Smoked Pork Butt

I know, I know...it's St. Patrick's day and I'm posting a recipe for smoked pork butt.  Not exactly a good St. Patty's day meal, but...my pork was Irish... yea, that's it... Irish pork butt...see, I'm all about celebrating the holiday :)

So, the other day I walked outside to get my grill ready for whatever I was planning on grilling that night, when I heard this strange noise coming from this sad little covered form sitting in the corner of our back porch.  I listened carefully and I heard this muffled voice say "hey...hey...you with the love for the grill.....remember me?  yea, me...the smoker you won and were so frickin' ecstatic about?  you know, the one that you used to use every weekend?  remember me???  hey, i'm talking to you....."  I tried to ignore the voice but it just kept going on and on... I think it even called me a few choice names that I dare not repeat, as I want to keep my blog on the PG-13 rating or lower.  Alas, I could not deny that what the voice said was true.  It had been early January since the last time I had used it, I'm sorry to say.  So with a little push from my smoker, and a little inspiration from Chris Grove at Nibble Me This, I decided I was going to smoke some pork in it.   And not just pork, but pork butt.  Something that I could end up shredding and making into sandwiches, quesadillas, nachos, tacos, pizza (check back next week for that recipe, by the way!!), etc.

With quite a bit of help from Chris G., I was able to make a mean smoked butt, let me tell you.  (plus, I get to keep saying smoked butt..hehehehe)  Without Chris G.'s instructions, I think I would have ended up ruining this, because the pork got up to about 158 degrees and stalled there for about 4 hours.  Had Chris not told me this was normal, I probably would have done something tragic and we may have ended up with another brisket tragedy!!!  So, thank you Chris....my pork butt owes you!!!

This was a wonderful way to make the pork and the pulled pork sandwiches we made out if it that night were fantastic!!  Topped with some homemade bbq sauce and some sriracha coleslaw (WHAT? did she say Sriracha coleslaw?  Why, yes I did...and if you come back tomorrow, you will see exactly how I made it!!)  it was a sandwich fit for a king.... or at least for the two of us!!

Smoked Pork Butt
Inspiration and guidance courtesy of Chris at Nibble Me This
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
4 lbs pork butt (you can use pork shoulder too)
For the rub -
4 teaspoons seasoning salt (I used Country Bob's)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
Additional items for smoking -
Apple wood chips (make sure to soak them for at least 30 minutes)
2 bottles of beer

Directions:
Mix all the rub ingredients together in a small bowl.  Rub the mixture over all sides of the pork, even into the cracks (hehehe, butt crack) if you can.  Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Add the wood chips to your smoker and preheat it to 225-230 degrees F.  I added both bottles of beer to my water pan in the smoker, but you can do one and then one later during the smoking process if you want.  Place the pork butt in the smoker and allow to cook for about 1.5 hours per pound.  As Chris informed me, it's going to reach about 160-165 degrees and it will just stay there....like FOREVER.  But be patient, it will rise and then, once it reaches an internal temperature of 195-198 degrees, remove from the smoker, double wrap in aluminum foil, and return to the empty smoker for 1-2 hours.  Pull it apart by shredding it with two large forks.  Serve as pulled pork sandwiches, pulled pork pizza, quesadillas, nachos, tacos, or whatever your heart desires.  But most of all... Enjoy!

One Year Ago:  Poblano Chicken