I started this outing with a visit to Sam's club. My boss, Jeff, knew about my goal for the weekend and took me to Sam's so I could take advantage of the great deal they had going on Boston Butt. I ended up with the largest one I could find; a 16.8 lb. beast. It sat in the refrigerator until Friday night. Able got in at about 11, I picked him up at the airport and we got home at about 12:30. We pulled out the pork and found that it was already split in half. This saved us quite a bit of work. Able had bought two different kinds of rub so we used one type on each part. By 1:30, we had everything rubbed up and ready to go. The pork was left out on the counter to come up to temperature.
We got up at 5:00 to get going. I made some coffee and started the fire. We debated a bit on how much charcoal to use to get started. Able's thought was to use more, and put it in less often. I, who enjoy the labor intensity of messing with the fire, had to come to terms with the fact that if we did things my way, we would go crazy since we were expect upwards of 20 hours. Here is a picture of how we had the charcoal chimney set up. Now this was key, since it was set off to the side and we could fill it and light it without having the chimney in our way.
The charcoal chimney holds the perfect amount of charcoal. You put the charcoal in the big upper portion and a few pieces of newspaper in the lower section that is sitting on the grates. You light the paper and all the heat energy is transferred up the chimney and into the charcoal. I am a late comer to this method, but love it and fully endorse using the chimney instead of lighter fluid.
Once we had the charcoal lit, the smoking was under way. We put the meat on the grill and off we went. I chose hickory for our wood. My father has an infinite supply and last time I went home, I split a couple of logs and brought it back. Here is a photo of the wood:
Our procedure for the smoking was pretty simple. We had the temperature set for 240-275 degrees Fahrenheit. We would adjust the air up or down depending on if we needed more or less heat; add a log if we need more smoke. When the air was all the way open and the heat was lacking, we would light up another batch of charcoal using the chimney, again showing how awesome it was to have the chimney set up beside the grill.
The lack of intense labor gave us time to create. I had bought a cheap horse shoe set that instantly showed its cheapness, so we decided to make a bean bag boards. We decided my mother should make the actual bean bags, so we began the boards. I made a quick trip to Lowe's to get the supplies (this also included a case of Bud Light.)
At 2:00 we flipped the meat. It smelled and looked delicious.
We completed the bags boards by about 5:00. At this point we began checking the internal temperature of the meat. About this time, the family discovered a missing bag, turns out it was left at the car rental place. Abbey and I left at about 6 for the 'port. We got the bag and were on the way back by about 7:30. Things were beginning to darken up, rain was on the way.
Our goal for the inner temperature was 190 degrees Fahrenheit. This is about 20 degrees more than I typically cook anything, but several websites I had read indicated that this would make it easier to pull. The inner temperature was at about 187 and the rain was coming so we decided to go ahead and pull the plug. At 16 hours 15 min. the meat was taken off the grill. We quickly got the meat inside, wrapped it in tin foil to rest. It was given hour to cool down before Able and Debra pulled it apart.
This was an epic and extremely fun experience for all of us. I always enjoy the relaxing smoking experience, not to mention the extremely tasty results. I had thought that we would have mounds of leftovers, but due to the unbelievable taste of the meat and the general lack of self control amongst the gatherers, most notably, me; we were left with only a large Ziploc bag of leftovers. This was quickly consumed the following day in the form of pulled pork Frito chili pie featuring my mother's most excellent baked beans. What a fantastic weekend!
Bravo! and well said. I can still taste the deliciousness and the entire neighborhood thanks you for making their backyards smell like heaven.
ReplyDeleteZach--Thanks for your blog about smoking a Boston Butt. Knowing that you have a young one, I can appreciate the opportunity to divert your attention to the delicate preparation of a 16 lb chunk of pork.
ReplyDeleteStill, your chronicle omits several key elements which are of interest to anyone who is serious about barbecue.
First, what kind of charcoal did you use? I'm guessing natural hardwood lump charcoal -- if you weren't using hardwood lump, then I highly recommend you look into it.
Second, what kind of smoker did you use? If you used a water smoker, what liquid did you put in the drip pan? Also, did you have much success with the rubs? Which ones were you using?
Third -- did you sauce the pork or serve it with only the rub? Enquiring minds want to know.
Finally, kudos on the acquisition of real hickory. I, too, split my own hickory into acceptably-sized chunks for long smokes.
Good luck in your future smokes!