Getting a recipe for pulled pork is kinda like getting one for chocolate cake.  You'll get a different recipe from every person you ask.  However you will find that in most cases there will always be some parts of the pulled pork recipe that are the same regardless of where you get it.  The meat you can use, the final internal temperature of the meat and some of the cooking steps are pretty constant.

Let's start off with the meat part of the recipe.  Most people will use one of just a very few cuts of pork for pulled pork, all of which come from the front shoulder area of the hog.  Typically it will be a Boston Butt, a Butt, a shoulder picnic, or on occasion a shoulder roast.  Larger cuts tend to turn out a little better as they are more forgiving with the cooking and hold onto their juices a little more than smaller cuts.  Boston butts can be as large as 10 pounds, but are more usually 4-7 pounds.

Cooking pulled pork is an exercise in patience.  It will take several hours (Minimum!) for the delicious goodness to be cooked to perfection.  Most people agree that a final internal temperature of 190 - 205 degrees F. is about perfect.  Of course every piece of meat cooks a little differently, so you'll need to decide for yourself when it is done.  Normal cooking temperatures range from 230-300 degrees F.   Clearly, the lower the temperature, the longer it will take.

Because this is a very slow cooking process, a lot of moisture and fat will render out of the pork as it is cooking.  If you are doing this in a smoker (and you sure should be), you'll want to either cook the pork in a pan, or at least have a drip pan under the pork to catch all the drippings.  Personally I like collecting the drippings and using them as a base for a sauce.

Basic Recipe for Pulled Pork

• 1 or 2 Pork butts 4-6 pounds each
• dry rub of your choice
• good olive or canola oil - but this is optional
• Mustard (optional)

Preparation:

You can choose to score the fatty side of the meat if you want, once done, you can choose to rub some oil onto the meat, but again this is optional.  The key thing here is to get a good coating of your favourite dry rub onto the meat and then let it sit for at least a couple of hours in the fridge so that the rub "sets" its flavours.  Some people like to add a nice layer of mustard to the pork at this point - I don't personally, but it is really worth a try.

As you're waiting for the rub to set in, prep your smoker.  You're looking to get a nice stable temperature in the 250 degree F range.  Don't add any smoke producing wood quite yet.  Just focus on getting a nice balanced temperature.  When you're ready, you bring on the meat.

Now some people like to sear their meat before they cook it.  This is very much personal choice.  Try one seared, and one not and see which you like better.  The simplest way to sear the meat it is crank up your barbeque Grill to 500 degrees or so and quickly sear off all sides of the meat.  Either way, put the meat in the smoker when you're ready, close the lid, and add the wood chips.  Hickory, maple, and fruit woods are really typical for pulled pork.

Now you're looking at anywhere from 6-10 hours of cooking depending on the size of pork butt and cooking temperature.  When it gets to an internal temperature of about 180 degrees, you should wrap it completely in foil and continue the cooking.  This really helps seal in the moisture and balance out the cooking process.  You'll have a couple of more hours cooking before the right internal temp. is reached.  Be patient and let things work.

When it is done, take it off the heat and let the meat rest for a good hour before doing anything with it.  Many people like to wrap the meat in towels and pop it into a cooler to rest.  This helps the juices and flavours redistribute evenly.

Once the meat is ready (it will have cooled off somewhat), you can do the pulling.  Use your fingers, or large forks to break the super-tender pork into thin pieces.  You can add a sauce to it if you want, but I'd say it is better to have the sauce of your choice on the side so everyone can have it as they want.

Serve it on a nice whole-wheat bun with some slaw and your favourite sauce and frosty beverage.  Everyone will be back for more!  

Give it a try and let me know how it turns out.

Keep on smoking!

Making a rub for ribs isn't really all that hard.  You simply need the basic ingredients, a grinder of some kind to mix the ingredients together.

There are two kinds of grinders that I think are useful

• a Mortar and Pestle (this is one of the rock bowls with a hand-held grinder)
• a coffee grinder  ( I use a Braun Grinder, but this KitchenAid Grinder would work fine as well).

There are advantages to both however I usually use my Braun grinder as it is fast.  The main problem is that if I need more than about 1 cup of rub for ribs, I have to do several batches.  I also find that a mortar and pestle tends to produce richer flavours since the spices are being ground up rather than chopped up.

To make a rub for ribs, simply put the ingredients you want into the grinder and chop them up until they are a good consistency.  You need to pay some attention to this as you can end up with a really fine powder in an electric grinder.  It is much better to do the grinding in pulses rather than full speed for a minute!

Also, some spices need less grinding than others, and so you will need to put them in at different times.  If you are using any fresh herbs or spices, you will want to add them towards the end as they will add moisture to the rub and can make things a little sticky.

Here is how I make a very fast rub for ribs with my trusy Braun Grinder.  It uses the  Spicy Dry Rub for Ribs recipe I posted earlier.

I put these ingredients in first:

6   tablespoons paprika
2   teaspoon garlic powder
2   teaspoons Onion Powder
1  teaspoon Cayanne pepper

and pulse them together for just a few seconds to get them nicely mixed together.  Then I add the

3   teaspoons ground black pepper

I grind this up so it is still coarse and chunky.  I don't take it all the way to a powder because I like some texture, and the sharpness of the pepper corns and the sea salt I add in next help the rub cut into the ribs for slightly better penetration of the rub's flavours.  I then add in the

3   tablespoons kosher or sea salt

And only pulse this very briefly to get it mixed in with everything else, but not losing the big grains.

I then dump it out into a small bowl, make sure the rub is well mixed, and then rub it onto the ribs quite vigorously.  It is best if the ribs are closer to room temperature when you do this.  Also be sure to remove the membrane on the 'bonier' side of the ribs to be sure the rub gets maximum contact with all the ribs.

Cover the ribs with plastic wrap (or put in a sealable container) and let them get tasty in the fridge for a few hours before they hit the smoker.

Enjoy!  

Smoking meat on a BBQ is really not all that hard.  How you do it depends a little on what kind of barbeque you have (and what you think a barbeque is).  Many people confuse a grill with a barbeque, but they aren't really the same thing.

Regardless of that, to smoke meat on a barbecue (or a grill), you need to do a couple of things

• get a nice steady source of low heat (220 F or lower)
• get a nice steady source of smoke (wood chips, chunks, or saw dust depending on they type of BBQ you have)
• a well sealed lid to hold the heat/smoke
• have a good place to hold the meat away from direct heat

If you are using a bbq that uses charcoal for fuel, build up a nice bed of coals that are fully lit (all white).  Once you've done this, move them all to one side of the barbeque so that the heat is all on one side.  You want to smoke the meat with indirect heat.

If you are using a gas grill, only use 1/2 the burner, and keep it low.

In either case you're looking to have the temperature in the 170-220 degrees F range.  Properly smoking meat is a slow process, that should use as little heat as possible.

Once you are happy with the balance of heat, you can add the meat and wood chips to the grill or barbecue.   Depending on how your BBQ is put together, you may need to put the wood on first and then add the meat.  How much wood you use depends on what you are smoking, and how long you want to smoke it for.

Having done this, close the lid and watch for the smoke to appear.  Pay close attention to the temperature and amount of smoke, and add more charcoal and wood chips as needed in order to keep the smoke and temperature just right.

These are pretty general instructions on how to smoke meat in a BBQ, but they have to be.  I have no idea what kind of equipment you have specifically.  However, using these basic instructions, you can very easily produce some quality smoked meat.  You'll just need to play around a little bit to get things working right for your situations.  Luckily, you can eat all of your practice!

Cheers,

Eric