BBQ Rub
4 Tablespoon Paprika
2 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
2 Tablespoon Chili Powder
2 Tablespoon Dried Cumin Powder
2 Tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
mix ingredients in a container with a lid, shake to blend thoroughly.
This is a variation of the Rub for BBQ from the Cook’s Illustrated Ribs and Chops book.
This summer’s project for Chef Stress is pulled pork.
My cut of meat, a boneless shoulder, arrived via Fed Ex on Thursday night.
The first step was to make the rub
Completely cover all surface area of the meat with your spice rub.
The wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
You’re gonna need about 2 hours per pound to cook this pig, so wake up EARLY… Start a chimney full of charcoal (this is was in the rain at 3PM, the rain wasn’t a problem, but starting a 7 pound shoulder at 3PM certainly was.) Remove your meat fromm the refrigerator, unwrap and allow to come to room temperature, about an hour usually. The temperature in the cooking chamber can be reduced significantly by a large cut of meat fresh out of the fridge.
Once the coals are all burning hot in the chimney, bank them against one wall of the kettle/grill.
Put the brisket on a sheet of alum. foil fat side up, on the cool side of the grill, with a flap of foil folding over the meat, to act as a shield. This is also when I added some applewood. It was about 3:40 pm.
The initial temperature inside the grill was 400 degrees, much higher than the 200 to 250 degrees most recipes call for. I was worried. It was also almost 4 o’clock, so I had no idea what time we were going to eat, but by then I was planning for about 6 hours cooking, so I figured that we’d eat at 10 pm.
The internal temperature I was shooting for was 180. By 9 PM I’d hit 160, unfortunately by 10 PM it was still 160. At that point I removed the shoulder from the grill, wrapped it in alum. foil and put it in a pre-heated 350 oven. By 11 or so, the internal temp had reached 180, finally. I immediately began to pull the shoulder, without waiting for the desired 1 hour resting time. First I tore it into big chunks.
Then tore those down into smaller bits.
As it cooled I was able to get it shredded, and then tossed it with a vinegar based BBQ sauce.
Here’s what it looked on the plate with Emily’s homemade coleslaw,
homemade pickles, a toasted bun and a glass of Mother’s Milk.
Dinner was at midnight. Everyone was happy, but it was late. Given such a late starting time, in the future I would cut the meat in half. Obviously starting much earlier will be my goal next time. I’m planning on making pulled pork two more times in June, so I’ll have more news soon.
Chef Stress
South Hollow Cooking 