Caution: Vegetarians may be offended by the large hunks of meat ahead…
I don’t hide my love for meat so I am not sure why I even chose to warn you. It just seemed like something to do.
Are you enjoying your summer so far? We have had some amazing days in PGH, like, I could stay outside forever kind of days. Every now and then we get a day where it is hot and muggy and then it rains for 40 days and 40 nights (jk, obviously). I am bracing myself for the July heat which will likely come and make it impossible for me to leave my house because I will melt. Yes, melting is possible, don’t bother looking it up…
It has been so busy lately. I usually have some vague idea of how I want to spend the summer and all of the festivals I’ll attend or the junk food I’ll eat. I am now staring the end of June in the face and can’t even remember what it was I thought I was going to do. My goals are now very simple; 1. don’t melt, 2. get to the pool frequently, 3. enjoy sitting in the backyard (preferably with popsicles), and 4. have an epic 30th birthday party! I think these are all very attainable goals. Simple is the way to do it this summer. Aside from the birthday party, I think I am going to plan less and just enjoy more.
Oh, did you hear? The Penguins won the Stanley Cup! If you are not a hockey fan then I suppose this is of no relevance to you. I have to admit that I didn’t always enjoy hockey. I grew up in a football/basketball house primarily. We always enjoyed when the Pens were winning but we weren’t going to games or donning Penguin apparel. As we got older we started to go to games and I began to really appreciate the game. I remember going to my first hockey game and expecting the puck to come flying out and hit me in the face (come to think of it, that is also my fear at baseball games…seems like this is a pattern). Every time a player was pushed in to the glass I would wince. It all seemed so haphazard. Pucks flying around, people flying around, ice…in my mind this was all a recipe for disaster. Once my anxiety lessened (never) I was able to enjoy the game (mostly). I still get nervous whenever the players go flying in to the boards. I also have this irrational fear that someone will skate over someone else’s hand…I said it was irrational! Honestly, I think it is a great sport and I am especially proud of my Penguins. Side Note: It really doesn’t hurt that the players are fairly good looking *hubs rolls his eyes*
So I spent all of that time talking about ice hockey in between pictures of delicious smoked meat. Seems appropriate! Did you just drool looking at the picture above? It’s ok, I won’t tell anyone. Honestly, my mouth is watering just looking at it now. I have many proud moments in the kitchen (and on the grill), but this was by far one of my proudest. I channeled my inner BBQ Pitmaster and fought the urge to open the grill to check on the meat. Low and slow. I did my very own set it and forget it routine. The patience and trust paid off, everyone who enjoyed that pig left satisfied. I was so proud that I almost said right then and there ” I am quitting my job and becoming a professional pitmaster!”… ok, I didn’t really say that but I did give myself a few pats on the back.
If you are worried that making pulled pork is hard or time consuming I am here to tell you that it isn’t! You can make something this beautiful. I promise!!! Here’s how…
Notes
If you do not have a smoker box you can make a smoker pouch out of aluminum foil. Wrap the chips in the foil and make sure to leave an opening at the top for the smoke to escape.
Ingredients
- 4-5 Lb. Bone-In Pork Butt (also called Boston Butt)
- Dry Spice Rub (see below)
- Apple Wood Chips
- Water
Spice Rub
- 1/4 Cup Paprika
- 2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
- 2 Tbsp. Ground Cumin
- 2 Tbsp. Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Salt
- 1 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Black Pepper
- 1 Tbsp. White Pepper
- 1 Tbsp. Dry Mustard
- 1 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
- 1-2 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Instructions
- The night before cooking remove your pork butt from the packaging, you may trim some of the fat but I do not recommend it.
- Combine all of the rub ingredients in a small bowl or container with a lid. Shake or stir to combine.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of rub on the pork, covering the whole thing, pat the pork butt to make sure it is covered. Reserve some of the rub for the next day (as long as it did not touch the pork).
- Wrap the pork butt in plastic wrap or foil. Place in a pan and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove pork from fridge at least 1 hour before cooking.
- While pork comes to room temp, place wood chips in a shallow dish and cover with water. Let wood chips soak for 15 minutes. Drain wood chips and place in a small smoker box. See Note below if you do not have a smoker box.
- Prepare grill by placing small aluminum pans under the side that you will cook the pork. The pork will cook on indirect heat (i.e., not over the flame) so you don't have to worry about the pans burning up.
- Place smoker box under grates over the burner. Heat grill to 325. Adjust burners so that the grill stays at 325. Wood chips will start smoking, let them smoke for 10-15 minutes before adding meat.
- Place pork butt on top of the side where the aluminum pans are placed. Close grill lid and allow pork to smoke for 3 hours - don't open unless necessary.
- Monitor the temp to make sure it is staying close to 325. You may want to invest in a quality grill thermometer since many grills have unreliable temp readers.
- During the last 20 minutes of cooking preheat oven to 325.
- Remove pork butt from grill and place in a baking dish. Wrap entire pork butt in foil and cook in the oven for another 2 hours or until the pork is fork tender.
- Once tender remove from the oven and allow to cool so that you can touch the roast with your fingers.
- Once cooled, pull pork with fingers or using two forks.
- Toss shredded pork in a little bit of the saved rub and top with your favorite sauce.
