One Nation, Under God

That butt wasn't big enough

My first indirect smoking experience went so well with baby back ribs that the only thing I could think of was lighting that grill again.

So this past weekend I did. This time around I decided to try a long smoke… with a 4 pound Boston Butt (Pork Shoulder Roast).

I have to admit I was not excited about the possibility of an eight hour cook. I get impatient when the coffee maker takes too long but I knew that if I was going to do this, I was going to be “all in.”

I used the most basic rub you could probably have with equal parts coarse ground salt, fresh cracked pepper and paprika.

I know there are all kinds of ways to prepare a pork shoulder but I didn’t want to over think it and risk the chance of messing things up.

I had chunks of hickory burning about halfway throughout the cook because I didn’t want to over smoke it.

I also had a bottle of apple cider to spray on the meat every once in a while.

I did check on the meat and coals either every hour or thirty minutes just to make sure the temperature was just right, adding coals and wood when needed.

While I wasn’t used to stepping away from the grill because of my fear of burning the house down, I did have plenty of time to hang out with the family.

PJ and I played a lot of basketball inside which included random dance parties. We also watched a couple of kid movies.

I have to admit I did well with the waiting time and when the meat started pulling away when I tried flipping the meat, I knew I had done it.

That meat was so tender and juicy that I knew I had found my new favorite hobby.

Apparently it was so good that my wife claimed it was her new favorite thing that I had made. PJ also put a dent in the pulled pork this past weekend.

I also made a cider vinegar based sauce. That wasn’t a hit because my wife doesn’t like vinegar, so other than that it was an excellent experience.

Next time I may get a little fancier with the rub and I may burn a little more wood to add a smokier flavor but this is definitely happening again and soon.

One butt was just not enough, so I’m thinking about trying to fit two butts on the grill at once. If that doesn’t work I may buy a bigger grill. In a perfect world, I would smoke three butts at once so I can have leftovers for two weeks or invite friends and family over.

 

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