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smoking Smoked pork butt!

NeedsWork said:
The last time I made chili was when I worked at Wendy's. I want to try an experiment this weekend with one of my frozen 1/2 butts.  Has anyone made chili with a smoked pork?  Where should I start?      
 
 
P.S. I signed up for the office chili cook off next month, so I need to get my act together.  :)  
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I make chili all the time with smoked pork. It's usually when I have leftover pork though. It's just my wife and me under this roof so it's a perfect way to use up leftover meat.
 
Edmick said:
The recipe might be similar but these were the thickness of pita bread. I'm not gonna be able to sleep now. I'm gonna do a little research and see if I can find it and i'll try to recreate it. They were the perfect street food. A couple of them would fit perfect in a fry tray and he would pack them full. I really liked the shredded pickled cucumber and carrot he put. It's the same pickling I use on shrimp po boys. That balance it adds to shredded pork is a perfect combo.
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Could it be a pupusas?
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupusa
 
Guess what was on sale :D
 
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MikeUSMC said:
Nice! You can't even tell me that the reflection of that pork in the side of the pot doesn't look like a pig snout ;)

What's the injection in the pot?
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Haha it does!
 
1/4 cup of pickling salt, 3/4 cup molasses, and white grape juice.  I thought we had apple... but we didn't.  
 
Injected it, then put it in the pot with enough cold water to cover.
 
 
Edmick said:
Soooo are we gonna get a follow up pic on dat ass or were you just teasing us NeedsWork?
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Teasing... for now.   :P   
 
It's parked in 'brine' until Saturday evening when the action begins.  Testing out a long brine.   
 
Many follow up pics to come.
 
NeedsWork said:
Teasing... for now.   :P   
 
It's parked in 'brine' until Saturday evening when the action begins.  Testing out a long brine.   
 
Many follow up pics to come.
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Cool cool. Did you reduce the amount of salt in the brine or anything? i'm always scared of brining too long for fear of turning it into a salt bomb.
 
Edmick said:
Cool cool. Did you reduce the amount of salt in the brine or anything? i'm always scared of brining too long for fear of turning it into a salt bomb.
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We share similar concerns.  I hardly cook with salt so I'm pretty sensitive to the stuff.  The original recipe that I tried called for 1.25 cups of pickling salt for a 12 hour brine and it was way too salty.  Hopefully 1/4 cup isn't too much.  I'll probably lighten the salt content of the rub just in case.  Good call.  :cheers:
 
My wife is coming home late from a work trip so I decided to prep the beast a little early.  That way the house can be in order for her arrival.   ;)  ;)   
 
I also decided that I didn't do a good enough job removing the silver skin.  I re-trimmed it following a few competition pork YouTube videos.  The meat will sit covered in a clean pan until 10-11pm tonight.  The extra trimming will likely reduce cook time so I will have to keep an eye on it.
 
Injection:
1 bottle of Italian dressing, solids separated
Equal part apple juice
2T of rub
 
Binder:
Solids from Italian dressing
Equal part yellow mustard
2T honey 
 
Rub:
1 heaping cup turbinado sugar
1/8th cup smoked black sea salt
 
2 T smoked chili powder
2 T ancho powder
2 T smoked hot paprika
2 T dark la mesa powder
1/2 T cumin
 
2 t onion powder
3 t garlic powder
1.5 t cinnamon
 
Fresh ground:
1 T cardamom 
1 t fennel
1 t coriander
1 t pink peppercorns
1 t white peppercorns
1 t szechuan peppercorns
1 cup 2017 dried cayenne pods  
 
 
Post bath and second trim
 
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Making the injection
 
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Binder
 
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Inject, dry, slather, and shake  :dance:
 
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12 hours later.  It ran a little cool over night ~210F.  I might have to wrap it to get through the stall in time for dinner.
 
Side note, I tried Stubb's charcoal. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Stubb-s-14-lb-Charcoal-Briquettes/1000239075  I was really surprised at how well it lasted overnight.  With Royal Oak I was up every 4 hours to keep the fire alive.  There was plenty of fire with Stubb's at hour 5 and hour 6.  Then again, the fire ran cooler this time.  It also seems to be fairly low ash and new coals start easily.  The downside is price.  I'll certainly use it again for long cooks if it means more sleep. 
 
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It took exactly 18 hours.  The Stubb's charcoal was awesome.  It was more expensive but I probably used 1/2 as much.  That lead to more cook time and less look time.  
 
Served with the usual sides and endless house micheladas. 
 
Critique:
Money muscle fell apart which would not have worked in a competition.
There were a few outside bits that were a little over cooked.  Maybe more mop sessions would have fixed that.
This rub had some kick.  I would tone down the cayenne for those that do not like heat.  I'm going to try a mild rub next.
Salt was spot on for my taste.
 
PS
I finished with 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 T rub and 2 T turb. sugar for an extra sweet outer crust.  (with ~2 hours of cook time to go)
 
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Edmick said:
Nice looking meal buddy.
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Thanks!  Good call on watching the salt.  
 
 
Masher said:
Gets my vote...where's the plates? :cheers:
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Always extra plates at this house for friends!  :cheers:
 
 
MikeUSMC said:
Awesome looking shoulder, Needswork! Looks delicious! That's how I like my pork pulled too; big chunks instead of shredded :)
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Thank you!  Agreed  - I like to serve it as it falls.  Plus I'm usually too hungry to shred.   :)
 
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