First pulled pork

[mainly_a_lurker]

I'm going to be doing my first pulled pork this weekend. Here's my plan - hopefully if I've missed anything someone will let me know!

I have a shoulder (boston butt), about 10lbs.  My plan is to inject it with CT on Fri morning and apply a rub.  In the evening I'll take it out for an hour to bring it up to room temp, then smoke for 5 hrs @ 225 with either hickory or apple - or maybe a combination of both.  After smoking is done I'll change the water and keep it in OBS overnight.  I'm hoping it will be ready mid afternoon Saturday.  I'm counting about about 16-20 hours and take it out when it reaches 190. - does that sound about right?  FTC afterwards and eat that evening.

Also, can CT be added after the pork is pulled, or should I just stick with applying before the smoke?  Is it necessary to apply a mop, or should I just leave it be the whole time?

Thanks!  I'll hope to have some pics up once it's done.

[RAF128]

Looks good to me.   I think you can add what ever sauce you like.   Some use the vinegar sauce from the recipe section.    I wouldn't mop it.  Just let it do it's own thing and you should get a nice bark.

[Uncle Pigfat]

You should be fine without mopping.  I never do and my butts come out great.  If you choose to mop, I'd wait at least until after the stall.  At that point you won't be destroying much or any of the bark that has formed.  Just remember, the more you open that door, the longer it is going to take.  You won't be lacking in flavor if you inject and have a nice rub on the meat.  Plus with 5 hours of smoke, especially if you go with hickory alone, you'll be adding more than enough flavor.

[FLBentRider]

I leave them be.

In addition, opening the door to mop will drop your box temp and prolong your cook time.

[mainly_a_lurker]

Thanks all.  I always appreciate the advice on this forum.

I'll let you know how it goes this weekend.

[classicrockgriller]

Just remember FTC is your friend.

If you include a 4 to 5 hr FTC in your time frame, you won't

be disappointed. If you cook time runs longer, just FTC shorter time.

[hal4uk]

Like CRG said...
A good long FTC works wonders.
[re-read the last sentence, write it on a post-it note, and stick it on the wall]

[SouthernSmoked]

Hey mainly_a_lurker, sounds like a good plan and some great advice.

Remember to set back and have a cold one and let the smoke roll.

Enjoy!!

[Quarlow]

I have to agree with the guys. My last one I injected and slathered with CT, then a good coat of Jan's rub. Never touched it again and it was awesome. Nice bark and moist as .... well you know what I mean. Go for it buddy, you won't be disappointed.

[mainly_a_lurker]

Wow, I can't believe I waited a year after buying my OBS to try a pulled pork.  I think this was the best meal to come out of it yet.

Here's the pork - about 10.5 lbs:



I started on Sat morning by applying a rub and then covering with CT.

A month or so ago I tested 5 different rub recipes when I was doing some ribs.  I had enough left over from my favorite batch to use here.  I never wrote down which rub came from which recipe though, and now I can't remember.  So, thanks to someone on the site here for the rub recipe and hopefully I figure out which one it was soon.

Here it is with the rub and CT on it:



Next up, since the pork wouldn't be done for another day I threw a chicken on the smoker.  Good way to pre-heat it for the pork.



The boston butt went in the smoker at 6pm on Saturday and smoked for 5 hrs with a combo of apple and hickory.  It was cold and rainy here in southern Ontario so I moved my smoker in the garage while smoking, and then moved the pork into the oven overnight.

Here it is after 5 hrs of smoke:



And all done - 20 hrs total to complete, came out with an IT of 192.



I added some vaunted vinegar sauce after pulling it.  I forgot to take a picture then, but here's the leftovers:



Great stuff, thanks for all the tips and recipes I pick up here.

[FLBentRider]

That looks good.

Made me hungry, and I just ate lunch!

[KyNola]

That looks like a big ole roasting pan with 95% of it gone.  Looks like it was a success.  Nice going!

[Quarlow]

Very nice pulled pork. Way to go .

[SouthernSmoked]

Looks good... Split Chicken looks awesome and that butt, well what can I say?

Awesome job!!

[punchlock]

looks like you nailed it!