quote:Originally posted by g-man:quote:Originally posted by sarbuze:
~7.5 lb pork shoulder just went on with apple wood, will brush every 45 mins with an apple cider vinegar based liquid, for pulled pork tonight
Plan on brining to ~195, which apparently is best for making the pork pull easily. Any other advice is appreciated, have about 8 hours to make adjustments
opening the wsm every 45 minutes will have you hitting the stall for alot longer.
I never start spritzing until after the three hour mark, and then only if the bark is set. If you spray or mop before bark set, the crust, rub and the all important Maillard reaction will fall off when you foil. I almost always foil - don't give me any of your Texas crutch crap.
Once I put the pork butt on the smoker, I don't open the lid for three hours. If the bark is set sufficiently at that point, I will spritz every hour until I hit the stall. Once it hits the stall, I foil with some liquid (apple juice or beer or whatever is on hand), and let it go to 195 before I start checking for probe tender. BBQ is done when it's done - don't get caught up in x/lbs per hour. Once it is probe tender (be it 195 or 205), I take it off the smoker and open the foil to stop the cooking. Once the temp gets back down to 170 or so, I'll pull if eating soon, or seal in the foil to hold until pulling later. Once I've pulled the butt from the smoker, I pour off the liquid from the foil and de-fat it, using the au jus if necessary in the pulled product. I've also frozen the remaining au jus to use for injection on the next butt, but I don't always inject.