Today’s pulled pork rub recipe:
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup pre-ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh ground pepper melange
- 1/4 cup onion powder
- 1/4 cup garlic powder
- 1/4 cup ancho powder
- 1/4 cup chipotle powder
- 1/4 cup paprika powder
- ~1/8 cup of cayenne powder
- ~1/8 cup of Accent
- ~1/8 cup of Lawry’s seasoning salt (just a little somethin somethin extra)
Mixed rub ingredients in a large bowl, then funneled into a large shaker for sprinkling.
Bought 8.75 pound fresh pork butt from Lake Country Meats, Alexandria, MN.
Rolled out two sheets of butcher paper on countertop, to ease cleanup.
Placed butt on the butcher paper and slathered with French’s Yellow Mustard as a base. Then liberally sprinkled the rub on all sides. A large butt can take a lot of rub, so don’t be stingy.
Used a little more than half of the prepared rub.
Placed ceramic fire bricks along the bottom of the smoker’s cook chamber.
Placed one brick in fire box below the throat, and one brick at back of fire box, behind the coal basket.
The ceramic fire bricks soak up excessive heat when the chamber gets hot, and radiate the heat when temps begin falling. This helps to prevent wild temp swings, and gives you a little extra leeway for adding fuel to the fire.
Placed baffle plate above the bricks in cook chamber, and added a full water pan above the throat in cook chamber. Placed grates in cook chamber.
Baffle plate helps distribute the heat and smoke more evenly throughout the cook chamber.
Water pan helps dampen the heat right at the throat above the fire box, and helps keep the cook chamber humid.
Started the fire with a full chimney of Royal Oak lump charcoal. Dumped chimney into coal basket when tips of coals at top of chimney started turning white.
When cook chamber reached ambient temp of 275° F, transferred the butt to the center of the cook chamber, fat cap facing up, thickest side of butt pointed towards fire box throat.
Kept fire going with hickory splints and peach chunks.
Replenished wood fuel about every hour, supplemented with scoops of Royal Oak briquettes to maintain coal bed.
Maintained cook chamber temp of 275° F.
Spritzed butt with apple cider vinegar every hour.
Smoked from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, when internal temp reached about 160° F, and stalled.
Rolled out aluminum foil on prep table next to smoker. Spritzed the foil with apple cider vinegar.
Transferred butt from smoker to the foil, and spritzed butt with apple cider vinegar, making note of fat cap position and thickest side of butt.
Wrapped the butt in the aluminum foil, folding over twice. Then wrapped that in another sheet of foil, again folding over twice.
Returned wrapped butt to cook chamber, again with fat cap up and thickest side pointed to the throat.
Continued maintaining cook chamber temp until 5:00 pm.
Internal temp of the butt reached 210° F, then pulled it from the smoker.
Let the butt rest in foil, for thirty minutes.
Unwrapped butt and transferred to large Pyrex pan. Poured remaining juices from foil wrap into pan. Shredded with fork.
Pork pulled apart very easily, and had a silky, melty texture. Probably the best pulled pork I have smoked to date.
