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smoking Pulled Pork- Bday party

Saturday Morning is my step daughters birthday party. Party starts around noon so figure eating around 12-1pm.
 
Wifey wants me to do pulled pork and baked beans. Also my jalapeno corn bread and poppers. 
 
I figure the 8lb pork loin we have is going to take about 12 hours to smoke at around 250f. I will need to cut the pork loin in half to get it to fit in my smoker. This is a good chance for me to make half spicy rubbed and other mild for the elderly and those with elderly constitutions. anyhow I digress. 
 
With the party being so early in the day what would be the best route for the smoke. I'm thinking starting it friday afternoon/evening and finishing up around 2am saturday. Then wrapping in foil and putting in a cooler.
 
That way saturday morning when I wake up I can pull it and put into foil trays and reheat with the beans while I smoke the poppers for 1-1.5hrs. 
 
This sound about right to you guys? I've never done the whole wrap in foil and cooler before pull thing but I have heard that's how a lot of guys do it. Am I thinking wrong or will being in the cooler while I sleep be a bad thing?
 
I have never used a smoker like yours, but is it set it and forget it? If yes, I would cook 9pm to 9am and then do what you have to.
 
tctenten said:
I have never used a smoker like yours, but is it set it and forget it? If yes, I would cook 9pm to 9am and then do what you have to.
 
No it's not, it's a shitty propane smoker with a burner underneath. Have to check on it and make adjustments to maintain temp and add wood, or keep wood from catching on fire. 
 
This guy has the same smoker. i do something similar with a cast iron pan for the woodchips because teh stock tray is horrible. 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVKPo-b7jQs
 
Gotcha...my only concern is the length of time in the cooler. One of the other, more seasoned guys should know how long is ok.



Serving it the next day and serving leftover pulled pork
I often get asked what's the best way to cook pulled pork on Saturday and serve it on Sunday. My answer is "don't do it". That's called serving leftovers. Fresh meat is best. But it can be done.

These meats are best fresh off the smoker. If you have to serve it at noon on Sunday, the best method is to get up in the middle of the night and start cooking in the wee hours. If you need to take it to a game, then wrap the hot meat in foil and blankets and put it in a beer cooler and you can keep it warm that way for about two hours (read my article on faux Cambros).

If you cook it Saturday to serve Sunday, click here for tips on how to pull it off.

This is from amazingribs.com. Not sure how long after the two hours you can keep in the cooler before it spoils.
 
D3monic said:
Saturday Morning is my step daughters birthday party. Party starts around noon so figure eating around 12-1pm.
 
Wifey wants me to do pulled pork and baked beans. Also my jalapeno corn bread and poppers. 
 
I figure the 8lb pork loin we have is going to take about 12 hours to smoke at around 250f. I will need to cut the pork loin in half to get it to fit in my smoker. This is a good chance for me to make half spicy rubbed and other mild for the elderly and those with elderly constitutions. anyhow I digress. 
 
With the party being so early in the day what would be the best route for the smoke. I'm thinking starting it friday afternoon/evening and finishing up around 2am saturday. Then wrapping in foil and putting in a cooler.
 
That way saturday morning when I wake up I can pull it and put into foil trays and reheat with the beans while I smoke the poppers for 1-1.5hrs. 
 
This sound about right to you guys? I've never done the whole wrap in foil and cooler before pull thing but I have heard that's how a lot of guys do it. Am I thinking wrong or will being in the cooler while I sleep be a bad thing?
 
lots of thermal mass ... i'd only recommend adding wrapping the foil-wrapped meat in towels to fill the space, and then wrapping the cooler in a sleeping bag or blanket to get even more insulation if it's not a big deal to do ...
 
i think the dangerous crap happens below 135F, which is 5F less than you'll find a lot of places, but is accurate for held-hot ...
 
depending on how hot it is, and how well insulated, it could last hours and hours above that in a cooler scenario ...
 
i think it's pretty safe ...
 
and if you reheat it up past 167F, then it's really pretty safe again, even if it was going south beforehand, so YMMV ...
 
FWIW I'd start it as early as possible on Friday, smoke at 235 till you like the bark (about 5-6hrs) then wrap it tight with foil, take it to 195 internal (another 2-3hrs), rest for 40 minutes and then pull the meat while it's still warm till you're happy.  <- that whole process should take about 9-10 hrs max for a boston butt 9lbs or less.   Once pulled cover tightly and warm in a covered oven dish or crock pot the next day, hydrate w apple juice/bbq rub/touch of vinegar if it seems a little bit dry.  
 
So if you start at 2 on Friday you should have this all done by midnight.  Get it in the oven or crock pot by 10am Saturday and noon service is no problem. 
 
I'll just put in a foil pans and cover with foil and place in fridge. then in the morning when I start the jalapeno poppers I'll put the pans of meat on the top shelf of smoker and reheat while I cook the poppers. 
 
Will do like you said if they get dry at all and add some apple juice. 

grantmichaels said:
haha ...
 
i like SF's version ...
 
can also hit it w/ smoke for some hours when convenient, and then throw it in the oven at 170F for as long as you feel like it, and then finish it to temp, late, and pull fresh ...
 
right?
 
I thought about that too, our AC is undersized though and the house will get hot as hell because it can't keep up with the oven. Going to try and avoid running the oven other than for my cornbread. Making a loaf and some muffins. 
 
Amazingribs.com is an excellent website. I've learned nearly everything I know bout smoking from it and anytime something goes wrong I can usually figure out what I did poking around there. This summer though has been pretty consistently successful though thank science. Nothing lamer than failing in front of a bunch of people lol.
BTW meat is "technically safe" for 3 hours once it drops below 140 degrees (or above 41) at least that's what I recall from my "serv safe" certification class.
 
Never done pulled pork from a loin (?) so no idea. But you could section it into quarters. I've sectioned butts before. Less time and similar to same result, just more bark from more surface area. Serve it fresh!
 
Yeah, my thoughts as well but never tried. Why not boston butt D3??? Stuff the loin with some apples, bacon, figs, goat cheese whatever and grill it with a nice glaze, slice it.

I was puzzled at first and googled pulled pork from loin, and did see some recipes so figured... guess it works!
 
Because the wife is a cheap ass and insists on using the big loin we already have. They are pretty fatty though. Pretty much the same cuts I use for my carnitas. Correction, exact same cuts I use for my carnitas. They shred no different than a shoulder for the most part. 
 
The Hot Pepper said:
Never done pulled pork from a loin (?) so no idea. But you could section it into quarters. I've sectioned butts before. Less time and similar to same result, just more bark from more surface area. Serve it fresh!
 
I have. They are dry. Not enough fat. Never again.
 
 
 
 
D3monic said:
Because the wife is a cheap ass and insists on using the big loin we already have. They are pretty fatty though. Pretty much the same cuts I use for my carnitas. Correction, exact same cuts I use for my carnitas. They shred no different than a shoulder for the most part. 
 
 
But, but, If you have a GFS, Costco, or Sams around you should be able to pick up an 8lb butt for less than $16.00.
 
 
If you must use the loin, I'd inject the hell out of it. YMMV.
 
Watch the silver skin on it as well. Loins can be done in a crockpot with your rub, sauce, liquid smoke. Chunk and forget it plenty of recipes on line. This would well since the fat content is low, the moisture in the crockpot would cook and keep warm as well. 
 
 I agree loins are not good for pulling . I think the ideal temp for a loin is 155 or something where a butt is around 200 . I smoked a buddy a 12 pound loin  the other day  ( he messed up i told  him pork butt) and it took like 4 less hours to cook than my 8 pound butt . I think at 250 your loin will be done in about 7 or 8 hours  but it has a tendency to dry out fast in the smoker with such a small amount of fat on the inside .
 
 
If the party is at 12 I would start it at 4 am and it sure be perfect around 12 or 1. Longer a meat sits even kept warm IMHO the less better it will be . But I have kept meat for like 6 hours in a cooler and it was still smoking hot when I cut it up . Lots of towels stuffed in the cooler .   
 
Crock pot is not a bad idea. Chunk it. No liquid smoke for me though maybe some chipotles in adobe, there's your smoke... tomatoes, onions, chipotles, brown sugar, molasses, beer, vinegar, salt, let is "crock" until it falls apart... you could even add 2 cans of navy beans at the start and you are making baked beans at the same time, (pulled) pork and beans. Done.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
Crock pot is not a bad idea. Chunk it. No liquid smoke for me though maybe some chipotles in adobe, there's your smoke... tomatoes, onions, chipotles, brown sugar, molasses, beer, vinegar, salt, let is "crock" until it falls apart... you could even add 2 cans of navy beans at the start and you are making baked beans at the same time, (pulled) pork and beans. Done.
'Zactly a Ronco set and forget while you make everything else. I have done a butt in the crock during a winter storm this past winter. Wasnt to bad. I found once cooked to a point where you shred you can take the meat out and either use the cock to cook down some of the liquid left over or put it in a sauce pan to thicken. Shred the meat and keep warm in crock and add back some of the sauce/juice and mix up a bit to keep moist. People can sauce if they want on the side. 
 
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