Recipe: Pulled Pork

PREP TIME: 1 hour

COOK TIME: 12-16 hours

SERVES: 12-18 people

INGREDIENTS and SUPPLIES:

• [Char-Hickory pellets]

• 1 bone in pork butt. 8-10 lbs.

• Boning knife

• Large cutting board

• Yellow Mustard

• Seasoning Option 1: Meat Church
  The Gospel and Honey Hog Hot*

• Seasoning Option 2: Rudy’s Texas Bar-B-Q Dry Rub

• 1 stick of unsalted butter

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 half steam pan

• Grilling Aluminum Foil

• Cotton lined Gloves

  STEPS

1. Prepare and start the cook the night before you want to eat.
   This is an overnight method that can be ready to eat for lunch
   the next day or kept warm for dinner.

2. Take pork butt out of packaging and pat dry with paper towel.

3. Trim your pork butt. Remove all excess fat.
   (For tips, check out Meat Church’s video here.)

4. Cover outside of pork butt with a thin layer of yellow mustard. (No affect on flavor. Helps seasoning stick to the meat.)

5. 5a. Seasoning Option 1: Sprinkle light application of The Gospel rub over all of the pork butt. Then sprinkle a heavy coating of Honey Hog Hot seasoning all over the pork butt. (For less heat, simply use Honey Hog seasoning here.)

   5b. Seasoning Option 2: Sprinkle heavy application of Rudy’s Texas Bar-B-Q Dry Rub all over the pork butt.

6. Allow meat to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

7. Fill smoker hopper with Char Hickory pellets.

8. Prepare your smoker at a temperature of 200ºF.

9. Fill a metal bowl or pan with water or a mix of water and apple cider vinegar. Place inside smoker on grate to help regulate temperature and add moisture.

10. Carefully place your pork butt in your smoker, fat side down.

11. Use a temperature probe in the middle of the meat set at 165ºF.

12. Allow meat to smoke until internal temperature reaches 165ºF, probably 10-12 hours.

13. Put on cotton-lined nitrile gloves and move pork butt from the grill into the half steam pan. (If needed, remove meat probe.)

14. Set smoker to 275ºF.

15. Seasoning:

    15a. Seasoning Option 1: Sprinkle a heavy application of Honey Hog Hot seasoning over the pork. Then sprinkle 1 cup of brown sugar over the top.

    15b. Seasoning Option 2: Sprinkle a heavy application
    of Rudy’s Texas Bar-B-Q Dry Rub over the pork.

16. Cut 1 stick of unsalted butter into six equal “slabs”
    and place on the top of the pork.

17. Cover the pan with aluminum foil.

18. If you removed the meat probe, re-insert it.

19. Set meat probe temperature alert to 205ºF.

20. Once the pork reaches 205ºF internal temperature, let it rest at room temperature or let it rest on the smoker as long as you decrease the smoker to “Keep Warm” or 165ºF.
    Rest for 1 hour.

21. If you would like to eat it for dinner, simply keep it on the smoker “resting” at the “Keep Warm” or 165ºF setting. You can also bring it inside to your kitchen over at the lowest setting, usually around 170ºF until you are ready to serve and eat,
    for an additional 4-6 hours.

22. When ready to serve, remove the aluminum foil.

23. Put on cotton gloves and new set of nitrile disposable gloves over those.

24. Pull out the bone. (Should come out easily.)

25. You should be able to easily pull pork apart with
    your hands and serve.

26. Be sure to shut down your smoker. Wait one day.
    Then shop vac out all ash, clean out drip bucket,
    and replace foil on drip pan.

NOTES:

This is my preferred overnight cooking method, low and slow. 

If you want to cook this by starting early in the morning and cooking it a bit faster, 
then set smoker to 275ºF and expect 
the pork to reach an internal temperature 
of 165ºF in about 5-6 hours.

——

TIPS:

PDF has links to recommended ingredients and resources

• Since not every pork butt/shoulder weighs the same, use this formula to help plan:
  (Guests x (1/3)) X 2 = Amount (in pounds)
  of Raw Pork Needed

• If you can’t find “char hickory” pellets, look for these charcoal pellets from Royal Oak and mix them with regular hickory pellets.

• The rest is key to this meat. Don’t let it rest long enough and it will be very hot, hard to shred, and dry out quickly. Let it rest 30-60 minutes and it will be easier to shred and juicy to eat.

• Seasoning Option 1 is spicy and sweet. Seasoning Option 2 is more savory.