Pellet Smoker Cooking: Pulled Pork Sandwich with Kimchi

Jun 22 2013

A neighbor girl asked if she bought a pork butt would I smoke it for her. I had an eight pound butt frozen so said I would fix it and give her some of it. I thawed it in the fridge.

Last night I trimmed most of the fat cap off and cut it in half. I smeared it with some molasses and added Stub’s pork rub, covered with plastic wrap and in the fridge overnight.

I got up at 6:30 am and got the butts on my Traeger at 7:00 on smoke mode P3 running a grill level temp of 210 deg. I let it go for a couple of hours and then went to P2 and ran a grill level temp of about 240 deg. At 10:00 I threw on a couple of pieces of smoked sausage for a double smoke and a lunch snack for me. By then it was getting hot out about 90 deg. I was wishing it was afternoon and beer time!

At 11:00 I made a batch of LTBBQ member Billy Merrill’s $10,000 Cole slaw for a side. At noon I sliced some of the smoked sausage and topped with some of my pickled mustard seeds for a lunch snack and decided it was beer time too! Billy’s Cole slaw recipe is his version of what is served at the Skylight Inn BBQ restaurant in Ayden N.C. Billy knows the owner well and he said once a guy came in and offered him $10,000 for the slaw recipe but he turned him down.

At about 12:30 the butts were at 162 deg. IT. I placed them in a foil pan and added about 1 ½ cups of apple juice and 2 Tbs. of cider vinegar. I then covered with foil. I then set the smoker to 225 deg. It was running at about 260 deg. at grill level. At 2:00 the butts were at 200 deg. IT. My test probe went in like butter so pulled and placed in the oven for an hours rest. Total cook time was seven hours.

I removed the meat from the pan juices and on a cookie sheet to cool. When it was cool enough I did a first pull and removed most of the fat. I then pulled it to the size I like and removed most all the fat. I think it was the fattiest butt I have done. I saved the pan juices to skim the fat but don’t think I need to add any to the meat.

I made some of my secret Southern pit style beans, (Bush’s from a can), for another side and sliced a tomato. Our Grandson was here and said all he wanted was some of the pork and tomatoes so I heated up some for him. I toasted some COWB’s, cheap ole white buns, for the wife and I. She had BBQ sauce on her sandwich and I had some of my Kimchi on mine. That’s the first time I had the Kimchi on pulled pork; I think they were made for each other!

Pork butt