I Like Big (Pork) Butts and I Cannot Lie

A couple of years ago, I gave a mini-tutorial of Daddy’s Ribs and because I didn’t identify the secret spices, I am back for the tutorial for Boston butts and pork shoulders. You’re going to need to have plenty of downtime if a reliable citizen of the community who can manage temperature while you sleep is unavailable; most of time, I cook my butts and shoulders overnight as the rest of the world slumbers. Perhaps it’s a byproduct of working overnights for the past decade and I bet that has quite a bit to do with it, yet I’m also certain the proliferation of barbecue shows on TV and YouTube have had something to do with it.

But before I get into smoking pork butts and shoulders, this is the story of how I got into the barbecue business:  Several years ago, my girlfriend (now wife) and I moved in together and as new Saline County residents, we sampled a lot of restaurant food for the first few months. Her cousin recommended a barbecue joint in town which shall remain nameless because it seemed to have that Everyman appeal, so naturally we drove over one Saturday afternoon. To summarize the trip, I was less than impressed with what the locals called barbecue, and the racist treatment we received sure didn’t help my perception of the joint. To this day I don’t know how that joint stays open nor do I care if they ever turn a profit.

True story: Several years ago at a local BBQ restaurant I asked for a Mason jar because everyone else in the restaurant including my girlfriend was drinking from one instead of the Styrofoam cup I was given, and the cashier threw one at me saying I could keep it.

I was stunned.

— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) May 24, 2018

As I became a homeowner, my priorities shifted from dealing with mediocre barbecue to making my own great chow; over the course of the past four years, what seemed to simply be a hobby has migrated to a viable way toward providing a living and (potentially) being at home each night with my family. I haven’t quite figured out how or when to take that leap of faith, but it is in my prayers that becoming a small business owner affords me the time with them and a comfortable lifestyle. Just as athletes spend hours practicing shooting jump shots or public figures practice public speaking, I’ve had to work at becoming a pit master through hours of trial and error, new equipment and its idiosyncrasies, fire management (I don’t do gas or electric), and learning how to cook various meats. There are some things I haven’t tried yet such as alligator and mutton, and stuff that I wouldn’t get anywhere near like roadkill.

For today let’s focus on Boston butts and pork shoulders. If you recall reading Dad’s Stress Reliever from two years ago, I did walk you through how I cook ribs on my beloved Oklahoma Joe smoker. Here’s what you need to make comparable meat that everyone will love you for:

Dub Shack BBQ Pulled Pork

Yellow Mustard

Big 6 Dry Rub (I still won’t reveal the secret spices)

Applewood chunks

Mop Sauce

Apple juice or apple cider vinegar

½ can beer or soda of your choice

Honey

Hot Sauce

Barbecue sauce of your choice

First things first:  When you unwrap the meat from its packaging for the first time, please do not forget to wash off the meat of any phosphates or chemicals that helped keep its color in the store! It is also extremely important that the meat gets handled with clean hands because of food safety. In the restaurant or along the side of the road, gloves are expected; at home, our hands still need to be clean before handling food to prevent contamination.

Once meat is washed and patted dry, cover the butt up with yellow mustard. Trust me, you won’t be able to taste it; mustard serves as a binder for the Big 6 Rub or whatever you want to use on it. Be certain to cover every space on the meat for the mixture to stick – in this case, it will find its happy place and adapt to the meat. This is also how the bark – the dark outside pieces – is formed. [On pork shoulders, don’t worry about seasoning the fat cap; no one is going to eat it. You can use cooking spray on the cap but that is primarily for presentation purposes on the circuit. I know the ancestors made cracklin’ with their fat caps, but I just throw the inedible stuff away.] Once seasoned, let it sit at least one hour preferably 8-12 hours or overnight for the flavors to permeate into the meat.

Go outside and light your smokers!

Seriously, light your smokers.

I’ve taken a real liking to lump charcoal recently since it burns so cleanly and for this cook, I normally start out with a pyramid of the stuff with some hickory wood surrounding it and the most unlikely fire starter:  dryer lint. Light and wait for the coals to ash over before placing the meat on the smoker; for the analytical among us, watch your temperature gauges to determine when you want to begin your cook. On average, I’ll wait 45 minutes to an hour for coals and wood to ash over before adding Applewood chunks to the fire and positioning the meat onto the smoker. Because my first few hours’ cooks have had some wide disparities before the temperature settles, I’d start cooking at 275 degrees and keep an eye on the spikes. Large pieces of meat are meant to be cooked LOW and SLOW. You’re not getting this goodness in a few quick hours.

In the meantime, make your mop sauce to baste your pork. If it comes out dry, there isn’t enough barbecue sauce in the world that can fix that mistake. Everyone has a slight variation of how their mop is made if you can get the three components balanced in the cup/container/spritz bottle:  sweet, tangy, and with some semblance of heat. Mix it up to a consistency you can live with – the mop sauce helps keep your rub on the meat and accentuates that this is barbecue. I mop every 1 ½ hours because the last thing I want to do is lose that hard-earned smoke and steady temperature by opening my smoker more frequently. Doing so also means that the meat will tenderize itself over time. Also, you don’t have to worry about turning over pork of this magnitude since the fat cap is down on the grates rendering itself into extra-tasty food for everybody. In lieu of Miller Lite, I have used A&W or Dr. Pepper but that is just personal preference. With barbecue, make it your own.

I have a strange proclivity for overnight cooks thanks to the lunch crowds at my regular gig; if you’re fortunate enough to cook during the day, please start early in the morning. Meat isn’t done until it’s done, and I’d rather you not embarrass yourself with some fast-cooked unseasoned bloody excuse of pulled pork in front of a larger group.

The miracle of time: eight to ten hours have passed, and the backyard is littered with beer cans and tall tales. Oh yeah, and the smoker has been working around 250 but the job isn’t quite complete. Because I could use a nap, I’ll get a couple of sheets of aluminum foil to wrap the butts or shoulder assuming the bark is up to snuff. This is what the guys on the circuit call the “Texas crutch” which the meat maintains the hold of its juices as it is cooking wrapped. Feel free to pour the remainder of the mop sauce onto the meat – this is the reason why I don’t use store-bought sauces on my backyard meals. Once wrapped, find a way to maintain smoker temperature for the next four hours or until the internal temperature is about 200 degrees; it isn’t done until it’s done. Fortunately for us, we can tell Boston butts are ready when we can pull the bone out cleanly with no struggle; ditto for pork shoulders.

Put some respeck on the meats. I ain't gonna say it no mo'. pic.twitter.com/n41qz5herO

— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) May 25, 2018

Once off the smoker and the clean bone is out of the butt, let it rest for fifteen minutes before pulling it apart and serving your guests!

Remember, every day is a GREAT day for barbecue! Get out there and share what you just learned.