Weber Kettle Club Forums
Cooking & Food Talk => Charcoal Grilling & BBQ => Topic started by: spinsheet on July 20, 2013, 03:04:22 PM
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I'm looking to make Carolina pulled pork. This will be my first time doing this and since it's going to take quite a while to cook I was wondering if anyone might have any tips, suggestions, or any kind of advice. I saw this recipe (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carolina-Pulled-Pork-Sandwiches-101803) and figured I would go with it. Any thoughts?
What is the best way to maintain a 225 degree temp? Should I leave the bottom vents open all the way and try and control temp with the upper vents? I have a Weber Gold One Touch Kettle grill and I just bought a thermometer and installed it in the lid so I can easily read the temp.
Thanks for any advice!
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Pleanty of threads on the topic here, just do a search on boston butt or pork shoulder and read up. I used the snake method recently and liked the results. Plan for ten hours or so from start to finish. Take your time and have fun!
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I have posted it so many times already I am sure everyone is tired or reading it but....use a water pan to help control the temp. Just use water....beer and juice will not add any extra flavor and water's boiling point will be constant and will help keep the temp right at that magic number. As far as your vents go, I would close the bottom as far as you can without closing it all the way ( adjust as needed)and leave your top vent open. If you are using a snake method or a variation of it you will only need to have a very small amount of coals lit to start your fire and only a small amount will burn at one time during your cook ....you want an efficient fire that burns clean and not a raging fire that you need to keep snuffed by closing the top vent....that will cause your fire to burn dirty. I assume that you are using a kettle for this cook....if so the snake method will give you VERY stable low and slow temps...it will do all the work for you. DON"T forget the water pan! Good luck, I'm sure it will come out great!
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I'll definitely be using a drip pan filled with water. As far as the 'snake method', I have no idea what that is. I'll search and see what I come up with. My usual way is to fill my chimney and after about 20 mins or so dump the contents evenly between my two briquette baskets that are at opposite sides of the grill.
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The snake method is where you stack a row or two, two or three briqs high in a circle most of the way around the bowl of your kettle. ALL of these coals are unlit and you start about 8 to 10 pieces of charcoal and place them at one end of your snake and the controlled amount of air will only let a small amount of charcoal to burn at any given time and requires almost no fussing for 4, 6 or more hours. I just spread coals around the bowl in a semi-circle and do the same thing....10 coals lit at one end , let it go. By the way....if you put hot water in your pan it will help your temp level out faster....also remember that you will get a temp fluctuation or drop when you put a big chunk of cold meat in you cooker so don't fret. You may also encounter the stall.....a point where your meat temp will level out for quite some time...maybe an hour or longer and the temp may even drop....this is normal and is no reason to freak out. If it happens DO NOT crank up the heat or put it in the oven ( Have seen posts on the net where people have done that) just leave it alone...it will push through it. I have never had ANY success with using baskets for long sustained cooks....The snake method is really your best bet if you want even temps and pretty much a set it and forget it low and slow. I also recommend that after the first couple of hours that you spritz the meat with apple juice/vinegar or beer or juice etc....it will add flavor and help you get a great bark. If you have a large piece of meat you can speed up the cook by cutting it in half...even if you cook both halves at the same time it will come up to temp faster than one huge chunk of cold meat.
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I'm going to do just as you recommend. I have a 8.5 lb Boston Butt. If I cut that in half and get the temp to a level 225 about how long should I expect to be cooking?
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You will need to go by the internal temp of the meat not time. Having said that... I have done many, many pork butts on the kettle and it takes me about 8 hours to hit the internal temp of 200 degrees. You should plan on it taking longer than you want it to....if it gets done early just wrap it in foil and a towel and put it in a cooler....it will stay HOT for several hours....better to be done before everyone wants to eat than have them waiting on you. ;) I always take the meat off at 200 degrees and wrap it in foil and let it rest at least an hour .....even if I am not ahead of time. I have done so many butts and the only time it took me longer than around 8 hours was when I was using my horizontal smoker. I always start the meat( Meat on the grill) at 8 am and we eat at about 5 pm. I have done 8 pounds of pork cut in half and just the one half (4 pounds) and the time was the same. Once you do one on your grill you will kind of get the idea of the time....that's not much help but no two pieces of meat are the same and if you plan on an absolute time you may end up disappointed until you see how your grill behaves. So......if you want to eat at 5pm I would plan on putting it on at least 10 hours earlier than that....if it gets done in only 7 or 8 hours it will stay hot in the cooler once wrapped....too hot to pull with your bare hands after a couple of hours so better to be ahead of schedule until you get the hang of it. Pork butts are the most forgiving cut there is...the only real way to screw it up is not letting it get done. Be patient and DO NOT get stressed out, it ail get done when it gets done and if you plan for it to take longer than it probably needs you will be ready.
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One more thing....you may need to add some unlit fuel towards the end of your cook depending how fast it has been burning.....if you stacked a nice snake in the beginning ...do not worry about it being neat if you need to add.....just add a handful or two to the end of the burning ring.....I guess I should also mention that you want the meat opposite of the coals as much as possible and if your snake goes under the meat you may need to reposition it at some point to keep it away from direct heat, although I have never had the need to do so. Have fun. Be prepared to make this pork a lot since once you make it the family and friends will like it better than what you can buy !!!!! :)
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(http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t112/jeffhoard/IMG_0724.jpg)
You can kind of see my version of the snake. Called "A lazy bastard too lazy to stack the charcoal" method. Even though it looks like all the charcoal is lit in this picture it is not. I was using left over fuel from the night before. I started about 10 coals at the bottom right side of the pork and let it burn clockwise at about 225-250 degrees. My pan is filled with water....if it is easier for you, put the water pan on top of your grate...you will still want something to catch the dripping just so there is less mess.
(http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t112/jeffhoard/IMG_0725.jpg)
Here is a pic from right before it came off at 200 degrees. This was about 8 1/2 pounds before being cut in half and injected and rubbed and left to sit in the refrigerator overnight . I think this was a Father's day cook....I started the meat at 8 am and it was ready to come off at a little after 4pm if I remember correctly .....I know that I wrapped it for 1 hour and we ate around 5:30pm that night.
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Spinsheet, OTP is a master of the craft, so let him be your guide.
The only thing I'd add is that if you are using a One-Touch Gold, I would go ahead and make some marks to indicate your vent positions. Before you start your cook, visually locate your vent fins *just where* they would start to occlude the bottom vents. Then take a pencil or sharpie marker and make a small mark on your ash can ring to indicate 'full open'. Then move it to where the vent is *just closed*, and mark that. Then looking at the vent fin (and not at the ash can ring), figure out where the vent is halfway covered, and mark that.
The reason I find this useful is that anytime you open up your lid (which you should do as little as possible, muttering your new mantra, "If you're looking, you're not cooking" constantly), your temps will get all squirrelly. Opening the lid obviously lets out a lot of heat, but it also introduces a bunch of oxygen into the equation. So the temps will drop, then spike, and might even get away from you. So if/when you do lift the lid for whatever reason, it's helpful to know that you were holding your 225 with 1/2 or 3/8ths or whatever was working for you. Then you can choke out the air for 5 minutes or so to let things come back to equilibrium before resetting to your previous position. I find that having some indicator marks keeps me from playing some guessing game where I'm constantly nudging up or down to chase the right temps.
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Good advice ! What Mike said! If you really can't help yourself and must peek.....use a flashlight and look through the top vent....no heat let out and you get to satisfy your curiosity . My Dad asked me what the hardest thing to do when grilling was, I told him "The hardest thing is to do nothing.". Once you get the hang of low and slow you will not feel the need to constantly fuss about....the Weber will do most of the work for you ....just keep an eye on your temperature and the temp of your meat and you will have the best tasting pork in town!
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""A lazy bastard too lazy to stack the charcoal" method."
I've used this method a lot....always with great results !!!!
spinsheet,
Mike & Marty & OTPlatinum have got you all set to go......all I can add is have fun & enjoy the lunch / dinner that it ends with,.....
Oh, and if you do like being neat & orderly, you can spend a little time stacking coals ~~~~>
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/food-pr0n/bob's-beef-o-rama/msg20382/#msg20382
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OK, I jumped into the deep end this morning. Neatly stacked snake, about 12 briquettes in the chimney (plus some old coals from the last meal), and a drip pan full of water. Lid is on and the temp looked to be about 300 15 mins after putting the lid on. I'll let it settle for about 45 mins or so and see what the temp is at that time and adjust the bottom vent as needed.
I did mark the vent handle when I got the grill so I already know the vent positions so I'll play with that as needed. The Butt is dry rubbed and ready to go.
The neighbors were a bit perplexed to see me firing up the Weber at 8AM but when I told them that Carolina BBQ was forthcoming they all just smiled and cleared their calendars for this evening. Good thing I have 8.5 lbs. I'll keep everyone posted with my progress. Thanks to all for all of the help!
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"but when I told them that Carolina BBQ was forthcoming they all just smiled and cleared their calendars for this evening."
Better grab some sausages or make up some ABT's to keep 'em busy......or you won't have any PP left at the end...... :o
If you'd like to add a sauce, this is a good finishing sauce ~~>
S. Carolina Mustard Vinegar Sauce
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup Yellow mustard
1/4 cup onion finely minced
2 cloves garlic pureed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Combine ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
For a smoother sauce, blend on high for a few minutes.
From MacEggs good buddy Roxy, up in Canada
PS: It doesn't hurt to have a little higher temp at the start....the cold meat going on will level it out pretty quick, with no ill effects......... ;D
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The recipe that I had for the sauce was:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
And it was not to be cooked and mopped on the meat every 45 mins. I do like your ingredients better, seems more complex (tasting, not making). I am concerned about them saying to mop it on every 45 mins. Everything that I hear says that lifting the lid is BAD. What would you recommend?
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After 45 mins temp is at about 350 with the top vents wide open and the bottom vents at about 1/2 open. Just moved them to about 1/4 open to see if that drops the temp any.
One thing I did notice a few days ago, my bottom vent flanges are not tight to the bottom of the grill like they were when new, they all seem to have lifted a bit. I'm thinking that I won't be able to fully control the air flow like this. Is that normal for them to 'lift' like that? Should I replace them?
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I would close the top vent a bit. Here's where mine was a few weeks ago.
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3698/9200933885_6ed89a96d4_c.jpg)
What's the temp outside today? If it's hot, and the kettle is in full sun, that may keep things hotter and you'll have to dial back even more. If it's burning at 350 much longer you'll be adding more charcoal for sure. Is the butt on yet?
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Temp is about 85 outside. Butt is not on yet. I did have a Weber tool holder on the grill but I noticed that it was allowing smoke out through the gap that it created between the kettle and the lid so I took it off and that seemed to have tightened things down a bit. Perhaps that was part of the problem. I close the top vents to about 1/2 and the bottom is at about 1/4. Hopefully I can get this butt on withing 1/2 hour or I won't be eating till 8!
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After taking the tool holder off the temp dropped by almost 50 degrees. I went ahead and put the Butt on. When I put the lid back on it was reading 300. I'll keep monitoring but it seems like things are working out. :)
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Common temp I run these things at is 260.............even 275 is not really harmful........
You may get a slight bit more shrinkage at the higher temps, but not bad ~~> ;D
Dome temp can be a little different, sometimes by quite a bit, if you have a little oven therm, set it by the meat as a double check......
07:07:59 AM ......"OK, I jumped into the deep end this morning"
07:56:04 AM ......."Butt is not on yet."
Dive !!!! Dive in !!!!
08:03:12 AM ......."I went ahead and put the Butt on."
Ok.....good !!!
I don't sauce this stuff at all, just pull & mix the bark all thru.......you can sauce if you like.......
Don't mess with mopping, just splatter the sauce thru & mix in when you pull.......
Do a bunch of these & then decide if you want it mopped thru the process.....by then you'll know how they / you / your cooker works with all this...... 8)
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I put an oven thermometer on the grate like you suggested and when I went back to check it it was only reading 150 as opposed to the lid thermometer which was reading about 300. So I opened the vents up a bit so the grate thermometer would get up to about 225. Luckily, about 30 mins later I thought I better check. Sure enough I read Celsius on the oven thermometer! So I backed off on the vents and the temp is going down again. I'll chalk that up to a learning experience.
So far the snake seems to be burning well, lots of unburned coals. I may have to add some later as it was burning at 400 for a while but I was able to lower that soon enough so it shouldn't be bad.
Great smells are coming from the grill. Neighbors are starting to gather. They seem to be amazed that you can cook 8 - 10 hours on a charcoal grill. Seems strange to be grilling without a beer but it is only 11:30 here. I guess it's 5:00 somewhere though...
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As 1buckie said, do NOT trust the thermometer on the lid. Use it as a guide but find out what the difference of the temp is at lid level and grate level and use some simple math....this will allow you to get a rough idea of the temp at meat level. A pork butt is forgiving so if you run a little hot this time you will be fine...just remember do not remove it from the grill until it is done. I always pull mine off at 200 degrees internal but I always fork test it too....it needs to be fork tender and pull apart easily. Really what low and slow does is slowly breakdown connective tissue so don't be in a rush and don't worry too much...pork butt is a great way to get your feet wet doing low and slow.
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The lid temp reads about 275 and the grate temp reads about 250. All seems to have settled down. The snake is about 1/3 to 1/2 burned after about 3.5 hours on the grill. I'm amazed at how well this method is working. I was doubtful at first but this has made a believer out of me. Now if I can just leave it alone for another 4 hours!
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"The lid temp reads about 275 and the grate temp reads about 250. All seems to have settled down."
"THE ZONE"
"I'm amazed at how well this method is working."
OK.....enough standin' around bein' amazed.....what'er ya havin' fer sides ?
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Sides? Uh oh...
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Don't the buns count as sides? :o
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OK, I have buns and coleslaw!
Serious thunderstorm just set it. The rain and the dropping temp dropped the grill temp by about 50 but I opened up the vents a but and it's back up to 250. That was a curve ball I wasn't expecting...
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
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The weather turning crappy is a normal thing that happens whenever you cook a pork butt. ::) Whenever I do a low and slow I get a tornado blowing through my backyard. There will be no wind and as soon as I go out to light my coals.....I get that final scene from the movie Twister playing out by the grill. :( At least you didn't get any snow.....yet. :o
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The good thing about what's cooking is at the end, you still have some smoldering coals.................then.................throw s'more on top & keep cookin', snow or not ......
grill vegs, esp. zucchini is quick & easy, make a quick pot of rice in the house.....tater packets cook sorta quick......can o' beans......
Let "Curve Ball" be yer middle name....... 8)
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How'd it go?
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It was a huge success. Many thanks to all of you for all of the great advise. We had 5 kids and 4 adults and have PLENTY left over.
At about 6 the center was still only reading about 160 (after cooking since 10AM) so I kind of pulled it apart (ever so slightly) while on the gill and then put the lid back on. I needed to do something to avert an ugly riot. Lots of hungry people and cucumbers and dip were not working. Anyway, that got her cooked so I pulled it off, shredded it, and added the Carolina BBQ to the pork and all was right with the world.
Would this snake method also work while cooking ribs for 2 hours? Maybe just a shorter snake? My ribs have been getting overcooked and dried out and now that I have thermometers and can see what the heat was reading I know why.
Also, as I mentioned before the bottom vent flanges are no longer making contact with the grill bottom so they are not closing off the vents completely when closed. Is this natural or do I need to replace them? They used to make contact but now all three of then flare upward a bit.
Anyway, my first pork butt on the grill was a huge success!
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glad it came out well !!!
Cucumbers wouldn't cut it,eh?
Try sausages or ABT's next time......if you've just got the one kettle, that means you'll have to get busy on Craigslist, garage sales & stuff.....more is better....... 8)
With the vents, either replace.....the new ones are stainless & will probably last longer, but also are thinner, so be careful if you have chunks of charcoal (or fallen meat ) down in the bottom when you go to clean out.....they'll bend easier.......other thing is take apart the ones you have in & bend them back slightly, if they're still in decent shape that works fine.....remember: they go together in a certain order, so keep track of how they come apart.......
I seen your other thing about ribs......
Common times for me are
BB's...2-1/2 to3-1/2
St.Louis...3-1/2 to 4-1/2
Full, big spares.....5-1/2 ~ 6
At ~~250~260 deg
Ribs are still pork & have some of those same fat components that your pork butt does....they need TLC also.... ;D
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Glad to hear that it came out great! Yes you can and should use the snake method to do your ribs. It will let you do low temp for 2 hours easy as you now know....just use less charcoal...smaller snake. I have a Rib-O-Lator that is basically this big ridiculous ferris wheel attachment for my rotisserie , which is great by the way.....I use my sloppy snake method when I do ribs with it....I just have to adjust my semi-circle so that it doesn't get too direct to the ribs....it works great. I do a variation on the 3-2-1 method. Did you ask for all this info? Oh well , you are going to get it anyway! ;D I do 3 hours of indirect heat, 2 hours of indirect heat with the ribs wrapped in foil with some form of liquid in the foil....I use BBQ sauce but you can use butter or fruit juice or whatever you like. And I take the wrapped ribs off the heat and let rest for at least 45 minutes or very close to an hour. The ribs come out super tender...too tender for competition but fall off the bone is how we like it here. :) Open foil and serve. For indirect low and slow on a kettle the snake or some variation of it is the best way to get low sustained heat that I have found....I have not had much success with the Minion method although some people swear by it.
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This is kind of a modified snake for ribs.......not the only way, but works decent...... ;D
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/one-rib-method/