Pulled pork anything is very trendy now, but it’s one of the oldest BBQ specialties around. BBQ4Dummies strongly recommends pulled pork as your first attempt at BBQ. Barbequing a shoulder is incredibly easy and very forgiving. You have to try to screw this one up.

First, a little about the cut itself. A pork shoulder consists the upper portion of the hog’s front leg. There are  two parts to the shoulder, the pork butt, sometimes referred to as Boston Butt,  and the picnic. The picnic is often used for making ham, thus the term, “picnic ham.”

Often the cuts are not distinguished properly, so if we hear pork butt or Boston Butt or pork shoulder, it’s going to be one of the two parts. The pork butt is the traditional cut for pulled pork, but this time I’m using a picnic. It was $.98 per pound from Wal-Mart, and I like the slightly “hammy” taste of a picnic over a butt. I am using 10 lbs. pre-cook weight, bone in. I can’t think of any cut of meat where bone-in isn’t better for BBQ.

Ingredients

Pork Shoulder, butt or picnic as detailed above, about 10 lbs.

Yellow mustard

Molasses

Pork Rub

Cheap, soft white hamburger buns. Basic, nothing fancy.

Cole Slaw (see below for recipe and ingredients)

Barbeque Sauce, vinegar based, thin consistency. If you don’t have this, don’t want to make it up, or can’t find it, you can thin out any sauce with some white vinegar. Put some BBQ sauce in a saucepan, heat to medium, and slowly add white vinegar until the consistency is very fluid, not much thicker than water.

Prep is simple. After working the picnic over well with my Marinade Turbocharger, I first trimmed off about 3/8ths inch of the fat cap. We need some fat to retain moisture in low and slow cooking, but as is often the case with untrimmed brisket, there’s too much fat for any beneficial use. After the fat is trimmed, simply coat the pork with a light film of yellow mustard, then a generous coating of molasses, and then cover with a good pork rub.

It’s best if the fat cap is facing up when cooking. That way the fat will actually run through the  meat rather than simply be rendered down to the bottom of your pit.

Now that the shoulder is cooking, it’s time to make the cajun slaw. You can refrigerate it for as little as 6 hours, but overnight is even better if you’re an advanace planner. Here’s the recipe:

Cajun Cole Slaw

INGREDIENTS FOR REMOULADE SAUCE:

•            1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

•            1/2 cup Creole mustard (I use Grey Poupon )

•            1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

•            1 tsp hot sauce

•            1/2 cup Heinz Hot & Spicy ketchup (I used Chili Sauce, seemed to work).

•            1/4 cup minced red bell pepper

•            1/4 cup minced yellow bell pepper

•            1/2 cup minced celery

•            1 tbs finely minced garlic

•            1/4 cup minced parsley

•            1/2 tbsp lemon juice

•            salt and cracked black pepper to taste

INGREDIENTS FOR SLAW:

•            4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

•            3/4 cup shredded red cabbage

•            3/4 cup Remoulade sauce

Mix together well, and refrigerate

Pork shoulders are a tough piece of meat, and this one took 8 1/2 hours to finish, keeping the BBQ temperature around 225 degrees with an internal  temp reading of 185 degrees. You can let it get to 200 degrees and it will be fine; don’t pull it until it’s at least 185 however. It’s safely cooked at 170, but this cut needs to be thoroughly cooked in order to pull it easily in shreds.

Double wrap in foil, wrap a beach towel around it, and place in insulated cooler for at least two hours. If you skip this step your pork will not have the flavor depth you desire. By “letting set,” we’re letting the juices re-disperse throughout the roast.

When the resting time has passed, place the roast on a cutting board ,and first check to see if there is a fat cap that can be easily removed. You’ll know–poke around with the broad edge of a knife blade, and if it’s there the knife will pick it up easily. Then, grab a fork, and start sheading! You can’t over do it, just dig in and pull hard. When you’re done you’ll have a platter full of shreaded pork, and that’s pulled pork!

Here’s the order of prep.

1.  Lay each side of the bun face up on a plate.

2.  Brush some BBQ sauce on each bun

3.  Spoon on a healthy portion of pulled pork on the bottom bun

4.  Add a little BBQ sauce, maybe a tablespoon

5.  Spoon on some slaw right over the pork.  A heaping tablespoon or two will do it.

6. Slap on the top bun, and serve

You’re done!

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1. BBQ Pork Ribs Done Right

Not that I’m the final authority on ribs, but there are a few basic steps I’d like to share.

Meat: Your choices will generally be spare ribs or back ribs. Spares are meatier and cheaper. Back ribs are smaller, and more expensive, but with less waste and a sweeter taste. Personally I prefer a quality spare, but they’re hard to find as most people now buy baby backs or back ribs. Regardless, unless you know your butcher wel, always buy Crovac and branded ribs, like Swift. You will pay slightly more but get much better quality usually than if they are locally cut. For sources, Costco is excellent, and Raley’s/Bel Air has comparable quality and are competitive when ribs are on ad.

Preparation: Few meats can be thrown on the grill or barbeque without some prep, and ribs are no exception. For spares,  the flap meat in back should be cut out and discarded. For either spares or back ribs, there is a thick membrane in back on the bone side that needs to be removed. Many people do not, and skipping this step will affect the flavor and tenderness of your product greatly. Here’s how to remove it:

1.  Start by working a butter knife between the meat and the membrane. Once you have the two separated, insert a finger between them and start slowly working the membrane away from the meat. There is a motion and feeling that will be very familiar but I won’t describe it as you’ll get it pretty quick;-)  If you’re good you can remove the entire membrane without breaking it. If you do, don’t worry, just pick up the process in the remaining membrane area.

IF you want a crunchy rib, and there are a few that prefer that texture, all you need to do is omit this membrane removal step, but score the membrane diagonally, both directions, like a series of “Xs.”

2.  Apply Rub A rub is a mixture of dry spices. You can make up your own, or as most do, buy a commercial product. Be sure you buy a pork or rib rub; these are sweeter than a general or beef rub.

This is not the time to be dainty. If you’re producing several racks you will  have your rub in an aluminum tray for dredging, but if you’re doing one or two you will probably sprinkle the rub on. Take off the stupid plastic thing with the holes, and dump out a tablespoon on the back, or bone side. Now, with your fingers, gently rub it in so all the surface is covered. Important!  Leave it set until you see the meat “sweat.”  This means the rub is being absorbed. Now, turn over the rack and repeat on the meat side. The finished rack will look like this

Refrigerate from 4-12 hours. Longer and the meat may turn mushy. less and the rub will not have the penetrating effect desired.

Whatever you do, never marinate pork ribs. It’s just wrong.

If you’re using spares and want to produce “fall off the bone” ribs, use a restaurant trick and sprinkle with Adolf’s Meat Tenderizer 30 minutes ( no more) prior to putting the ribs on the grill. Be sure to use Adolph’s as it’s citrus based, and you don’t want an MSG product eating your stomach lining. This is a secret, and you don’t have to tell!  Be sparing here as Adolph’s is salty.

Cooking: Ribs can be barbequed or grilled, but you’re rarely hear of a grilled rib winning a competition. Low and slow is the key, and that means about 3 hours at 225 degrees. I use a rib rack which keeps them vertical for even heat and smoke. Hanging accomplishes the same thing. If you lay them flat on the grill, be sure to rotate the exposed sides every 30 minutes or so.

The rib is done when you pick them up with tongs at about half the length of the rack, rack inside the tongs, and the loose half starts to fall away from the bone. If you feel you’re within 20 minutes of finishing, apply a finishing sauce. If you’re using a thin BBQ sauce you can use that, or (heaven forbid) if you’re using a thick sauce, cut it with some water or vinegar and brush some on prior to pulling the ribs. This is a step used in competition, and provides a nice glaze and a little extra taste.

Let Set: DO NOT OMIT THIS STEP!  Never serve ribs off the grill. You will lose much of the smoke flavor as it’s in the extremities. First, double wrap the ribs in foil, and that means two layers of good, commercial grade aluminum foil. Then, wrap them in a beach towel. Then, put them in a cooler and let them set for at least two but not more than four hours. You will be amazed at how warm they still are, and how tender the meat has become over that time.

Serving: Never sauce ribs when serving. If your guests are experienced rib eaters, they will likely not want any sauce at all, however always put some on the side. As to sauce, pay attention to it and don’t just buy anything, like KC Masterpiece. That’s thick gooey stuff that should be illegal!  Get a fairly thin sauce, or thin out what you have with some vinegar. The ideal sauce will be hot on your throat, and sweet on your tongue. If it’s hot on your tongue, you’ve got too much cayenne. You can’t kill that; cut back next time. My favorite commercial sauce is Dreamland, and the sauce that I make up is close. If you don’t want to make your own, order some Dreamland from Alabama. You won’t be sorry.

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1. Stylie’s Grilled Baby Back Pork Ribs
2. Pulled Pork Sliders with Cajun Slaw
3. Darcy’s Grilled Zucchini Bruschetta

“Stylie” is a screen name for an active poster on a local community website in Elk Grove, CA.

Baby backs are traditionallly barbequed  at low temps, but here’s a recipe for grilling them. Stylie is a home brewer, and is a detail oriented guy. When we talked to him, here’s what he told us:

First, I started with fresh not previously frozen back ribs. My mother in law had just returned from Eastern Europe with some killer paprika, so I made up my own rub. Here’s how I covered the ribs.

But first, Stylie removed the membrane from the ribs. This step is integral to achieving the penetration of rubs or marinades.

Stylie uses a propane gas grill. The problem with a gas grill is that it’s hard to keep the temperature down to BBQ temps of 225 degreees or so.  Stylie’s has a three-burner grill, with the burners running right to left, not Weber-style, front to back.  He put an aluminum pan of water under the grill and over the most left burner, and set the temp to the lowest possible to maintain a temp of around 225 degrees F.

“You take one of those aluminum serving pans and fill it with hot water. Start your grill and get a consistent 225. The water pan fits under the metal grate and on top of the burner covers. The water will simmer, should never boil and keeps the air in the grill nice and moist which in turn helps the smoke linger longer. The simmering water also keeps the temperature consistent inside the grill even after quick openings to redo the foil chip pouches.”

And here are the ribs ready to grill

LC Comments: The doneness test  is the same as if the ribs were on a conventional barbeque. Using tongs, you grab the rack about in the middle. If the meat separates from the bone at the point beyond where the tongs are holding the rack, they’re done. If not, they’re done when they’re done!

Stylie reported a successful product, and said next time he’d use a little less rub. There you have it, grilled ribs!

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Related posts:

1. BBQ Pork Ribs Done Right
2. Pulled Pork Sliders with Cajun Slaw
3. LC’s Super Tasty Low Fat Pinto Beans