Newbie pork question

For rub the rib rub would be good, for wood I would suggest the apple or hickory. For advice on the whole subject always refer back to Smokin's 101 Tutorials, get to know your product. I read and re-read his tutorials all the time.

http://www.cookshack.com/store...Series/Pork-Butt-101

Do the finger test with the rubs. Moisten your fingertip and taste the rubs. Use your favorite one. I'd probably try the rib rub or chicken rub. The chicken rub is on the spicy side if I recall. Wood, I'd say any of those listed would work well except the mesquite. Apple & cherry are somewhat similar as are hickory & pecan.

If you take it out in the 160-170 range, you can slice it up, if you want pulled pork sandwiches you'll need to cook it to 195-205 range.

Like Mike says, read through Smokin's 101 on pork butt. That'll probably answer a lot of your questions. If not, feel free to ask, we'll be more than happy to help.

I bought "boneless pork shoulder at Costco. It appears that there are two in the sealed package for a total of 14lbs. They also had boneless loin. Is this the correct meat for pulled pork?

Should I cook both? There are only five of us. If I do, can I freeze some?

What rack to use, top or bottom?

Pork shoulder or sometimes labeled pork butt is the correct cut of meat. One should be enough for 5 people. I'd cook one on the top rack & freeze one. But if you cook both, yes, you can easily freeze the leftovers.

LAST QUESTION!! (I hope) I have a piece of hickory that weighs 3.2 oz. Is this too big? If I use it all should I leave it in one piece or split it?

Thanks folks, I want the first one to be a good one.

I'd leave it whole. That'll give some extended smoke time since you'll be smoking for 10-14 hours depending on smoker temp.

Should I trim the fat or some of the fat before cooking?

I don't bother, I remove it after the smoke. Some people like to remove some before.

When I do a pork butt, I thin the fat cap to no more than about 1/4". Assuming about 7lb uncooked for each butt (since the package was 14lb total) you would end up with 3 to 3.5lb of finished product if you cook one butt. Usually you can count on 45-50% yield of finished product. You can count on adults eating about 1/3lb of finished product if there are other sides to accompany the meal. Some may eat a little more if they are big eaters, so may eat a little less.

From what you have available, I like CS Rib Rub for the base rub, and a bit of the CS Spicy Chicken Rub sprinkled on top for a bit of heat.

I've mixed the Rib Rub & Chicken Rub 50/50 for pork and it was good. Read and re-read about "the stall" (160-170 degrees). Make sure you have a digital thermometer (that works) and trust it! I foil & rest in a cooler (when it hits 196) for 2-4 hours then pull (better to be done early than eating at midnight). Good luck but with a Cookshack, you won't need it!

LOTS of questions....this ain't brain surgery!(lol)

Rub the butt with the advice of the fine cooks above. Put some cherry and hickory/pecan pieces in the wood box. Use either shelf, just use the fat cap as a heat shield(put on bottom). Set smoker for 225*, put probe in center of meat. Cook till probe says 195* and open smoker and use probe to poke the meat for the feel of going in like butter. Take PB out wrap in foil, put a towel around it. Wait for an hour and shred the meat with two table forks. Put on cheap white buns and enjoy a fine sandwich.

Lastly, take good notes on the cook. If you run into a problem, ask the fine cooks here and maybe we can help you out.

Should take about 2hrs/lb for timing...a good cook will always allow a little wiggle room.

Good luck!

So how did it turn out? Was the wife impressed?

I stopped it at 190 degrees (14 hours). It was a bit dry and needed sauce. The wife said she liked it but I am not sure that she wasn't just being nice.

One down, a million more to go and I'll get it right if it kills her!

Should have gone to 195ish before probing for tenderness. Dry at 190 Is likely due to being underdone.

quote:

Originally posted by Joe McMahon:
I stopped it at 190 degrees (14 hours). It was a bit dry and needed sauce.

How did the pork "pull"? A finished PB will easily separate into muscle groups when it's done. The muscle groups will easily separate into shreds or pieces when pulling. Most PB's will allow 5 degrees of wiggle room between being under/overdone. If you have to coax the meat aprt, it was underdone. Over done meat will be a bit mushy.

A suggestion. Try a bone-in pork butt. The blade bone is not unlike a Butterball Turkey pop-up thermometer. It will tug free with ease when the butt is ready.

It pulled apart easily. Would an undercooked piece really be dry? You would think that overcooked would dry it out???

When smoking a piece of meat that needs to have it's collagen broken down to make moist meat....

UNDERCOOKED...Tough and dry

OVERCOOKED....Mushy and dry

Mushy being the texture of the product will melt/dissolve with very little effort.

Like MaxQ was pointing out, a PB without the bone will usually take a little longer cooking time.

That is why a good cook will use the sense of FEEL to determine proper doneness, I messed up this last weekend and didn't do this at my comp and it cost me a GC, by a half point..OH WELL, young cooks all learn lessons!

Cal, how can you "feel" the meat when the crust is so,,,, so crusty???

Use the temp probe or a skewer. If it slides in and out with little resistance, it's done. Or like MaxQ said, if you have a bone-in butt, once it's done you should be able to almost just slide the bone out.

quote:

Originally posted by Joe McMahon:
It pulled apart easily. Would an undercooked piece really be dry? You would think that overcooked would dry it out???

If it pulled easily it wasn't undercooked. The dryness could have been due to several factors...
1. It was just too lean or overtrimmed of top fat.
2. The processing plant gouged the hell out of it when de-boning.
3. You overcooked it and rendered the moisture out of it.

I've seen a few boneless pork butts that appeared to be processed with a chain saw. Even though it looks ok, you're leaking moisture as it cooks (smokes). That's another reason I prefer bone-in butts. I look for a nice white cap of fat on top. I don't trim the fat (unless it's horribly excessive...more than 1/2 @ inch) nor do I score the fat.

Undercooking a PB or brisket doesn't allow the meat to render collegen or internal fat...hence it's chewy and dry. Ever eaten undercooked pot roast? Same difference.
Overcooking - see reason 3.

Don't fret. This was your 1st smoke in a new smoker. Try the bone-in suggestion I mentioned, stick a probe in the center (not touching the bone) and when the temp reads 190, check the bone...tug at a piece of meat at the edge. Eat it. If the bone tugs free and the mouth feel is as it should be, you're good to go.

Practice a few and once you get them where you want them, we'll move on to the dreaded brisket Meanwhile, try a rack or two of loinbacks or St Louis Spares. Read Smokin's Ribs 101 and do a "FIND" search on "toothpick test".

Class dismissed for today. Be prepared for a pop-quiz by the weekend

quote:

Originally posted by Joe:
Cal, how can you "feel" the meat when the crust is so,,,, so crusty???

LOTS of different ways to tell when a PB is done, but the biggest decision for you is deciding what kind of mouth feel you and your family wants and learning to cook to that feel.

As you become an experienced cook, you will find that there are different areas of the PB that will finish before other areas and those will be what you will not want to concentrate on.

Like Andy was sayin', a probe used to poke the butt will be a good beginning. Might watch the area around the bone and the area in the middle of the butt. If it has resistance, cook it till it feels like going into butter.

I have found if I buy quality PBs and buy the same size, I get a better sense for what I'm wanting, but hey, every once in a while you get a stubborn ole sow that just don't want to be cooked...then no matter how good a cook you are, it may turn out dry.

With a CS, you can cut ALL the fat cap off and still not worry about drying the butt out...IF you pick one that has a lot of internal fat. Choice of meat will help you the most!