Tag: pulled pork

Recap: Pig-a-palooza 3

When I crawled in bed on Saturday night, my wife asked, “Did you have fun at Pig-a-Palooza”?  I informed her that the question wasn’t one that should be asked at the end of a 21 hour day.  But, ask me again in a couple of days. 

Well, it’s been a couple of days and I can finally say “Yes, it was fun”.  I always enjoy cooking BBQ, feeding folks who have never had good BBQ, and seeing their reaction.  This year’s event delivered on all three, and we raised money for a good cause at the same time.

My good friend (and fellow pitmaster) Dave and I arrived at the park at 2:30am.  We had the cooker lit, the pork butt seasoned, and the meat on by 4:00am.  I was figuring on an 8 hour cook time based on my most recent cook.  I’d need the butts to start coming off the cooker at noon or shortly thereafter to make room for 24 sides of ribs (that’s 72 portions when you serve 4 bones/plate).

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As noon approached, I began to get nervous.  I wasn’t seeing the butts get to where they should be and we needed to get the ribs on.  We got about 1/4 of the ribs on and I was out of space.  So at 1:30, we decided it was time to start a fire in the grill that was provided for cooking burgers and dogs, wrap the butts that were close in foil, and let them finish there.  Disaster averted.  We were able to get all the meat done by serving time or shortly thereafter.  

We began serving food at 4:00pm and saw a steady line of hungry folks for the next 4 hours.  Now, we’d planned to serve BBQ as long as we could and then sell burgers and dogs when the band began playing somewhere after 7:30.  Boy, did we misjduge the turnout.  

In the first hour, we recognized that we were gonna be short on sides, burgers, dogs, soda, plates, and chips.  We sent someone to the store for more food 4 times during the event.  While I can’t make more BBQ  in a couple of hours, we can keep grilling burgers and dogs.  So we did.  But even then, we were completely sold out by 8:00pm and couldn’t reasonably get additional product quickly enough to keep cooking.  Hey, that’s a good problem to have.  

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All this just speaks to the turnout for this year’s event.  I’d estimate that we saw at least double (if not triple) the turnout this year.  I’ve thought some about why that it is, and I figure it like this. We experienced a perfect storm.  The event has momentum.  The band was very notable and entertaining.  And, we had exceptional weather.  All the ingredients to make the event a resounding success.

Or, maybe they just came for the BBQ!

Cheers,
Braddog 

Pulled Pork on the Big Green Egg

Pulled pork is one of the cornerstones of BBQ. Luckily, it’s also one of the easiest things to do. There are some variations on the ingredients in pulled pork but the most important one is patience.  Remember BBQ is cooked low and slow and it’s done when it’s done.

Here’s how I prepare pulled pork:

Pulled pork is one of the cornerstones of BBQ. Luckily, it’s also one of the easiest things to do. There are some variations on the ingredients in pulled pork but the most important one is patience.  Remember BBQ is cooked low and slow and it’s done when it’s done.


Here’s how I prepare pulled pork:

  • Start with a whole pork butt.  Sometimes you’ll find these called Boston Butt, bone in butt, etc. and they typically run 6-8lbs.
  • Slather the entire butt with cheap yellow mustard.  Not dijon, not Grey Poupon, not spicey; just simple yellow mustard.   You won’t taste this and it really just serves to bind the rub to the meat.
  • Liberally apply the rub of your choice.  There are a couple of commercially available rubs that I like.  If you don’t already have a favorite, I’d recommend Dizzy Pig’s Dizzy Dust or Bad Byron’s Butt Rub.  Personally, I can’t tell much difference in doing this much in advance of starting your pit, but I’ll leave that up to you.
  • Fire up your pit for indirect cooking with a drip pan and get your temperature settled in to about 250 degrees.  I leave the drip pan empty.  To me, it’s just for catching the drippings.  Note:  if you’re using a cooker with a water pan, then I’d add water to the pan.
  • Put your butt on and settle in for a long cook.  I use 1.5 hrs per lb. as an estimate for planning purposes only.  At the end of the day, every cooker is going to cook a little different and so will each piece of meat.  Remember, the meat is done when it’s done.  Cook by internal temp of the meat, not the clock.
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  • After 4-5 hrs, your butt should be close to 160 degrees internal temperature.  It’s in this range, +/- 10 degrees that the internal temperature of the meat will plateau.  Once it plateaus, it can stay there for several more hours.  It’s in this plateau that the magic is happening.  The connective tissues are breaking down and the fat is rendering from the meat.  Keep feeding the fire (if needed) and be patient.  While pork is edible at 160 degrees, it ain’t done.
  • Once the meat breaks the plateau, the temperature will begin to rise again.  Once it hits 195 degrees internal temperature, it’s done.  Wrap it in foil and let it rest for at least an hour.
  • When you’re ready to eat (and who wouldn’t be by now?), unwrap the butt and it should easily pull apart.  I like to use a couple of forks for pulling the meat apart.  I also discard the bone and any excess fat during this process.
  • Serve it up on cheap white hamburger buns and provide some BBQ sauce as a condiment.
  • Enjoy!

So get out there and get cooking, but remember patience is required to get through that plateau.  Hang in there, the results are worth it.

Cheers,
Braddog