Pulled pork

[aigheadish]

Thanks caveman, I'm thinking we'll try some freshly chopped cherry if I can find it in the pile. (I think it'll be dry, it's been on the ground for a couple years now) 

[21incher]

Did this one with Crabapple and Cherry chunks on the Webber for 6 1/2 hours. My wife likes the lighter flavor of that combo along with a batch of Calico Beans.


 

 

 

[Raider Bill]

I prefer cherry smoked pork but will use hickory next, oak third.  If I were going to smoke a butt or two in a barrel, I'd build the fire in one end of the barrel and put the but in the other.  Shallow cuts into the fat side of the butt making a square grid may allow more seasoning to enhance the flavor.  Generally, I smoke the butt for 3-4 hours and then wrap with foil.  A bit of apple juice or Italian dressing poured over the butt before wrapping will add some flavor and make it pull a little easier.  Let it go for 3-4 more hours or until done.  Often, I cut the butts in half for a little faster cooking.  I don't do competitions, but I have cooked a few butts.

Raider Bill, If you need some hickory for smoking, let me know before September.  It would mean a trip to Polk County for you.  We cut down some big hickory trees a few weeks ago and the tops have a lot of cooking wood in them.  Hopefully, we'll have time to cut a couple more in a few weeks.


 

 

Might just have to take you up on that.

[barbender]

Greenhorn, yep I've heard of the many ironwoods, that's why I was trying to "triangulate" if it was a tree that was known by both terms😊

[kantuckid]

I have the small barrel shaped charcoal grill I got for free. I use it now over my Brinkman electric smoker. With careful attendance to my meat it is useful to smoke and color up the meat. I do that, being careful to turn it often and when it "looks great" I take it in the house where it's slow cooked to finish up and safely get the temps needed. I pull far more than we can eat at one time as pork keeps far longer after cooking and allows easy meals when we like. Pulled pork and pork ribs we freeze them both.  Just did a brisket that way on friday. It was placed in a glass baking dish and finished at 250 deg in the oven with sauteed apples slices and onions on top. When its, fork tender it's done. We cooled and sliced it, then layered on wax paper with enough on each layer for a sandwich apiece then bagged it for freezer. I use a homemade dry rub , done overnite, wrapped in plastic in the fridge. I think I posted that recipe.
That's very hard to achieve in my outdoor cooker over a long slow cook using charcoal. One son has a Green Egg cooker which allows far greater heat control than my little cooker with a chimney stack.
I use Hickory or WO and make little difference in them or mesquite or apple which I've used.
Pulled pork doesn't have to be sweet? IMO, you either like that meat or you don't. The condiments can be sweet or not. BBQ sauces are somewhat of a regional thing with several types and can be added at the table. Sonny's BBQ chain has as good of meats as any I've seen-done right there. Each table has a lineup of sauces for your choice-lots of BBQ places do that.
I've tried Memphis BBQ several places and see it as no better than Sonny's and same for the several famous KC, MO places.  I do like the meats and menu at Bandana's BBQ in MO. 

[Don P]

I ordered a BBQ plate in Montana and they went out and killed the wrong critter 

[aigheadish]

I ended up getting cherry pellets at the store as I was behind on the clock. So far it looks like it's going alright other than attempting to keep the temperature right. I also started a day later than planned. 

[Walnut Beast]

Looks good!!

[aigheadish]

Well, I finally got done at around 1230a last night/this morning. It was a hot day full of babysitting the grill and while I think it went alright I'm not positive of the results. I had a few bites of the pulled pork (I forgot to take a picture after it was done) as I forked it apart last night and it seems like maybe I screwed up my marinade, it's a bit heavy flavored on something tangy or maybe vinegar. I also just guessed at a recipe after glancing at several. Everything in my world currently smells like the smoking grill. 

I can't yet say whether I'll try this experiment again. Starting on a Saturday morning sounds better than starting too late on a workday eve.

[Don P]

The secret's in the sauce  .
It has determined the outcome of elections. I prefer a hot pepper vinegar splash over the thick sweet sauces, and there is every variation. I was having a tolerable BBQ sammich at table by a trailer in a parking lot here and before it was over, I was in conversation with the woman beside me, who I had just met, over the merits of the BBQ at 2 restaurants 400 miles away.

And then there's the slaw  ;D

[kantuckid]

I get it that we don't all like BBQ meat or sauces, or slaw all the same but I rarely get slaw that's done right in a restaurant! 
My pulled pork sandwich gets either a layer of slaw or a slab of Vidalia onion on it, not both. When we grab some frozen pulled pork from bag we saute it in a bit of sauce, not much. It has zero BBQ sauce as it comes from the bag but had a dry rub when cooked. 
 
My Wife and my Mom had it "done right". The balance of sugar and vinegar is important along with all the right ingredients as well. 
My ex-DIL had her wedding meal done at a venue in SC where they thought BBQ sauce was a sort of reddish vinegar, very liquid fluid. I actually love vinegar in cooking but can do without it being the main ingredient of a sauce.  

[Old saw fixer]

Pulled pork is best eaten on a plain white bun.  Slaw is a side dish, not a condiment for BBQ pork.
Like a good steak, the BBQ pork should stand on it's own. 

[barbender]

I'm of the opinion that BBQ sauce is a cover up just like steak sauce😊 Some of the best pulled pork I've had, had a slight vinegar and more savory flavor than typical BBQ fare. I realize some folks love the sauce, that's just not where my tastes run to🤷‍♂️

[aigheadish]

I was worried that I'd end up with a belly ache and/or the pulled pork wouldn't be tasty. I had some for dinner last night and I'm happy to report it was pretty delicious and not at all too tangy or too vinegary like I thought it would be. My hope was that it would end up being at least as good as the bucket of pulled pork I get from the grocery and it was. 

Will I ever smoke anything ever again? I'm not sure. I'm not great at having to stick to a tight schedule and that seems like a prerequisite to smoking food. However, if I'm prepared for it it's not too bad to babysit a grill while I drink beers and bourbons. Now, after doing some learning with my first experience the next time should be more enjoyable. 

I had no coleslaw. 

[kantuckid]

Pulled pork is best eaten on a plain white bun.  Slaw is a side dish, not a condiment for BBQ pork.
Like a good steak, the BBQ pork should stand on it's own.

At the table you may use your own rules.  ;) Just have some manners, please. 
My rules apply to my mouth. 8) It's very common to put slaw on a BBQ sandwich & even more common as a side dish with BBQ.

White buns are a personal preference matter as well as BBQ sauce type or nothing. 
 I like a bit of sauce, hickory flavored is OK as is sweet and thick, just not too much as would cover up the meats flavor. We buy Sweet Baby Rays Original.
 Too much smoke also covers meat flavors. Pulled or sliced is dictated by the cut of meat mostly. Large cuts like shoulder or sirloins get pulled. 
We like Kroger's Sourdough buns but I've had better at times from a real bakery.  

[kantuckid]

I'll add that a square of fresh jalapeno corn bread sliced is a great pulled pork sandwich. When we have a bit of leftover corn from a meal, we bag it for use in jalapeno cornbread along with peppers and onions.  I love that stuff. 
Right now as the big maters come in we eat lots of BLT's for supper. My version is a "BPT" which has no lettuce but rather I use a sliced, seeded, flattened banana pepper instead of lettuce. Adds flavor and some crunch.  

[K-Guy]

@aigheadish
I am not a fan of coleslaw at all but at a restaurant the pulled pork sandwiches came with it and I forgot to say leave it off, so I tried it and loved it. In the right proportions it adds to the flavor.  As far as sauce goes I am not a tomato based bbq sauce fan. I like the vinegar based ones better, probably because I am so sweet already as many here can attest too!!! :D

[btulloh]

Coleslaw. That's a deep topic. I can certainly appreciate the varied opinions on coleslaw and whether to put on a pulled pork samich. One big thing to know is that there's no standard for coleslaw, and restaurant or grocery store coleslaw can range from barely ok to completely inedible. Plus there's a wide range in the personal preferences - sorta like cornbread. If coleslaw is made at home from fresh cabbage from the garden, properly sliced from the head with a sharp knife, prepared and chilled for a couple hours it's a different thing entirely from the stuff done in bulk for institutional use. Not even in the same universe!

Whether you want on your sandwich or not is another thing, but you should try some good homemade coleslaw on your sandwich so you can make an informed decision. And like K-guy said, the right amount is important. Even marginal coleslaw that you'll get in most restaurants can be a good addition on the sandwich although it probably wouldn't stand on it's own as a side dish. Down here where pulled pork is almost a religion many of the bbq joints serve a decent coleslaw, but there's no way to make it in quantity that can compared to homemade using fresh cabbage. 

It's tough to beat good pork done correctly with a good dry rub.  Maybe a touch of the sauce of your choice, but don't let the sauce overwhelm the pork itself. That pork is just too DanG good!

Good job on your pork Aigheadish. I'm glad it was a success. After doing a few it'll be a lot easier to do without standing over the grill for eight or ten hours. Just a matter of controlling the temperature. In a pinch, cooking a Boston butt in a crockpot on low all day and the finishing on the grill for half an hour will get you some good pork also. (Just between you and me, you can even skip the finishing on the grill part of that.)

Man, I'm gettin' HUNGRY!!

[twar]

Cole slaw...are we talking red or white? I'm from western NC; BBQ cole slaw is red. (Hope this doesn't get me put in the doghouse. In NC, BBQ discussions are considered politics.  :D)

[aigheadish]

Thanks guys! 

I like most coleslaws, just don't have any on hand. My mom makes a decent slaw that I've tended to favor over most but I've never asked how she makes it. 

It reminds me... When I was just starting in the working world I was doing park and golf course maintenance. Mowing greens, setting cups, cleaning up after picnics, that kind of junk. Well, for some reason the shop had what I recall to be a 2 gallon or 5 pound tub (or something, it was a lot) of coleslaw, and the boss said that if I could eat that whole tub of slaw he'd take me Red Lobster. I got to eating, and eating, and eating. I made it a bit over 3/4 of the way through before I could do no more and gave up. I stopped eating coleslaw for a bit after that. 

[kantuckid]

Regarding cabbage- fresh cabbage is the only kind that's edible other than if it's been processed or cooked somehow. We are hardcore, serious gardeners yet we raise zero cabbage as fresh cabbage is cheap and year round available. In KY it gets hot come spring and cabbage is easy to bolt and also gets wormy w/o lots of sprays. Areas like the highlands of the Blue ridge mtns are where much commercial cabbage has been grown in the past but more so up north in WI or NY or FL & CA where temps work OK.
 We also don't make dozens of qts of sauerkraut as do many around us. It's a heritage thing here based on food preservation not a German?cultural food  thing in KY. We like the grocery store cooler bag version fine for occasional eating.
 Cabbage is a plant that lends itself to being stored for a long time in a cooler without deteriorating. Some cabbage varieties have a better flavor than others and as always fresh is best of all.  Once it's made into slaw, many folks like it most the day its made as the water leaches from the cabbage over a short time. 
I can make it as good as my wife but tend to use more sugar & vinegar than her. We like it best with diced cukes in it and a few carrots and peppers. Great on a ritz cracker!  

Whoever decided that ketchup is the route to coleslaw is off the mark for my tastebuds but to be fair I've had next to zero red coleslaw. Maybe I'd like it? probably not. I'm OK with German hot slaw but not a preference for sure. 

I agree there's a difference in food processor slaw vs cut with a knife. Which processor matters as we have an old one my Mom had which slices the cabbage and slaw is OK from it. 

[Raider Bill]

Ketchup in coleslaw?

I though red slaw was made with red cabbage.

[Machinebuilder]

IMHO some of the best BBQ pork is in Middle TN, there are some great little roadside shacks. if there isn't a pile of wood next to it keep going.

I am a bit biased on how to cook it, I've had my Big Green Egg for a very long time and barely tend it once I have it started.

I like to start with a pork shoulder (Boston Butt),
Put a heavy coating of dry rub on all sides. I tend to use commercial rubs, but have made my own, and like to add some cayenne pepper to the commercial rubs. 
put it in the fridge uncovered for at least 12hrs, 24hrs is preferable, this allows the salt in the rub to pull the other spices into the meat, and dries some of the moisture out

 then I smoke it at 200-225 for a good long time, 5-8hrs. I  use lump charcoal and various chunks of wood I have collected.
After 5-7hrs I wrap it in pink butchers paper and put it back on and raise the temp to 250-300 degrees for about 2-3 hrs. Sometimes I will put a piece of foil underneath the meat to slow down the cooking on the bottom.

When I take it off I like to let it rest for a while, this allows the juices to soak back in, and the meat to cool down before i pull it.
I have a set of "bear claws" I use to shred the meat.

Sauces are served on the side, I don't like the very sweet sauces but some are too vinegery.
I tend to like the Texas sauces more than the KC or Carolina, I do not care for the Alabama white sauce.
I can't get my preferred slaw, vinegar based with caraway seeds.

Smoking wood depends on what I am smoking, some have distinct flavors others just smokey.
I like Cherry for poultry, hickory for pork, any smoke for beef

[twar]

Ketchup in coleslaw?

I though red slaw was made with red cabbage.

Nope. Ketchup in the slaw and in the dip (i.e. sauce)--west of about Raleigh somewhere, especially around Lexington.

[Raider Bill]

Never heard of it.
Guess I'm going in a search.