The pork was seasoned and left to “marinate” in the fridge for a couple of days. Monday night, I put it on the smoker about 9:30 p.m.
Smoker
My favorite woods or smoking are cherry and apple so I use either of those in the smoke box. I set the thermostat at 225º and left it alone. Pork should pull at about 200º but my preference is 205º . . where that good, crunchy “bark” is on the outer edges.
A reference point is one hour per pound to get it to 200º but it varies. Based on these being about 10 pounds each, I figured I’d check it at 10 hours. Sticking two of them in there, straight out of the fridge I knew would add to the cooking time. I always go by the internal temp of the meat and not by the time.
These two took 17 hours to get to 205º. At 2:30 p.m., the temp was right. Yes, i could have cleaned off the thermometer but it sits outside and it gets dirty.
Pulled Pork
The meat was perfect!
Pulled Pork
It had the crunchy edges that I love and the inside was tender, juicy and pulled easily.
Pulled Pork
I’m pretty picky about my meat so I clean out all the fat and weird stuff and leave only the good meat.
Pulled Pork
Sometimes I will make my own BBQ sauce but we had purchased some gallon jugs of Head Country, which is our favorite, so I used that.
Pulled Pork
I added BBQ sauce and added a little water since it was going to be canned. I kept out enough for us to have some for dinner last night and for lunch on Friday but didn’t keep out more because I’ll smoke the remaining two butts tomorrow and we’ll have those for the weekend, and for canning.
Pulled Pork
I got 14 pints so I figure that taking into account how much I kept out for us to eat, it probably cost me about $1.10 per pint, including the energy to smoke it and can it. Not bad . . and it’s delicious!
Dinner
For dinner, we had pulled pork, borracho beans (no, not on the diet!), cabbage and avocado stuffed with homemade pico de gallo.
Sherrill says
So do you wait til the smoker gets to 225 before putting the meat in or just put it in when you start it? Then I’m assuming there’s a probe you put in one of the pieces of meat to know when it gets to 205? I’ve never done much smoking & when we did, it didn’t go well 🙁
JudyL says
When I plug the smoker in, I turn it on and put the meat in then . . so the meat is going into a cold smoker. There is a probe that goes into the meat but I don’t put it in til I think it could be getting close to being done. Also, it’s important that the probe not be touching a bone.
Cheryl says
I’m pretty new at smoking so I have questions……if you cooked it for 17 hours, how long did you actually have the smoke on? My neighbor smokes for a couple of hours at the beginning and then again at the end….I got a roast that was almost bitter doing that. So, how long should I plan for the smoking….and… first or last? Thanks!
JudyL says
The wood burns up I’m sure but there’s enough “smoke” on the sides of the smoker that the meat has plenty of smoke flavor. I prefer less smoker than more. Also, the type wood used affects the flavor. I find mesquite to be bitter and I prefer apple or cherry. For the size meat I used (2 – approximately 9 pounds each pork butts), 2 – 2 oz. pieces of wood were used.
Linda Mincher says
That looks so yummy!
Joyce says
Those pictures are making my mouth water! I also know nothing about smoking meat…do you have to keep adding wood? Maybe the question should be does the wood burn?
JudyL says
The smoker is electric and I only add the wood for the flavor. I do not keep adding wood.
Ranch Wife says
We just had the same thing on Monday. Hard to beat a good smoked, pulled pork. Even had the same sides y’all did. Awesome meal.
Karen Jautaikis says
Looks good, Jo. My husband is a smoker as well. In fact, he is smoking pork butt today using the quicker method, but also does it overnight. He has an awesome blog with tons of pictures to go with the recipes. You can find his blog at smokinpetebbq.com (notice there is not a “g” in smokin).
Karen Jautaikis says
AAAACCCK!!! I just read Jo Kramer’s blog before yours, Judy. Sorry about the name mistake!!!
Diana in RR,TX says
WE didn’t have pulled pork but carnitas last night. Made carnitas in the crock pot the other day.. 2 meals, rest will go in the freezer today for one more meal. Once I get a little more out of our freezer I will be hitting the meat sales and getting things made again for quick meals. I would have to do a lot of sewing to have room for canning jars! maybe someday!!!!! And yes, I am so enjoying using a gas stove again.
Penny says
Good morning, Judy!
I just finished eating a late breakfast ~ had vacuuming to do before I ate! But ……….. after reading your post about smoking the pork then seeing those yummy looking pork in the smoker & pic of your dinner from last nite I wish you would send me a plateful of same asap! I am so envious of your canning skills and what you accomplish daily!! Thx for sharing! You truly inspire me!
Penny in So CA
Frankie says
This makes me want a smoker so bad! I LOVE pulled pork and your recipe sounds delicious. The thought that I could actually can it is just the icing on the cake!
Connie Thorne says
You’ve made me hungry:) Sounds delicious!
Susan says
That looks and sounds delicious. I take the fat out of everything, too. Yesterday, I ate at a grill which had guava bbq sauce, and it was quite good. I was surprised, since I’d never heard of such a thing. It added a nice piquancy to the basic tomato/barbeque sauce base.