Pulled Pork

Today, I'm cooking for tomorrow. We're celebrating my daughter's 12th birthday a few days late. Right now, as I type, there is 15lbs of Pork Butt cooking on my Weber Smokey Mountain. I used a modified Minion Method for the fire and the meat should be ready around midnight tonight.

Last night my daughter and I rubbed and injected the butts using Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson's fame "Grand World Championship Pork Shoulder" recipe as published in Peace, Love and Barbecue, by Mike Mills. We let the butts sit in the refrigerator over night and got them on the fire at about noon today.

Big Bob Gibson's Grand World Championship Pork Shoulder.

1 Pork Butt or Shoulder (18 to 20 lbs) Mine is 15lbs because it is boneless.

Dry Rub
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/3 cup garlic salt (I used garlic powder)
1/3 cup kosher salt, finely ground
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder (I used ancho chili powder)
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Injection Baste
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. (I use Lea & Perrins)

Make the dry rub. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer to a shaker. Store leftover rub in an air tight container. To better mix the rub ingredients, I mixed it in a covered container and shook the rub well. Then I ran the rub through a screen mesh which worked out all the lumps and blended the rub further.

Make the baste. Whisk together the apple juice, water, sugar, salt and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Keep mixing until all dry ingredients are dissolved. Fill a basting syringe and begin injecting the meat. You'll want to use about 1/2 oz per pound of shoulder. Coat the butt well with the dry rub and refrigerate overnight.

Cook on a pit or smoker for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hour per pound or to an internal temperature of 195 degrees. Pull or chop the meat. Pole the meat onto buns for sandwiches. Leftovers can be frozen for up to one month.

Well, that's the recipe. But I know there are major differences between that method of cooking and how you do butt for competition. I'll talk about that in a post later this week.