I've been playing with several pulled pork recipes over the years and I think I've finally found my favorite.
Picnic Vs. Boston Butt.
I find that the Boston Butt is far more forgiving. If I'm running short on time I can run up the heat on a Boston Butt and pull it at 195, it comes out great. I don't think I've ever had a bad Boston Butt cook.
The Picnic can be pretty tricky. If you go over 300 degrees in the smoker you'll pay for it in toughness. I also find that you need to cook the picnic to 205, anything lower will give you a tough roast and even at 205 I sometimes have to let it go over to get it tender. My trick to picnics is I don't use a leave in thermometer. I usually cook it at 250 1 lb. per hour and after that I'll insert a thermometer in it to check the temp, I gauge the tenderness by how easily the thermometer goes in. When I'm working with a picnic roast I remove all the skin and leave a light fat coating, I try to remove the skin in one piece.
View attachment 438618
If you cook a picnic roast right the flavor is better than the Boston but the effort required for the Picnic makes it more work than it's worth most of the time. If my grocer has Boston I go Boston but lately Picnic is all I've been finding.
For the rub I experimented with a ton of Rubs. My favorite rub that I can make
Myself is a Guy Fieri rub (recipe in a link below). Guy's rub works on everything pork. I've become pretty partial to a commercial rub I found at Costco called Schultz's (link below), the only time I make the Guy rub is when I'm out of Schultz's and Costco doesn't have it in stock.
View attachment 438619
My technique is pretty simple. 12 hours before my smoke, I rub my roast in mustard and coat it in the rub. I let the roast sit in the fridge covered in saran wrap for 12 hours. After 12 hours has passed I pop the roast in the smoker 225-250. I do NOT cover my roast at any point in the process until it hits 195-205 depending on the tenderness. Once I hit my temp I remove the roast from the smoker and stop adding heat to the smoker. After the smoker is turned down/off I coast the roast with my glaze. After I glaze the roast I put it on a pan and loosely cover it in foil. I return the roast to the smoker and let it rest for 1 hour. After 1 hour has passed I remove the roast from the smoker and pull it to pieces.
Here's a picnic almost ready to be glazed.
View attachment 438620
We like to put the pulled pork on Hawaiian rolls with cole slaw (recipe below) and make sliders.
What's your technique?
Fieri Rub: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/baby-back-ribs-recipe.html
Schultz's rub: http://www.amazon.com/Schultzs-Gourmet-Premium-Seasoning-Rub/dp/B00478RB9E
Hog Glaze Recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/hog-glaze-365436
Coleslaw Recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/kfc-coleslaw-copycat-coleslaw-156331
Picnic Vs. Boston Butt.
I find that the Boston Butt is far more forgiving. If I'm running short on time I can run up the heat on a Boston Butt and pull it at 195, it comes out great. I don't think I've ever had a bad Boston Butt cook.
The Picnic can be pretty tricky. If you go over 300 degrees in the smoker you'll pay for it in toughness. I also find that you need to cook the picnic to 205, anything lower will give you a tough roast and even at 205 I sometimes have to let it go over to get it tender. My trick to picnics is I don't use a leave in thermometer. I usually cook it at 250 1 lb. per hour and after that I'll insert a thermometer in it to check the temp, I gauge the tenderness by how easily the thermometer goes in. When I'm working with a picnic roast I remove all the skin and leave a light fat coating, I try to remove the skin in one piece.
View attachment 438618
If you cook a picnic roast right the flavor is better than the Boston but the effort required for the Picnic makes it more work than it's worth most of the time. If my grocer has Boston I go Boston but lately Picnic is all I've been finding.
For the rub I experimented with a ton of Rubs. My favorite rub that I can make
Myself is a Guy Fieri rub (recipe in a link below). Guy's rub works on everything pork. I've become pretty partial to a commercial rub I found at Costco called Schultz's (link below), the only time I make the Guy rub is when I'm out of Schultz's and Costco doesn't have it in stock.
View attachment 438619
My technique is pretty simple. 12 hours before my smoke, I rub my roast in mustard and coat it in the rub. I let the roast sit in the fridge covered in saran wrap for 12 hours. After 12 hours has passed I pop the roast in the smoker 225-250. I do NOT cover my roast at any point in the process until it hits 195-205 depending on the tenderness. Once I hit my temp I remove the roast from the smoker and stop adding heat to the smoker. After the smoker is turned down/off I coast the roast with my glaze. After I glaze the roast I put it on a pan and loosely cover it in foil. I return the roast to the smoker and let it rest for 1 hour. After 1 hour has passed I remove the roast from the smoker and pull it to pieces.
Here's a picnic almost ready to be glazed.
View attachment 438620
We like to put the pulled pork on Hawaiian rolls with cole slaw (recipe below) and make sliders.
What's your technique?
Fieri Rub: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/baby-back-ribs-recipe.html
Schultz's rub: http://www.amazon.com/Schultzs-Gourmet-Premium-Seasoning-Rub/dp/B00478RB9E
Hog Glaze Recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/hog-glaze-365436
Coleslaw Recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/kfc-coleslaw-copycat-coleslaw-156331
