Pellet Smoker Cooking: Pulled Pork Sandwich W/Pickled Red Onions

Nov 08 2012

I know we’ve all seen a lot of pork butts, but it’s one of my favorite cooks. It had been thawing in the fridge over 3 days. I trimmed a little of the fat from the cap, coated with some Bad Byron’s butt rub my brother had given me. I then rubbed on some Lowensenf mustard then some more rub. I got it on the smoker, fat cap down, at 3:00 am on the 180 deg. setting, and then went back to bed.

I woke up at 7:00 am and got dressed to go out in the cold 28 deg. weather and check on the smoker. It was doing fine and I set it to 225 deg. The sun was just coming up and when I looked around it was foggy. The fog was frozen and it looked like a million tiny crystals floating in the air. What a pretty site, I was too tired to think of trying for a photo of it and went back to bed.

I made it back up before 9:00 and inserted my temp probe. At 11:00 after 8 hours it was up to 165 deg. IT. I placed it in a foil pan, added 10 oz. of apple juice 100% US apples, mixed with 2 Tbs. of red wine vinegar, 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp. garlic juice. I covered with foil and placed in my 240 deg. oven to finish to an IT of 205 deg. After a half hour I went to 250 deg. It was done at 2:05, just over 11 hours. I let it rest about 15 minutes before pulling.

My new Maverick ET 732 remote probe came from Fed Ex. I wished I had it this am and I could have looked at it beside my bed and went back to sleep; but would have missed the frozen fog. I tried to check it in ice water but it will not go below 40 deg. I compared it in the pork butt and read very close to my old Maverick. I will try it in boiling water tomorrow.

I pulled the pork in long strands then chopped some; that’s the way I like it. I saved the pan juice and poured off the fat but didn’t think I needed to add it back to the pork. I was sampling the pork as I pulled it; the bark pieces I could taste some heat from the Bad Byron’s rub. I think it would be great on ribs.

I baked an Oriental sweet potato for a side and we had a spring mix green salad. The Oriental sweet potato was dark red skin with white potato, and we liked it better than yellow yams. I reheated some pork with Kah’s BBQ sauce and served on a toasted COWB; cheap ole white bun, topped with some of my pickled red onions. One of my better pork butts and the wife even said it was extra good!

My new toy Maverick ET 732