The Pulled Pork Experience

 

Might be the stuff of legends, stories told at family gatherings and whispered to neighbors. Here I am at 4:00 (yes! that is a.m.), packing the grill with a charcoal snake in preparation of dinner some 14 hours later. The meat went on at 6:00, and sat in 110 Deg C for over 12 hours before resting 90 minutes to settle. The trusted Weber Master Touch kept the temperature constant throughout the day, requiring just very little supervision. Highly recommended in this situation are the Weber briquettes as they burn forever with a solid heat output. Normally, the coal should snake 3/4 around the grill for 12 hours of heat. The Weber charcoal barely made it half round and we could put some unburned ones back. This was a bit less hectic than a normal BBQ as we just lit the grill and walked away, just adding water in a tray under the meat every 3 hours. 

Enough about the Grill. What you all came here for is the insights into how the meat was prepared. We ordered 3.3 Kg of pork shoulder butt. This was soaked in root beer for 36 hours, complete with rosemary and (lots of garlic). Drained, the rub came on. After the rub got on, the meat sat for another 24 24 hours before it finally went onto the grill. We decided to keep the fats on and the meat in a aluminum tray with foil to cover it. While we did not get crackling, we had the fat rendering, soaking the meats, keeping them juicy. The pulled pork from such a piece is enough for 10 persons eating. 

Recommended side: Cigar and peated Whisky

We have to do this again. So satisfying the result, considering that there is not much "work" involved. Also, cleaning the grill was quick and easy. Just a bit of soot to be rinsed off.