something new for pulled pork

[Moonie]

Trying something new. Normally I smoke my boston butt until the internal temp hits around 205F, sometimes I cheat and pull it off the smoker after a couple of hours and finish in the oven as the meat won't take more smoke after it hits 140F. Recently I have been experimenting with sous vide cooking and read about making pulled pork by cooking at 145F for 48 hours. So I smoked a butt for 2 hours and put it in the water bath for the long cook. I'm at about 42 hours at this point and all looks good. I'll let everyone know how it turns out. I will probably roast the finished product for 15-20 minutes in my convection oven at 500F to brown up the outside before pulling.

[Baja_Traveler]

Interesting experiment - I'd like to hear how the pork pulls after the bath. It most certainly will be moist cooking in its own bag for so long!


My last shoulder I brined in Vernors gingerale and Jack Daniels for a week before going into the smoker for 13 hours - turned out awesome...

[Moonie]

Well this experiment was a huge success, the meat fell apart and was extremely juicy. I've been smoking NC style BBQ for many years, this was the best I've ever done. Next time I will not brown at the end, didn't need it and had some bits that browned too much.

Now to do the same with a chuck roast.

[merlin101]

How about some details for us that are handicaped in the kitchen?

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Moonie, you make my mouth water. Where I grew up BBQ meant one thing, pork shoulder. It was cooked over open pits and the heat was provided by hot coals from burned hickory or oak. I never heard the term, pulled pork. It was served on a hamburger bun which was mashed flat on a grill and served with each restaurant's on special sauce. You could get cold slaw if you wanted. Here in Kommiefornia they serve rather tasteless pulled pork on a large bun that is cold and the meat is smothered in some thick concoction consisting mostly of ketchup. Some places actually use subway buns which is a gross idea. My wife and I were driving down I 95 several years ago when we saw an old log cabin with a sign that read Georgia Pig BBQ. We had to stop. The place had crude furnishings but the sandwiches were some of the best we ever had. My one regret is that I had run out of film in my camera. I would love to have a picture of my wife sitting on the front porch of that log cabin. If anyone reading this happens to pass by the Georgia Pig, stop and give it a try. You will not be disappointed.

[MaryB]

I will stick to a nice long slow cook with hickory. That outside bark picks up more flavor as it cooks even if the interior meat doesn't.

[SSGOldfart]

try rootbeer in the bath my wife has started doing that really good after slow cooking all day

[smokeywolf]

We kinda fancy the recipe for Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork published by thepioneerwoman.com

smokeywolf

[Grizzly Adams]

I am rather new to this and was looking for mentors who are willing to send samples of they work :D. 48hrs? I haven't heard of smoking that long since I was a kid, brings back memories (all good) Thanks

[Dryball]

That sounds like a great recipe! I just wish my oven went that low. What do you cook yours in?

[Hogtamer]

One word of caution about using a sous vide...IF there is harmful bacteria in the meat, the prolonged relatively low heat environment creates the perfect breeding conditions for those little bugs. Never getting above 145* and holding for hours at that temp could be trouble.

[Moonie]

One word of caution about using a sous vide...IF there is harmful bacteria in the meat, the prolonged relatively low heat environment creates the perfect breeding conditions for those little bugs. Never getting above 145* and holding for hours at that temp could be trouble.

The smoke (nitrates) kills any bacteria on the outside and the inside of muscle tissue is considered sterile. Also note, the danger zone is 40F to 140F, at 145F for that long it pasteurizes the meat.

[Lloyd Smale]

off topic but i had a good supper the other night. theres a hot dog place here in town that sells what they call piggy frys. Wife brought some home. It was homemade french frys covered with pulled pork then monteray jack cheese and then ranch dressing. I thought it was great!

[Moonie]

off topic but i had a good supper the other night. theres a hot dog place here in town that sells what they call piggy frys. Wife brought some home. It was homemade french frys covered with pulled pork then monteray jack cheese and then ranch dressing. I thought it was great!

That does sound good, at Easter my church had an egg drop, 50,000 eggs dropped from a helo, well the weather was too bad here for the helo to fly but thankfully it rained, as we had over 9,000 people show up, three times what we expected. I always volunteer to help with cooking, we discovered that using pulled pork bbq as a condiment goes VERY well on hotdogs, really an amazing combination.

[Lloyd Smale]

tastes good on a grilled hamburger or brat too.

[Grizzly Adams]

Pulled Pork even taste good on fingers ;-)

[rondog]

That does sound good, at Easter my church had an egg drop, 50,000 eggs dropped from a helo, well the weather was too bad here for the helo to fly but thankfully it rained, as we had over 9,000 people show up, three times what we expected. I always volunteer to help with cooking, we discovered that using pulled pork bbq as a condiment goes VERY well on hotdogs, really an amazing combination.

Fifty thousand eggs?!?! Dropped from a helo? I hope you're talking about plastic eggs and not real ones! I can't imagine the mess, or the smell for a week, not to mention the cost and the waste, or the critters and ants.....

[rondog]

How about some details for us that are handicaped in the kitchen?

Yes please! For us uncouth and unwashed who don't know what "sous vide" means.

[2wheelDuke]

How about some details for us that are handicaped in the kitchen?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide


Sous-vide (/ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English)s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key)uː (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key)ˈ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key)v (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key)iː (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key)d (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key)/ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English); French for "under vacuum")[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide#cite_note-dict-1) is a method of cooking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking) food sealed in airtight plastic bags (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_bags) in a water bath or in a temperature-controlled steam environment for longer than normal cooking times—72 hours in some cases—at an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55 °C (131 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) for meats and higher for vegetables. The intention is to cook the item evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and retain moisture.

I had to look it up myself, but I had to do that when I saw mention of it when I was researching PID's for my pot. People seem to make their own cookers that use a PID to precisely control temperature from a heating element. The vacuum bagging seems to be done in a Food Saver type machine.

I'd like to give it a shot someday.

[Moonie]

Yes, plastic eggs with candy inside. Yes, I built my own sous vide water oven using a pid I built from directions on this site. Sous vide requires a very accurate temperature controlled water bath. It is generally used for cooking meats. You can cook meat for many hours to the exact doneness you want. One thing I like about it is if you have people that prefer different doneness you can cook to the higher temperature first, then lower the temperature and cook the next lower doneness and continue until done. Since you are cooking the rest at a lower temperature you don't need to worry about overcooking any of the other meats, they will not uncook, nor will they overcook since the temperature has been reduced.

[smokeywolf]

Did one on the smoker last night. Eating it now with cole slaw.

[gunshot98]

SSG, never thought of cooking my wife in rootbeer, sounds tasty. I would love some pulled pork right now.

[attrapereves]

I've really got to get a smoker. I usually cook mine in the oven on 220 and rely on sauce as flavor.

[smokeywolf]

I'm looking forward to gathering the materials needed and fabricating my own smoker. I prefer an offset configuration; not because it's more efficient, but just because that's what I'm used to. I have learned that the barrel or tank for the main cooking chamber should be at least 30 inches in diameter so that you can place a 14 lb. turkey on the lower grate and be able to close the lid without having to remove the upper grate.

Ran across this website the other day. http://grillinfools.com/blog/2009/04/01/smoke-wood-what-kind-is-best-well-it-depends/ One of the more comprehensive explanations of the differences between types of woods for smoking.

smokeywolf

[MaryB]

For a quick and easy smoker find a 55 gallon open head food grade drum. Then look up Ugly Drum Smoker to see how it is built. Charcoal smoker that can cook for 20+ hours.

[smokeywolf]

Mary, what I'm really interested in is finding a thick walled air or water tank of 40 to 50 gallon capacity give or take and fabbing it to my specs. One thing I may consider doing is a double wall construction (barrel within a barrel) to reduce the heat exchange/loss effect when I want to smoke meats, cheeses or what-have-you in cold, windy weather. I can see perhaps filling the airspace between the inner and outer walls of the lower half of the cooking chamber with sand.
Would like to plumb a small propane lighter into the fire box to get my charcoal and wood going.

smokeywolf

[MaryB]

Make a trip to a store selling serious BBQ pits then, take some measurements of firebox size versus cooking chamber dia, the hole size between the two, placement of smoke stack and size, placement of tuning plates... will make your life easier

[smokeywolf]

Familiar with smoke stack outlet placement and tuning plates for even heat dispersal. Not yet schooled on firebox size/area vs. cooking chamber size/area.

This is Kali. Southern Kali at that. Most people around here think a shiny stainless propane fired outdoor oven is serious BBQ.

smokeywolf

[MaryB]

Going from memory but my 5 foot long 20 inch diameter Klose had a 20 inch square firebox http://www.bbqpits.com/mobile_cookoff_and_catering_rigs/20x5ft_family_reunion.htm

[Jailer]

We kinda fancy the recipe for Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork published by thepioneerwoman.com

smokeywolf

I second that this is an excellent recipe. Add the following BBQ sauce and you will have a home run.

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26228


I'm looking forward to gathering the materials needed and fabricating my own smoker. I prefer an offset configuration; not because it's more efficient, but just because that's what I'm used to. I have learned that the barrel or tank for the main cooking chamber should be at least 30 inches in diameter so that you can place a 14 lb. turkey on the lower grate and be able to close the lid without having to remove the upper grate.

Ran across this website the other day. http://grillinfools.com/blog/2009/04/01/smoke-wood-what-kind-is-best-well-it-depends/ One of the more comprehensive explanations of the differences between types of woods for smoking.

smokeywolf

You should check out the design of a reverse flow smoker. That's what I would go with if I was building one.

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6649

[smokeywolf]

Thanks for that link Jailer. Interesting stuff.