts with 4 hours of whatever smoke you intend to use (I use Apple).  Use a thermometer (remote digital is best, I love my iGrill) and watch the temp of the meat while it smokes.  I don't inject mine, just the rub the day before and the molasses the day of the smoke.  Comes out wonderful.  Injecting is optional, but don't go overboard with the inject-able marinade.  It could create hot-spots inside the meat that will throw off your thermometer.

I generally change out the water bowl after most if not all of the pucks have gone through because it'll be full of some grease and expended pucks at that point and I don't want a fire.  Then I just let it cook in the Bradley until it hits around 200F on my thermometer.  Then I'll pull them, wrap in foil tightly, and then 1-2 old towels and place them in a pre-heated cooler for up to three hours (usually 2 is sufficient while I get everything else ready).  To pre-heat your cooler, simply pour in some boiling water when the butts are almost done so it warms up the inside of the cooler.  Then drain it before putting in the butts.

Pull them, shred them, add a bit more rub, leave in the bark (yum), and enjoy!  If you need to keep it warm at this point I use a crock pot and add back in any of the drippings that were in the foil from when I pulled them out of the cooler so they don't dry out.  On average.. an 7.5-8.5lb butt takes me 10-14 hours, but it has on occasion taken 18 hours.  I figure 12 hours and allow myself up to 4 hours additional because I can simply hold them longer in the cooler or crock pot if shredded (if they get done too soon).  Time will fluctuate depending on the pork.  If it gets done in less than 10 hours and you're doing 2 butts.. be suspicious and move your thermometer to a different location in the meat to double check.

If you're pre-cooking for a BBQ the next day, do the above but after shredding them, put them in foil pans (the large ones) cover them tightly with foil and sit them in the sink with ice cubes to rapidly cool them.  Your meat has already been in the danger zone for long enough while going from 40F to 150F in the smoker.  Once they cool (and I have been known to put some ice on top as well to speed up the process, just make sure you got the foil on very tightly to keep out moisture) store in the fridge, then the next day pre-heat your oven to 250ish and re-heat until the meat reaches about 180F.  Un-foil and eat, or transfer to crock pots.

I did a batch like this for a family reunion this year, but kept the crock pots on during the dinner so the meat wouldn't spoil.  Someone half-way through turned off the crock pots.  Didn't hurt anyone, but on the cleanup we noticed about 4lbs of leftover pork had been allowed to get cool and we had no idea how long it had been like that.  We pitched it to be safe.  Bummer.

I typically start my smokes 4 hours before bed time.  Once I clean out the water bowl of excess grease and burnt pucks, I let it smoke all night while I sleep with my iGrill next to me.  I set my smoker away from the house in case of an unattended fire but have never had one.  Just keep your meat away from the sides, clean out the bowl after smoking, and let it cook.

Spliner

[smokinjoe73]

That's a very informative thread. Splinter you mentioned you smoke for 4 hours, clean out all the grease. Then said you smoke all night. Do you mean it just cooks all night? Or you smoke more. ?
Thank you

[pokermeister]

 You have some very good info here. After smoking more than 20 butts, 4 hours at the start is all the smoke I use, then leave in smoker at about 225-235 until IT reaches 195-200. The key is the internal temperature. I have had a 9 lb butt ready in 10 hours, and an 8 lb butt take almost 15. Depends on the mood of the pig I guess. If you smoke after the meat has reached about 140, you will not get any more smoke flavor. I have changed out the water bowl for a 9 x 9 x 2 inch cake pan, and a foil wrapped brick for recovery.

[Spliner]

That's a very informative thread. Splinter you mentioned you smoke for 4 hours, clean out all the grease. Then said you smoke all night. Do you mean it just cooks all night? Or you smoke more. ?
Thank you

Sorry for the late reply.. need to stop by here more often!  I clean out the drip pan/bowl and put it back with hot or boiling water (so that it doesn't cool down the smoker) and then I let it cook in the smoker (not smoking) until it is done.  Did one last weekend, an 8.5lb pork butt, took just under 12 hours total.  I pulled it when it hit 200F (meant to try and get it when it hit 195ish but overslept a bit.. honestly 200ish is fine, it'll pull easier).  Wrapped it in foil, towel.. and in the cooler it went that morning while I tinkered with the cole slaw and sauce (about 1.5 hours).  Pulling it was easy as the bone slid right out and although I was going to use my new claws my daughter bought me for father's day, I ended up using a couple of forks and it just fell apart.  Lunch that day was a win!

PS:  I have, in the past, tried to hold the pork a bit longer and I've noticed the temp will start to drop after a couple hours in my cooler.  If you have a really good cooler and pre-heat it before putting in the pork you could probably hold it for up to 4+ hours.  I've also transferred the pulled pork to a crock pot on "keep warm" setting and waited until dinner, but I'll warn you, it'll dry it out unless you keep some of the drippings and add it into the crock pot every so often. 

Pulled pork is fun to do in the Bradley smoker, do it often and find the method you like the best.  I use Apple Wood almost exclusively but I have my eye on a 120 box of Pecan for the future.

Spliner

[Indy Smoker]

Be careful if using a commercial dry rub. I used some and turned out very salty.


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[pokermeister]

Look at the list of ingredients on a dry rub- if salt is the first or second one, it's probably too salty. Just my 2 cents worth.