7pork buttpreferably bone-in (Boston Butt) between 5-9 pounds
All-Purpose Pork Dry Rub
2tablespoonsbrown sugar
1teaspoonpaprika
1teaspoonblack pepper
1teaspoonKosher salt
1teaspoongarlic powder
1teaspoononion powder
½teaspooncayenne pepper
BBQ Sauce of your choice
Instructions
Prep the Pork
Start with a pork butt in the 5-pound range, which is just the right size to fit on any smoker or grill. Trim the pork to leave at least a ¼-inch cap of fat.
Rinse the meat under cold running water and blot dry with paper towels. Combine all the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl (make sure to work out any clumps from the brown sugar for even distribution) and stir to mix. Rub onto the all sides of the pork butt.If you have time, wrap the butt in plastic wrap and let it cure in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or as long as overnight. Smoking the pork right away is ok, but sitting in the fridge for several hours allows the rub to penetrate the meat.
Prep the Smoker or Grill
Smoking is a form of indirect cooking and usually takes place over a period of hours over low temperatures. Preheat the grill or smoker to 225-250 degrees F. To maintain this low temperature, use only half as much charcoal as usual. (A half chimney-full.) When the coals are ashed over and white, toss 2-3 wood chunks onto the coals and close the lid.Using a charcoal grill, set it up for indirect heat with a drip pan with hot water directly underneath the meat to stabilize the temperature.
Smoke the pork
When the smoker or grill is the ideal temperature range, you are ready to smoke, place the pork on the hot grate over the drip pan, fat side up, toss a hand full of the soaked wood chunks and some dry wood chunks onto the coals and cover the grill.
Bring the temperature up to 225 degrees F, using the vents to regulate the temperature. Use a probe thermometer to help monitor the temperature.
You will need to add fresh coals and more wood chunks to each side of the grill every hour for at least the first 4 hours.
Low and Slow
Check the temperature of the grill every hour, staying as close to 225 degrees F as possible. Resist the temptation to open the lid. Only open the charcoal door or the lid if you need to add more charcoal or wood to maintain temperature and smoke. After at least 4 hours, check the temperature of the meat to see where it is and get an idea of how much more time it will need to smoke.
Test for Doneness
Smoke the pork until a dark “bark” (outside crust) forms and the internal temperature of the meat is about 190 degrees F, about 6 to 10 hours, depending on weight; use a meat thermometer to test for doneness.
Sauce the Pork (optional)
Start basting the meat with a sauce using a brush or mop for the last 1 ½ hours at about 180 degrees F. Then mop it every 30 minutes after that.
Inject the Pork with BBQ Sauce (optional)
To inject the meat, you may need to pour your sauce into a narrow container so you can suck the sauce up inside the needle. Once the injector is full of sauce, that is where all the fun begins! Insert the needle and go all the way to the center. Press the plunger slowly and ease the needle out. Insert the needle again about every 1 ½-inches apart and leave behind about 1-ounce of sauce per pound. Some sauce will almost always follow the needle out of the hole, but if it comes spurting out like it hit an artery, use less pressure. You want to avoid pockets of liquid and have the sauce evenly distributed inside the meat. He usually injects it when he sauces the outside, but only once or twice.
Resting (not optional)
After the pork is literally about to fall apart and dripping with sauce, remove the meat from the smoker and rest a good 15 to 20 minutes under loosely tented foil.
Slice or Shred and Serve
Perfectly cooked meat should be moist and juicy. Serve it sliced on a plate or pull it to serve on a pulled pork sandwich. You can also serve it in tacos or burritos. Serve with sauce on the side or drizzled overtop.
Notes
Brushing and injecting the pork with barbecue sauce is completely optional. If you opt to sauce the pork, warm the sauce up before brushing and injecting the pork butt so the temperature will not go down on the meat.If you opt out of barbecue sauce, you may want to consider wrapping the pork in butcher paper or aluminum foil after you get the color bark you want. Wrapping the meat will keep it from darkening and becoming black from the smoke.Calories are based on pork alone without barbecue sauce; for more nutrition information, click HERE.
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