So this past weekend, I finally tried out my first major smoke attempt: Boston butt for pulled pork. Actually, ended up being about two, between 6-8 pounds each, that were packaged together in one of those giant Costco packs.
I started out by brining them, using Alton Brown's recipe/method. Got that going late Saturday afternoon (after starting a load of fresh Polish sausage). Supposedly, 8 hours was on the minimum end of how long they should have brined, and I ended up leaving them 8.5. Which meant I got them out about 11:45 that night. Based on all the helpful posts here on the forums, I knew to prepare for as much as 2 hours per pound (and maybe a little more), so I figured I needed to get them going about midnightish on Saturday if we wanted to have it for dinner on Sunday.
I got some conflicting information re: whether it was better to rub versus not rub. So I decided to do some experimentation since I had two butts: one was the control (no rub), and one used that magical
Meathead's Memphis Dust rub so many of us have sworn by.
Got the butts ready and going just before 12:30 a.m. 225 degrees, about eight ounces of Steve's sample hickory blocks. Then back to bed (I ended up dozing off a bit, which made me start about a half-hour later than I originally planned).
Because of all of my obsessive research here on the forums, I was prepared for what started around 5:30-6 am (according to my nifty iGrill thermometer): The Stall. The internal temps of both butts hit 168, and then stayed there for about 5-6 hours. Because of what I read here, though, I knew not to panic. I know there are two schools of thought on butts: one has you pull them at 150 IT and foil-wrap them, maybe even putting them in a hotter oven to finish faster (even Alton Brown advocates this) while the other, advocated by many here, says "embrace the stall, wait it out, and good things will happen." I decided in advance to go with the latter, because folks said the results were better in terms of tenderness, bark, etc. They're right, IMHO.
At around 11 a.m. or so, the stall broke, and the temps started slowly climbing. Around 4, I was in the upper 180s, but then: the rain, and the thunderstorms rolled in. I was a little worried, but encouraged by Steve's promise on his website that the smoker's okay to use in rain and snow. Plus I had a little overhang I could shelter part of the smoker with. So I powered on. At 5, it was hovering around 190ish, and I was aiming for 195. And the thunderstorms were starting in earnest. I broke down and bumped the temp on the #3 a little bit, and I covered my iGrill with a baggie. Then the storms REALLY started raging, to the point the warning sirens were going off. So we took cover, and around 6, the rain stopped and there was even a brief clearing. Figuring the butts were "close enough" to 195, I went to bring them in, and they were literally falling apart on me. I brought them in, pulled 'em, and we ate. Turned out fantastic. My wife was gushing in praise of them. As far as the experiment went, we both decided that the rub was the way to go, although the "control" non-rub pork was tasty, too.
I almost forgot the "picture rule" here, remembering only after I had pulled the pork.
So that's what the attached picture shows.
One more thing: as though any of us had any doubts, these smokers are built like brick [INSERT BAD WORD HERE]houses. It kept rolling right through heavy rain and thunderstorms. I won't be as worried about getting caught in the rain in the future.
Sorry for the long post. It's just exciting to be able to post about using my #3, instead of just reading you folks and living vicariously through it.
TL;DR: Smoked a couple Boston butts; they turned out great!
