Weber Kettle Club Forums
Cooking & Food Talk => Charcoal Grilling & BBQ => Topic started by: MauroBBQ on March 05, 2018, 09:38:22 AM
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This will be the first time doing pulled pork
Looking in to getting a 10-12lb pork butt bone inn
My question is should I do minion or snake method?
What do WKC experienced cooks recommend?
I have read that snake C shape 2x2 and starting with 5 (or so) lit briquettes would do the trick (250F approx.).
Adding some wood (Adler chips is what I have) not soaked at the beginning of the cook (3 to 4hrs)
Water in pan (under pork)
Spray 50/50 mix(apple juice/apple cider vinegar) every 1 hour or so
wrap meat at the 160F internal temp
Bring meat up to 195F internal temp
Let rest in cooler (or similar) wrapped in towels 1hr or so
Shred/pull
Enjoy
What do you think? I have been seeing a lot of videos and reading articles trying to get educated.
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I've always preferred the snake method until I purchased a Slow n' Sear which I believe is basically the minion. The snake method above will work great for your first time. The real trick is knowing when to pull it off since every one is different.
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The snake method is pretty foolproof. I'd start with more briquettes than you mention, and just realize that if you spray hourly you will be lengthening your cooking time quite a bit. However, whatever you end up doing, rest assured you will end up with fantastic results as pork butts are very forgiving and difficult to mess up. I'd rest my butt longer if possible, but an hour should be fine. Have fun with it!
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I've run 2x2 with success.....make sure you have a really long c shape.....too short and you'll be adding charcoal later in the game. I love alder wood.....good choice. I agree with @crowderjd , pork butts are very forgiving and you will be fine. Enjoy the process and tweak it each time you try, until you get something that works best for you.
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@crowderjd
@JDD
@Foster Dahlet
Thank for your cheers!
Will post pick when I get around to making it (2 weeks maybe)
I will go with the snake then :)
How many lit briquettes do you recommend I start with?
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I've only made pulled pork twice before getting a SnS and both times I did minion so I can only share my experience with that method. First type was the coals just piled up and the second time I used a regular Weber charcoal basket. The coals lasted longer when using the basket, I'm assuming because they were more efficiently packed (weather could also have been a factor but I don't remember what the weather was like). That said, I think both methods will be fine and to choose one this time and try the other next time and see what you like better :) I'm sure you'll be doing a lot of low and slow so you could even try both method several times to work out all the kinks of each before making a decision of which you prefer.
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I did a 2x1 snake using Weber briquettes 80% of the way around yesterday, and it stayed 250 for 9 hours, with all the vents wide open. It seems like when I tried a 2x2, I had to mess around with the vents to keep the temp from going too hig. I have never tried the minion method. Worst comes to worst, you will have it smoked as much as it's gonna be, and you can always finish in the oven if necessary.
I wrapped mine at 200 and put it in a cooler for 3 hours. Then it was like butter to shred it!
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@namtrag
@Firemunkee
@Foster Dahlet
@JDD
Ok WKC friends this Sunday is D Day... Boston Butt Newbie... wish me luck
Thanks for all your recommendations
I purchased a 8.8lb bone in
Will do snake method ( I have learned also that it take approx. 1hr+ per lb) so im looking at about a 10hr cook.
will mix my own rub ( I saw a recipe in Franklyn's BBQ You tube page that I liked / simple)
Will let you know how it went!!!
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@MauroBBQ , enjoy! Let us know how it turns out.
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This is the way I set up my kettle for butts-
(https://i.imgur.com/C0iwqNgl.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/CYAcsCpl.jpg)
IMHO you should expect 1.5 hour/pound cook time @250°, I generally cook in the 300°-325° range which has the advantages of shorter and more predictable butt cooks.
I also recommend that you not spray the meat every hour as it will extend the cooking time.
Good Luck.
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@cliffcarter
Thank you!!!
I have heard several times now about not spraying or moping that often, I’m even thinking now I should skip that step
I think I’m more nervous today than on my wedding day o_O
LOL
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Skip it, keep it simple for the first cook. I'm very excited for you! Just have a back up meal planned in case the cook runs long. The first time I smoked pork it finished at 9pm and I didn't even let it rest I was so hungry lol
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Update!!! My first attempt at pulled pork
2am start snake method
Wrapped after 5hrs
Internal temp was around 160F when I wrapped it
Reached 200F after 3:45hrs
Right now will let rest in cooler for a couple of hours
So far so good, I think
Will work on a jalapeño and habanero BBQ sauce :)
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Looks good from here! That is some dedication waking up that early! Did you stay awake the entire time? Also that BBQ sauce sounds amazing!!! I'm drooling
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Great color. How did it taste?
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Good looking cooking! That was a large piece for your first cook. I like cooking mine past 180 at the very end like yours. If you work up slowly to that temp at the end, you loose very little liquid and the meat gets super tender. Looks like yours turned out nicely.
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Looks perfect. I'm a snake method guy as well.
I don't take the lid off for at least 3 hours and then occasionally spray . Once you wrap it there will be plenty of moisture in that foil wrap and pork butts are probably the most forgiving of all cuts. Good choice!
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Looks really good...can't wait to see how it turned out.
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Finished product!!!
For this being my first time pulled pork it turned out great!!! Familia loved it and there were no leftovers so that is a good sign :)
@Firemunkee
I closed the lid at 2:10am and went to sleep, woke up at 730am to open lid for first time
@captjoe06
My first ever snake, was 2 row bottom 1 row top, started with 5 lit coals. I assumed vents fully open top n bottom. I do not have ambient thermometer
When I woke up at 730 am the lid temp gauges was close to 310
So not really low n slow cook
Should I have left the vents slightly open instead? This is something I need to learn
Here are some pics of finished product with a Mexican twist
Pico de gallo with Serrano peppers
Guacamole
BBQ hot sauce made with fresh jalapeños and habanero peppers
All in all enjoyed the cook enjoyed the food and enjoyed the Familia
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Finished product!!!
For this being my first time pulled pork it turned out great!!! Familia loved it and there were no leftovers so that is a good sign :)
@Firemunkee
I closed the lid at 2:10am and went to sleep, woke up at 730am to open lid for first time
@captjoe06
My first ever snake, was 2 row bottom 1 row top, started with 5 lit coals. I assumed vents fully open top n bottom. I do not have ambient thermometer
When I woke up at 730 am the lid temp gauges was close to 310
So not really low n slow cook
Should I have left the vents slightly open instead? This is something I need to learn
Here are some pics of finished product with a Mexican twist
Pico de gallo with Serrano peppers
Guacamole
BBQ hot sauce made with fresh jalapeños and habanero peppers
All in all enjoyed the cook enjoyed the food and enjoyed the Familia
That looks amazingggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg! Love the sound of all those peppers in the flavor!!
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Me thinks you nailed it!
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I think the temp of 325 works fine, and pork butts are so forgiving and have so much fat in them, that how you did it is just perfect. I wouldn't dick around with the vents at all, or if you do, maybe only close the bottom vent a quarter to start out.
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Nice !!!! I love doing butts on the Weber , they normally are forgiving and always are a family favorite . Now you will be doing them more often with less stress [emoji39]
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@Dc_smoke309 yes pork butts will be in the regular monthly menu
@namtrag will try next time quarter open bottom vent and see what that does =]
all be good, see you next cook =]
saludos from Juarez Mexico!!!
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Way to go, it looks great!
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It looks great and sounds like it went well for you. From my end I can only see one mistake you made, and it's a big no no....
The butt was too small, and there were no leftovers.
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Your butt looks great, always like saying that.... great color and the tacos amazing. That sauce sounlds like it burn a new butt excape for me. You did good .
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