Operation Smokin‘ Butt: The Masterpiece — Pulled Pork BBQ

Every apprentice has to deliver his masterpiece to proof his knowledge.

Yesterday was my day. I conquered the grand master of BBQ — my beloved pulled pork.

The day before was all about get it ready to go.
Shopping for the BBQ and meat preparation.

Charcoal (lump and nothing else), Hickory Wood Chunks (fist-size),
2x 6 pound Boston Butts (bone inside).
Spices, Vinegar, Olive Oil, Yellow Mustard and Cranberry Juice is needed as well.

This is all I need to get the rub and a tart wash ready.

See the main rub (*)

and the tart wash (*).

(*) y’all wanna know the recipe?
Check out Gary Wiviott and Colleen Rush book:
„Low & Slow: Master the Art of BBQ in 5 Easy Lessons“.

As y’all already know from the Ribs Lesson the Butts needed some TLC (**).

For the spa I need to rinse the butts under water,
a vinegar massage and rinse them under water again.
A pat on the back with some paper towels to dry them off
and applying a yellow mustard mask all around.

(**) tender-love-care

Looks good? Not ready yet.
Time for the powder (rub).

That’s it. Preparation finished.

The meat went into the fridge to rest for a while.
Not long, in my beauty farm wake-up time is at 6:00 am.

6:00 am is a necessity if you wanna eat BBQ for dinner.(at the same day)
Pieces like this need between 8-12h on the smoker, sometimes longer.

Let’s get the fire started.

All my neighbors east of our house had the advantage of good morning smell.
For everybody else I apologize I couldn’t influence the winds.

Time to get the lazy butts out of the fridge.

Mouthwatering.

Every now and then I had to flip and turn them.
They are very demanding in getting the right tan all around.

Like a commander of his space ship,
I needed a cockpit for temperature and time.

Adding some lotion (tart wash) will add the right flavor.

Hours later I started to poke the meat checking for doneness.

Not done yet.
It took 12.5h for the first butt
and I left the second one another 45 minutes on the smoker.
I wanted to see if there is a difference between the butts.

How do I know the butt is right?
Nature will tell ya‘.
You gotta watch, poke and twist.

Watch for the right temperature inside the meat somewhere around 200 Fahrenheit.
Poke the meat and get a feeling about the tenderness.
Twist the bone a lil to see if it will twist easily.

See how the bone looks like…blank, no meat on it.
It came out with no defense, the bone just gave up.
That tells you, you did it right.   

Why pulled pork BBQ?

Take two forks and work the meat.

Together with Cole Slaw an invincible duo.

The meat on the first butt was so tender and delicious,
but the meat on the second (the one 45 minutes longer on the smoker)
was like shaving soft butter so tender.

Check out the little video how easy it was to take the bone off.

Click here for the bone extraction video.  

Now I need to find a butcher in Germany to provide me with the right meat
and understanding neighbors.