Search This Blog

Thursday, March 17, 2011

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

13 comments:

Spoon and Chopsticks said...

Love your pork butt!!!

Big Dude said...

Looks like a win - hard to miss with a resource like Chris to call on. I'm with you on the uses - while I like a pulled pork sandwich, it's all of the other thiings I really like - think breakfast burrito (http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/2010/11/breakfast-burrito-ala-beverly.html). The sriracha slaw caught my attention, so I look forward to seeing it.

Yenta Mary said...

O ... M ... G!!! I can't have meat here at my friend's house; and I especially can't have pork in her kosher kitchen! So this is true torture, because it looks so absolutely freakin' amazing I can't even describe it! Fabulous for breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight snack, or any of those other meals that Hobbits eat ... :)

StephenC said...

I'd nearly forgotten about your smoker!

For Jenn there's the freely won smoker.
She's proven to be quite a joker.
With cracks about butt;
Quite the CPA nutt.
I suspect she's a regular toker.

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Nice butt Jenn :) The first time I smoked one I was freaked out by the temp stall out too, panicked and put it in the oven to finish cooking. My house smelled like smoke for 3 days. Nice job not panicking! this looks great!! Have you made pork butt nachos?? OMG they're SO good!! Hooray for the smoker!

Angie's Recipes said...

That looks like a great butt! Never had smoked one...

Cranberry Morning said...

Loved this post! I try not to picture you with a smokin' butt! LOL

The recipe does look delicious! Aren't you glad you have that smoker!

Pam said...

Oh man does that look FANTASTIC!

Candy said...

I was just thinking about barbecue and slaw burgers last night! This looks fantastic.

I haven't been brave enough to try sriracha yet.

Mary Bergfeld said...

This really sounds delicious and it looks perfectly cooked. I wish I were having dinner with you :-). Your instructions are always so clear and well written that a beginner could jump in and do well with your recipes. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

threesidesofcrazy said...

LOL you both have great butts, but seriously this looks great!

Chris said...

Smoked butt, the gift that keeps on giving! You have some great ideas for leftovers.

Thanks for the linkage!

And I can NOT wait to try your sriracha cole slaw.

Unknown said...

OH YUM Jen! Looks so good. I may have to look into ways to migrate somewhere closer so that I can visit and eat there. The meat looks so tender. This is killing me.