Do-It-Yourself Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwiches

The standard, blue-tinted hickory smoke ascends into the first light of a new day, a new year at the pit. We fired up the coals rather early today, tho the sun was up already. It’s just that we had to get an early start of it if we wanted pulled pork for supper. The big meats roll like that, as you know. And we had a genuine hankering, as they call it, for some authentic, slow-smoked, pulled pork sandwiches. And save for a sortie to the nearest BBQ shack, there is only one way to get real pulled pork – you wait for it.

Waiting comes with the package of Do-It-Yourself BBQ. That’s just how it works. If you’re used to having your spoils swiftly in life, and don’t lend well to, say, loitering in your man chair with a lovely beverage for the better part of 5 hours for a taste of rib meat, then BBQ may not be the thing for you. BBQ only comes to those who wait, you see. So once you figure out how to do that, then you’re well on your way, mentally at least, to some succulent, home-spun BBQ.

On the pit we plunked a big, old, pork butt, with a few of it’s kindred spore tucked around it’s flanks for good company. The smaller the butt, the quicker they cook it’s true, but that’s not the point here. Pork butts as a crude rule run at about an hour and half per pound, and you want to get them up to anywhere between 195 to 205 internal. Or until they pull apart in a savory way that which matches your expectations. Pork butts are perhaps the most forgiving of the big meats in the BBQ arena, and if you’re just getting into the art of smoking meat, pulled pork is a fool-proof dish to start with. Just set your pit to 225 -250 degrees, toss a few chunks of your favorite smoke wood on to the coals, and let the meat take it’s course from there. If you have a good pit with even heating, you don’t need to flip the meat over. You don’t even need to wrap it in foil. Harbor no offence to this, but the less you touch it, the better.

 

I suppose we ought to elaborate how we seasoned the pork butt. Well, if you fancy a good bark on your BBQ, starting your seasoning process with a good mustard slather certainly can’t hurt. Paint the meat over with some mustard, and do so every where. No, you will not taste the mustard in the final product, but what it does do is serve as an adhesive agent. Such provides something nice for your rub to stick to. The more rub that sticks, combined with lots of time and lots of smoke, equals amazing bark on your BBQ. So we slathered the butt up in some cheap mustard, and then liberally dashed if over with Miners Mix Manards Memphis Rub. You can use of course what ever rub you like, we just happen to like this stuff lately.

Once your butt is slathered and seasoned, and placed henceforth on the pit at 225 – 250 degrees, and some smoke wood added to the coals, the hardest part of your day is done. All you have to do from here is wait for it. And this is where most pit jockeys are at their very best. Now is the hallowed time where you may go to the ice box and draw yourself a manly beverage. Now is the time where taking up roost in your favorite man chair, with an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie is also a good call. If the wife sees such acts of laziness but deplorable in her eyes, then, if you must, you can always flip out a proper chair by the pit itself, and declare you are working on supper there. Silently plying your innate, God-given craft for smoke and meat for the betterment of your family. They usually leave you alone at that point, and with any luck, you may be able to nod off a bit there, where the wood smoke tapers into a blue sky. Ah the rigors of BBQ!

Whence your plunder is pull-able, do so, and then stir in some of your favorite sauce. Game over. Inhale henceforth at your soonest convenience.

Do-It-Yourself Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwiches. You will not find more authentic BBQ than this. It’s the real thing, people. And any body can do it! Oh yeah, it tastes amazing too!