r/smoking • u/joshpope • 1d ago
Pulled Pork
Recently I decided to try to go as simple as possible for a pork shoulder. I put rub on it, put it in the smoker at 225 and didn’t open it until 200 degrees. It was as good if not better than any other shoulder I’ve made. Makes me think if I was just over complicating everything with spritzing, wrapping and every other little “trick” I’ve picked up so far.
Wondering if anyone else has caught themselves doing this lol
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u/AllenSmithee59 1d ago
You just described my method for cooking pulled pork. No wrap. No spritz. No waving a dead chicken over it. Just smoke and heat and time.
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u/Disassociated_Assoc 1d ago
I bet you still snap those tongs twice though.
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u/ThisMeansRooR 10h ago
You use tongs for pork butts? I'm all hands and do the burnt palms dance when I take it off
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u/runonandonandonanon 1d ago
My little one asked if I could just do plain ribs so I threw them on with some salt. It became the only way I do them, and glaze with sauce for the last hour if desired. Wet brine is admittedly better but overnight is too long and I usually can't manage a 4 hour soak in the morning. THE RUB IS A LIE. I'm a novice, take my word with two grains of kosher salt per square millimeter.
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u/Brave_Egg_7984 1d ago
The only change that's ever made any difference for me is quartering the shoulder for more bark. It worked like a charm. All the other tricks were just window dressing and didn't really add much.
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u/Disassociated_Assoc 1d ago
+1 for this method. Much shorter cook time in addition to the significant increase in bark. What’s not to like.
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u/prawn69 1d ago
As in, you’re cutting it into 4 pieces?
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u/Disassociated_Assoc 1d ago
I have, and that is fine, but I stick to butterflying the butt open and leaving it one piece. Nothing wrong with halving it though.
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u/swanfrench 1d ago
I don’t wrap anything. I don’t use a binder. I don’t spritz. I put my bbq up against any back yard smoker. Edit to add: I also don’t use a water pan.
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u/CarefulProfit971 1d ago
My first couple of smokes, I did everything the popular videos suggested.
Everything after that, I learned from deep diving reddit for way too long.
Most of the time, you probably don't need to do much of anything once it goes on the smoker. The only times I've ever had to open the lid, is when I needed to turn a particularly big chunk of meat that wasn't cooking completely evenly because part of it was over the heat source and part of it wasn't (smaller pellet grill), or flipping wings.
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u/armorer1984 1d ago
Yeah, that's the way to do 'em. Season the bajeezus out of em, let sit for 24 hours to "dry brine", and smoke until it hits 203. Let it rest and it falls apart on its own. They don't take much futzing.
I wrap mine at 160 just to get it through the stall and speed things up. Aside from that, let em roll.
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u/Nomad2k 1d ago
Take it to 204°. Thank me later
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u/blmar311 1d ago
You've got my attention. You rest it after still?
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u/Nomad2k 1d ago
Yeah.... Pull it when it reaches 204-205. Something about getting that collagen to render down. Very pleasant.
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u/Nomad2k 1d ago
Now this is only on pork shoulder/pork butt. I'm not quite sure if it's because it's a more of a muscle or it has more dark meat to it. It just requires a longer slow cook to break it down to make it tender. Definitely don't do this on white meat pork loin because it is a very lean cut. You do pork loin, always pull that at 135 and let it rest till 145°.
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u/runonandonandonanon 1d ago
I tried a pork loin, hit 120 and then 30 minutes later it was at 170 :(
Lesson learned.
But sliced razor thin, splashed sparingly with "swine wine" (ACV, sugar, spices), on little baguette slice sandwiches spread with generous garlic herb butter, day was saved.
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u/Nomad2k 1d ago
Yeah brother, you gotta monitor pork loin closely. Like I said, temp it at 1:35 and pull it and wrap it in aluminum foil to 1:45. Then let it cool. The internal temp will continue to cook and you'll figure it out. getting the stuff right is an art. Share it with your friends when you get it right.
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u/runonandonandonanon 1d ago
Thanks for the advice, it was good enough overdone that I bought another one to try next week!
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u/EqualMagnitude 1d ago
Over time I stopped fussing with my pork cooks and preperation and just put on rub and let the smoker do its thing. Still making great tasting food.
I will sometimes wrap my pork shoulders with foil and may try butcher paper.
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u/Successful-Reason403 1d ago
I smoked a shoulder to make a bunch of pulled pork sliders for a party and got a ton of complements. Multiple dudes came up to ask me what kind of smoker I had and my cooking techniques.
They all seemed disappointed to learn that I used a Weber kettle and my technique consisted of throwing a seasoned shoulder on it and letting the temp settle in where it wanted (somewhere between 250-300) until it was done. As if one must have a $1500 kamado, Bluetooth enabled gadgets, and some precise plan to cook one of the most forgiving hunks of meat in existence.
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u/Cultural_Swimmer_555 1d ago
lol yea I remember the spritz and wrap days. Now I go a step further and put it in a tinfoil pan, shut the door, go to sleep and pull it the next day when it hits 200-203. Yea I sacrifice some bark on the bottom but all that juice is so worth it. People go crazy for it.
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u/Readed-it 1d ago
Always save the juice!! You could put a little rack inside the pan to elevate the meat out of the liquid?
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u/Cultural_Swimmer_555 1d ago
I could but we are talking about how we have perfected the lazy butt here
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u/lnSerT_Creative_Name 1d ago
I spritz with juice because I find it fun. Still stupid simple, lots of great smells and good food from it
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u/Human31415926 16h ago
So much energy spent evaporating that spritz. So much heat lost looking instead of cooking.
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u/White-runner 1d ago
SPG, 275 and let it ride. If you’re looking you ain’t cooking. Only thing I ever do is put it in a foil pan uncovered around 175 to catch some jus to shred it in, makes it better in my opinion but not necessary.
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u/IronSmokeAndOil 1d ago
And it was still moist and tender enough for easy shredding? Did the bone pull out easily? I have never smoked a shoulder without using a foil pan and wrapping foil over it for the second part of the cook. I pretty much gave up on the spritzing, I didn’t think it was necessary.
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u/perfectlyagedsausage 1d ago
I have done 2. One bone in and one bone out . The bone in was over the top moist and delicious but the bone out was dry . So bone in for me going forward
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u/passivezealot 1d ago
It really doesn't need that much work, and you can cook it hotter, I do 265. Cooks faster and better bark
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u/SpiteBadger 1d ago
Ive only ever done overnight pork shoulder. Just season, put it on the smoker, and forget it. Been great every time.
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u/Infamous_Wall_930 1d ago
Season it. Cook it. Take it out when it's done. If you looking you ain't cooking. Once Internalized I stopped screwing up cuts
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u/CharacterWitless78 1d ago
Ive done plenty of pork butts with no seasoning and gone directly from package to smoker and not really had any complaints.
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u/Lazy_Technology5108 1d ago
My first years smoking I read books, watched videos and paid attention to every thermometer reading. I then sold my WSM and got a masterbuilt gravity feeder. Stopped wrapping and just let it go til it it was done . And the feedback improved as did my quality of life lol
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u/OrganicBrownMustard 1d ago
I did this a while ago no trim no wrap nothing but mustard and a rub and let it go at 275 for a few hours then 225 until 200. Never opened the door u til the end. Wrapped it in paper and foil to rest in a cooler for a few hours and it was insane
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u/craigeryjohn 1d ago
The best I have ever made were ample salt (a couple days before cooking), a ridiculous amount of black pepper, and then just smoke at 225. Leave it alone, no fancy tricks.
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u/timothy918 1d ago
My first pork shoulder I did time based. It was consumable but nothing to write home about. 2nd pork shoulder I went by temperature. No wrap. No sprits. Smoked it until 205 degrees. Put it in an aluminum pan and covered for 40 minutes. Ripped it apart and served. Best thing I've ever served. Compliments from everyone that had it.
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u/letsbuildbikelanes 1d ago
Spritzing is just for bark formation. I don't really bother doing it and it turns out great
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u/CambrianCannellini 1d ago
I do salt only and cook at 275 until it hits about 190 internal, then I sauce it so the sauce gets a chance to caramelize before I pull it at 200. And I’m not convinced I need to salt it ahead of time.
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u/idrawinmargins 18h ago
1/2 tsp per lb of corse salt over the butt the night before. Rub the next day, throw on the smoker at 275 and let it rip until 203 or probe tender, then rest in a cooler wrapped for ar least 1 hour. Always turns out great. No need to over complicate something that should be easy and simple.
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u/bemenaker 18h ago
Have never spritzed a thing. Seems like a complete waste of time. It won't penetrate the meat, it lets heat out of the oven, you could argue flavor if it has one but that could be added later.
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u/cnsrshp_is_teerany 17h ago
Been cooking butts like this for decades…
This sub and the sourdough bread people have a lot in common.
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u/Old-Palpitation2012 17h ago
Never wrap. Just season and let it ride. You can spritz a few times but never wrap.
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u/MoreLikeWestfailia 16h ago
Add to this that the rub probably isn't all that important. Salt, pepper, maybe some sugar to get caramelization if you're feeling fancy. Sprinkle the rub mix over the meat after you pull it, you'll get more flavor and less wasted spices.
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u/MGoCowSlurpee44 16h ago
I don't wrap and have spritzed because they say it makes better bark. But as I get more experienced I'm getting better bark and may skip this weekend since I think it just made my stall last longer last time.
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u/JohnP-357 15h ago
I never do any of the wrapping and spritzing and everything I have made in 40 years of doing this has always turned out fine. I will second that most BBQ joints (the real ones with actual pits and not the high tech junk) don’t do any of that stuff either. All you need is to watch your temps, burn good wood, and a water pan. If you want convenience, use your kitchen oven.
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u/AwarenessGreat282 14h ago
Been saying that for years. It's the way I was taught then everyone started adding all this other stuff like wrapping, injection, and spritzing. Tried it, found it added nothing to the final product except wrapping sped it up. If I'm pressed for time, I just split the butt and half and smoke two small ones instead of one big one. Twice the bark! But I always tell people to try everything to see if they like it, just don't think you have to.
Edit: another big one to add is use of a binder. People think it actually matters.....lol
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u/Hercusleaze 14h ago
Yup, no reason to overcomplicate it.
I run my smoker higher, usually 250-275, and I do remove the butt once it's in the stall. I just put it in an old baking pan, cover it with foil, and put it in the oven at 275 until it hits 204 internal. This way I save a lot of the juices as the fat renders.
When I pull it I keep it pretty chunky, pour the juices over it, toss it, then vacuum seal in 12oz bags. Perfect amount for the wife and I when we want to have pulled pork. We always warm it up sous vide style.
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u/Chris_Reddit_PHX 14h ago
I've only done a couple of pork shoulders, but have done a ton of pork back ribs and spare ribs, with some occasional tenderloins.
I've found that the fattier pork cuts (all of the above except tenderloins) are so forgiving, that it's really hard to turn out a bad one, unless you severely overcook it.
So I don't baby it or even bother with wrapping it anymore, unless I'm taking time to further the quest for fall-off-the bone ribs, which I have yet to fully achieve.
So yes I agree that these cuts turn out just fine without babying.
That said, I do usually start at 225 or even super smoke at the start, and turn it up to 250 or 275 at the very end to finish it. But usually nothing fancier than that.
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u/OrangeTuono 12h ago
Rub with salt and pepper. Spritzing is only useful to break up boredom. Smoke at 250 for a couple hours until the jiggly starts to firming up and a nice bark has set. Then boat in an aluminum pan and crank it up to 300-325 to finish. I don't even use a thermometer. Simply use my tongs to see if it tears apart.
If I'm bored, I'll baste several times with it's own renderings.
I then skim most of the rendered fat after it's cooled a bit and pull right in the same pan and au jus.
Then I do a restaurant wrap (pan goes down on the foil, then fold/wrap over the top) before freezing or refrigerating.
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u/Banjofencer 12h ago
I smoke on a regular grill with grill mats to prevent direct heat with a pan of water underneath for 4 to 5 hrs then seal into an aluminum pan and put in the oven 8 to 10 hrs at 215 degrees, spice rub before smoking and when pulled never had any complaints.
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u/Banjofencer 12h ago
Charcoal grill adding wood chips about every half hour and Charcoal to maintain temp at about 250.
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u/ChunkyLoverPDX 5h ago
The hobby is so bloated with stuff that not only doesn't work but is completely unnecessary. This isn't rocket science, but so many people want it to be.
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u/taintedlegend 1d ago
Yep. I have found this. Though I do still sometimes foil with liquid to braise just for a faster cook. You get better bark that way but smoke flavor should not get any better than after 3ish hours in I think (could be wrong but I know it stops at a certain point. I have even started SPG rubs only on a lot of my meat. Or an SPG with some spice. Like layering garlic Jalapeno with a coarse grain SPG on top. I grew up on sweet pork but I could stand there and just gorge several pounds of an SPG pork butt.
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u/Original-Manager4777 1d ago
Pellet smokers are for cheaters. Off set or bust.
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u/The-Tradition 1d ago
BBQ places don't baby them. They season and smoke.