Pulled pork, first attempt.

Jables

New member
Goin to try two shoulders on my lil tex this weekend. Need some can't miss ideas on rubs or injections. I'm putting then on fri night at 3 am to get them ready for 3 pm Saturday. Thanks in advance for the help guys.
 

BBQ Joe

New member
I use SOW marinade and injection for mine and they turn out great. Also like the Plowboys Bovine bold rub. I would foil them at 160 with a 1/4 cup of the marinade until 195 per Andy of SOW. I would suggest starting them around 11 p.m. You will want to FTC (foil, towel, cooler) them for several hours before you pull them. This will give you some wiggle room to make sure the meat is ready at 3 the next day.
 

squirtthecat

New member
Definitely start the evening before.. They usually take right about 12 hours in my Traeger 070 when running at 225°. The resting time is important.

SOW (Smoke On Wheels) is a commercial marinade. Really good stuff.
 

Jables

New member
Thanks, I was going to post that I had the marinade figured, but you beat me to it. You say you run you traeger at 225. Is that with the digital stat or on smoke or medium?
 

squirtthecat

New member
I have the digital controller on mine. On the 3-way, I would put it on medium and go to bed.

What kind of rubs do you have on hand? I usually just mix up a simple one from scratch that is a clone from the Salt Lick BBQ joint(s) down in Texas. Equal parts of Salt and Black Pepper to 1/3rd parts of Garlic Powder and Cayenne. It has a punch to it, but it mellows down as they cook. (and you are coating huge hunks of meat with it - so the heat to meat ratio is pretty low)

Safe for small children and old folks after you get it pulled and mixed together before serving. :D

I normally use plain old mustard for the 'glue' to get the rub to stick, but I just started using Molasses and it works great. Schmear it on, then cake the rub on and schmear it around some more. (gloves work well at this point)

You can inject if you like. I usually don't, but it does add more flavor directly to the center of the meat. Apple juice, Lea & Perrins, Beer, melted butter, whatever.

Saw once where someone used Italian salad Dressing for an injection, and they really liked it.

Have fun!
 

sparky

New member
if you really want to know how to smoke a good butt PM squirt. he has done more than anyone i know. :)
 

bflodan

Member
I dont like to foil till I pull it off and put it in the cooler...I feel like I get a better bark doing it that way...Id agree with BBQ Joe with starting them at 1100 Id even say 9-10... Ive had some butts go for 14 hrs at 225 before I pulled them...They will stay hot for hours in the cooler with towels if it finishes early..
 

Jables

New member
Ok, one last question: should I put them straight on the grill, or keep a foil pan under them to hold juices?
 

squirtthecat

New member
I put them straight on. If you cook the whole time in a pan, it'll be sitting in a big pile of fat.

You could split the difference and go out put them in a pan early in the morning to capture some of the drippings... Just depends on how early you want to get up.
 

Jables

New member
So far it's going pretty good. The only problem is that my traeger cooks a little warmer than 225 on medium. I put them on last night at ten. And this morning they are already over 200. So I've turned the heat down to smoke, and I've foil wrapped them. Should I towel them in a cooler now, and wait till about eight hours to pull them or keep them in the smoker wrapped up for a few more hours then towel and cooler them?
 

squirtthecat

New member
Wow, so your medium is probably closer to 275°. Good to know.

I'd pull them out now and keep them wrapped up tight in the cooler. They'll stay hot to the touch for hours and hours.
 

Jables

New member
Yeah I guess. Still learning this new toy. In the future I plan on getting the digital controller, in the mean time I'll just use the smoke setting. Thanks.
 

Jables

New member
Well, thanks to the tips here (squirt especially) they were excellent. They sat in the cooler for eight hours and were still a nice temperature. Bone pulled out super easy. The rub was bang on. Next time a little lower and slower and it might be even better.
 

Rip

New member
Congrats on your first pulled pork! Life isn't right around our house unless there's pulled pork on ready reserve in the freezer.
 

KimG SOW

New member
Congrats on your first pulled pork! Life isn't right around our house unless there's pulled pork on ready reserve in the freezer.

This is very true..... what we don't sell we save for guests..... we don't eat BBQ much anymore. Still love cooking it though! ;)
 
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