Smoked Pork
If you have a smoker and do smoke meat then for you this is just how I do this. I know smoking meat can get very technical but I have teenage kids that I have taught how to cook so I like to keep things fairly simple. The oven temp for pork is recommended at 225F but if your smoker is gas or wood burning it can be difficult to maintain so its ok if it creeps up to 250F. Experience with your smoker will help. After a few seasons you will be a champ so don't sweat it.
The worst thing that you can do is over smoke. How does one over smoke?
Letting the wood catch fire. That will create white smoke. White smoke is good for informing the world that we have a new Pope but not for smoking meat. It creates black, crusty creosote. Your meat will be bitter and unedible. Control the smoke with the ovens dampers. Air and heat make fire. If your wood catches fire close the dampers. The fire will go out. You will have better smoke. Don't crowd the smoke pan. Smoke one layer at a time. I started with chips but i now use chunks as they are easier to control. Your meat will benefit from a light smoke. Some people call this blue smoke. I call it beer time.
How long so i smoke?
Meat can only absorb so much smoke. I put the meat on the smoker when its cold. Cold meat will absorb smoke better. Meaning it will absorb more smoke. In my experience, four hours is best for pork but. Two hours for ribs. After that you take a risk of the smoke over powering everything else.
How long do I cook?
Regardless of the weight your target temp is 196F. How long that takes will depend on a few factors but the average is 11 hours.
Water pan.
Very simple. Keep water in the pan the entire time.
An interesting thing happens at 160F.
Its called the stall. the temp will hang around at 160-165F for hours before it finally starts to climb again. I wont go into the details but you can solve this and speed things up with a few sheets of foil. So when the time comes have two sheets of foil ready and quickly remove the meat from the smoker and wrap tightly in each sheet of foil. Rotate the meat 90 degrees for the second sheet. Stick your temp probe in then place it back in the smoker or in a pre-heated oven inside. This helps it push through the stall while retaining the juices.
Chopped or pulled?
The best Pit Boss restaurant in town chops their pork. I pull it. Why? While chopping is much quicker, pulling allows me to feel the meat and remove and large pieces of fat and the occasional grizzle from the cut.
Seasoning (Rub)
you can certainly go online and find great rubs for pork, ribs, chicken, and brisket but I use one rub for everything. Its called "
Memphis Dust". Why this one? There's this guy here in the US who calls himself
Meathead. He's won many awards and written a number of books one of which has made a list as one of the "25 best cookbooks of all time". He is the reason I can smoke meat. If you want to understand the science behind smoking meat
start here.
Wood?
Whatever wood you prefer. I'm a weekend smoker. I use Apple, pecan, oak, or cherry. How much can vary just have enough. You don't want to run out. 12-16 oz
Prepare the meat.
Start with any size bone in pork butt
Wash and dry with paper towels. If your using the "Dust" salt the meat before applying the rub. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Ready to cook.
Turn on the smoker. Have water in the pan and, (if you have a gas smoker) your tray of wood chips/chunks ready. This way your not wasting wood. Get the temp up to about 250f.
Take the meat straight from the fridge, remove the wrap, and place it in the smoker. Insert your pan of wood and open the dampers. When the smoke starts close the dampers. try to maintain 225-250f.
For the next four hours feed the tray with wood and keep water in the pan. After that wait till it reaches 160f then wrap in foil. Return to the smoker or place in pre-heated 225f oven. When the meat reaches 196-200f your finished. Remove it from the oven. You can shred it straight away or wait this the temp drops (keep in foil) so its easier to handle.
BBQ Sauce.
I make the "Kansas City Style Sauce" from the same site.
I dont add it to the meat but place it in a bowl on the table and let my guests slather on as much or as little as they like.
Enjoy