grill , or in the oven or crock pot .
A lot of men have a complicated process for this with brining , spritzing , injecting , etc . This is unnecessary , and no different than the cock crowing in the barnyard ; it gains attention , but accomplishes little else . My goals for most recipes are simple steps , simple ingredients , and hopefully provide at least two meals and cost no more per serving than fast food .
Preparation
Preheat grill / oven / crock pot to 225⁰ F . If you need to cook faster , increase the temp by 25 ° every two hours to a maximum temperature of 300 °.
Trim excess outer fat ( leave at least 1 / 8 of an inch ). Don ’ t fret too much with this . I have cooked them with no trimming and different people debate which way is best .
Cover with ground black pepper . If you see meat , add more pepper . I promise you will not realize it in the finished dish .
Add salt unless your rub has salt in it or you are avoiding salt for health reasons . Cavender ’ s Salt- Free or Mrs . Dash are good options if you are avoiding sodium .
Add your favorite rub . I use Cavender ’ s Greek Seasoning , but there are a lot of options . Also , you can find many rub recipes on the internet that are made with common pantry ingredients .
For the above , no measuring is necessary . Just use common sense . If you don ’ t have enough common sense to season , get out of the kitchen before you burn the house down .
Pat NOT rub the seasoning into the meat . Coat with mustard or cooking spray and pat again . This holds the rub on the meat and may help conserve more moistness . You will not taste the mustard .
At times I do the steps above
26 LAKE WEDOWEE LIFE the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight . Most people recommend this but again , don ’ t overthink it . Either way is fine .
Cooking on the Grill
Place the meat on the grill fat side up . The fat will melt and selfbaste the meat as it cooks .
When the meat temp reaches about 150 °, the temp will stall and will not go up for hours . This is normal .
Once the temp reaches 160 °, you can do nothing , or you can wrap in butcher paper or foil and finish on the grill or in the oven . Not a huge matter either way . Experiment over time sand see if you have a preference .
The pork is well done at an internal temp of 160 °, but with this cut , you want to cook much higher to break up the collagen and connective tissue . This yields a very moist and tender pork . Cook to at least 190 °, but preferably to 203 °.
The meat is ready if ( using a glove / foil / paper towel ) you can turn the bone easily and remove it . If not , cook another hour . If cooking a boneless butt , you should be able to easily rotate a fork in the meat .
Remove from grill . Let sit for at least 30 minutes and pull apart with hands , bear claws , or a fork . I like to wrap mine in foil and leave in an ice cooler ( no ice ) for an hour or two , but that is totally optional depending on the timing and when you want to eat . You can keep it for several hours this way or in an oven at the lowest setting . Most people recommend pulling and serving before the temp drops below 140 °.
Each individual can add BBQ sauce ( or not ) to taste at the table . Truly good pulled pork requires very little sauce . You may want to microwave the sauce . Putting sauce on at any point before the table is considered blasphemy . Bon Appétit ! Or as we say on Lake Wedowee , let ’ s have some cue !!