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Directions
Written by a friend of mine...I've had unbelievably good results with this recipe and my inexpensive Brinkman smoker (the round ones that use a water tub above the coals).
I usually get about 4 Boston Butts and a couple racks of ribs out of the rub mix.
For pulled pork I use Boston Butt. Most places carry the prepackaged Hormel stuff, which is what I use. Dig through and find one with as little fat as possible ... they will all be pretty darn fatty, I just don't like paying for something that is going to melt off anyway. If you're wife is with you, I find it fun to spank each of the Boston Butt's and say, "who's your daddy!" nice and loud-at this point she will usually go hide in the bread isle which is a perfect opportunity to grab an extra 12-pack, which will come in handy during the smoking process. If it has a big thick slab of fat all around it, you might want to carefully remove the netting and trim it down a bit. I've trimmed the fat before, but seem to have just as much luck leaving them alone. Also, if you are doing more than one Butt, try and find ones similar in size so that they finish up at the same time.
For my ribs I go to the butcher at Hy-Vee and have them pick out some with a lot of meat. Important: make sure you remove the membrane off the back of the ribs. It helps to slice into it a bit with a knife and then use a paper towel (cause it is slimy, slippery, stuff) to grab it and peal it off. I rub both sides of the ribs.
While you're at the store pick up a spritzing bottle and some apple juice. Kris got me a spritzer that holds almost a half-gallon of juice. It's a little awkward and makes my arm sore, but it's nice not needing to refill all of the time. Make sure it can mist so that you don't wash the rub off the meat. I like the Sam's brand apple juice-you can get about a half-gallon of Sam's apple juice at Wal-Mart for about 12¢!
You might also want a good digital thermometer with the wire between the unit and the probe. You really do need one to know when the meat is done.
Back to the rub ... rinse the meat and pat dry with a paper towel, then spoon on a fair amount and rub it in good. Then wrap in cellophane, stack them in a casserole pan or some such to catch any leakage, and throw them in the fridge over night. This makes a major mess, so it works best to have one person spoon the rub on and wrap the cellophane while the other rubs. I like to do the rubbing part-this is another good opportunity to spank your meat; I think this is probably the true reason that my pulled pork is so tender. This is also a good time to remember to soak your wood chips. One small bag of apple chips should be plenty for one smoking. I find that any leftover chips make nice mulch.
When you're ready to smoke, set the meat out. If you've got a good size pile, un-stack them so that they can all start to warm up. I let them sit for a good half-hour or so. Now fire-up the smoker with a big ol' pile of briquettes; no wood chips yet. I always make sure I use about half of a 160z bottle of starter fluid, 'cause I like the big woofing sound it makes and I don't have to shave that day either. Fill the water pan up with hot water and close 'er up. If you need to add more water during smoking, try and use hot water so that it doesn't cool the smoker down.
After the smoker starts to heat up a bit-my temp gauge usually hangs out in the lower end of ideal range-throw in a handful of wood chips. You could add the wood chips after you load on the meat, but I like how the smoke burns my eyes and makes me smell like a camp fire the rest of the day. But, if you're a nansy-pansy, city-boy, you can add the chips after the meat is loaded.
The meat goes directly on the racks. I've put as many as 3 butts to a rack. The ribs I usually cut in half to fit better. I can do 3 butts and 4-half racks at a time. Put the ribs on top so that the butts don't drip all over them. Spritz everything down good with apple juice. I give them a good soaking every time I add charcoal or wood chips. I use some tongs to get the underside of the ribs, but I don't worry about the underside of the butts.
About every 20-30 minutes I check the charcoal and throw in a couple of handfuls of wood chips. For the first hour or so I try not to add charcoal. .. I want apple smoke in the meat, not briquette smoke. After that I just add a 6-12 briquettes every half hour to an hour.
After 2 hours I flip the butts over. I don't know if this is actually a required step or not, since we are cooking with indirect heat, but I like to try and keep busy. I find that is helps to have a big chunk of tinfoil to set the top rack on while you flip the stuff on the bottom rack. Or, if you like an earthy flavor/texture, you can just set it on the ground. Spritz everything down again.
By now it should be late enough in the morning to grab a beer. Go ahead. No matter what your wife says about drinking before noon, you deserve it. And, I should mention that smoking meat is a not science ... keep in mind that this is a redneck, backwoods, art. The best way to get in touch with your inner redneck is to have a few beers in the morning while standing in a cloud of smoke. Your wife won't understand this, but you shouldn't be concerned about that. She just needs to accept that if she wants the best ribs in
town ... she has to let you get in the zone.
After about 2 more hours it's time to wrap everything in heavy tinfoil. Set the meat on the foil and spritz it down good, then wrap it up tight. I leave a little spot open on the largest butt for the thermometer. Insert the thermometer halfway into the butt ... the regular meat cooking thermometer is fine ... then don't make a special one for Boston butts.
Now just keep the smoker (just charcoal, no more wood chips) in the ideal zone until the meat hits 190-195 degrees. The ribs will actually be done before that. I usually let them run about 6 hours. You can always start them a bit later if you want it all done at the same time, but then you might need more wood chips to keep the smoking going longer. I've also let the ribs go the full time, but they tend to get a little crispy if you keep them on too long. After you have a few beers, you'll just "know" when to take them off.
Let the butts stand for 30 minutes before pulling them. When you open up the foil there will be some fat that I discard ... the meat should be plenty moist without it. To pull them, I usually cut them into 2 inch chunks against the grain and then just rip them up with a couple of forks. More beer and "chef' samples a given.
Duncan’s notes:
The ½ cup of paprika seemed like too much to me, so I cut it in half (this wasn’t a taste thing, it just seemed like a lot the first time I made it and I've been happy with the altered results).
Be sure to re-read this every time you make ribs. After a few times, you’ll have the process memorized, but the instructions make me laugh and are worth the read.
These instructions reference an “Ideal range” etc for smoker temp. This is based on the Brinkman charcoal smoker. You can find them for about $35 at Ace hardware, they also have them at walmart…not sure of the price.
I picked up some racks that hold the ribs vertical while smoking. I think I found those at Walmart in the grill section (or I might have ordered them from Brinkman). You can fit way more in and they turn out awesome. I’ve cooked enough ribs and a pork butt for 18 people with my smoker.
My smoker runs cool, so I picked up a charcoal rack accessory that allows the ash to fall below the coals. I ordered this directly from Brinkman.
I use a chimney to start my briquettes, and I use the chimney to start any that I'm going to add later. I don't like to put unlit charcoal into the smoker.
Welding gloves make a nice accessory…you can wear them to remove racks, open the access door to add briquettes, etc. You’ll also need some decent tongs.
Finally, be prepared. Once your friends and relatives sample your ribs and pulled pork, you’ll be hounded incessantly to make more.
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