RayClem
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 4, 2022
- Messages
- 1,401
- Media
- 38
- Reaction score
- 1,273
- Location
- Chicago suburbs
- Grill
- Ironwood 885, Char-Griller Flat Iron Premium griddle, InkBird Sous Vide
I am very new to pellet smokers. I have primarily used gas grills for many years. But they say you are never too old to learn new tricks, so I got an Ironwood 885. I am glad I did.
I grew up in Virginia where peanut fed hogs are world famous. I now live in Chicagoland. Chicago was once considered the "hog butcher of the world" a title bestowed upon the city by the poet Carl Sandburg. The stockyards are no more, but pork of all kinds is still found in the Windy City. Thus, I am a big fan of barbecued pork.
After a successful cook of some pork tenderloins, I thought I would set my sights on something a little larger. So it was off to the local Meijer store. While looking through the meat chillers, I came across some Pork Shoulder Butts that were marked 1/2 price as they are approaching the sell by date. I picked up one slightly more than 9# for $1.49 per pound, not bad in these days of inflated prices. Here is my story.
I trimmed off any lose meat and trimmed the fat cap down to a thin layer. I don't need the extra fat as I am fat enough.
I gave the butt a good slap and slathered it with Mustard Girl Horseradish Mustard. I am not a fan of plain yellow mustard, so I did not have any in the cupboard. I seasoned the butt with a good coating of Chicago Chop seasoning from The Spice Lab and All American Seasoning & Rub from Pork Barrel BBQ. That added both flavor and color. The meat went back into the refrigerator overnight.
I preheated the grill to 250 degrees F using Expert Grill Sweet Blend pellets from Walmart. I had used Pit Boss Apple Blend for the tenderloins, so I wanted to try something different. I liked the Sweet Blend well enough to add another bag to my shopping list.
I added a mixture of apple cider vinegar and apple juice to a tray placed on the bottom rack of the Ironwood to keep the meat moist. I am really glad I used the tray as there was quite a mess left in the tray after the cook. I would not have wanted to clean that mess out of the grill. Unfortunately, I forgot to cover the tray with aluminum foil, so I did have some cleanup work to do.
The meat went on the top shelf. I checked it every couple of hours, spritzing it with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and apple juice. I turned the meat 180 degrees after four hours. After six hours of smoking, the internal temp was about 155 degrees and the bark looked good. I monitored the cook using both the Traeger probe and another thermometer from Tudoccy which seems to be more accurate than the one from Traeger.
I wanted the cook to finish about 4:00 pm so I could pull it for an early supper. I would have liked the meat to remain unwrapped for the full cook to develop more smoke flavor and an even better bark, but I was afraid that it might not come up to full temperature so I decided to place the meat on a rack in an aluminum pan tightly wrapped with aluminum foil. I added a mixture of 1/3 apple cider vinegar, 1/3 apple juice, and 1/3 Kinder's Organic Mild BBQ Sauce. Initially, I mixed the ACV and Kinder's, but that was way too sour. The apple juice diluted the vinegar and added some sweetness to produce a more balanced flavor.
The pork when back into the Ironwood for another 3 1/2 hours until it was probe tender. While that was cooking, I soaked a couple of ears of corn on the cob and placed them in the smoker along with the meat.
I removed the meat from the smoker and allowed it to cool slightly. When I removed the aluminum foil, I found the aluminum pan was nearly full of juices from the meat along with the marinade I had added at the start. The bone came out of the butt easily and the meat was not difficult to pull using meat claws. There was a nice smoke ring under the bark. The bark itself was a little salty, but the meat inside was tender, flavorful and juicy. After pulling the pork, I poured all of that liquid over top the meat,
When we sat down to eat, I placed a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's original BBQ sauce on the table. That sauce is ubiquitous in the Chicago area. However, we never opened the bottle. The meat was smoky, sweet, and spicy without the need for additional sauce.
Since it is just my wife and I, we should get a total of ten meals from the pulled pork. That will be some good eating.
I will probably try either some St Louis style ribs, rib tips or a full slab of spare rib sometime this summer. In many places rib tips are considered scrap meat removed in the trimming of spare ribs to get St Louis style ribs. In the Chicago area, BBQ rib tips are considered a delicacy.
I grew up in Virginia where peanut fed hogs are world famous. I now live in Chicagoland. Chicago was once considered the "hog butcher of the world" a title bestowed upon the city by the poet Carl Sandburg. The stockyards are no more, but pork of all kinds is still found in the Windy City. Thus, I am a big fan of barbecued pork.
After a successful cook of some pork tenderloins, I thought I would set my sights on something a little larger. So it was off to the local Meijer store. While looking through the meat chillers, I came across some Pork Shoulder Butts that were marked 1/2 price as they are approaching the sell by date. I picked up one slightly more than 9# for $1.49 per pound, not bad in these days of inflated prices. Here is my story.
I trimmed off any lose meat and trimmed the fat cap down to a thin layer. I don't need the extra fat as I am fat enough.
I gave the butt a good slap and slathered it with Mustard Girl Horseradish Mustard. I am not a fan of plain yellow mustard, so I did not have any in the cupboard. I seasoned the butt with a good coating of Chicago Chop seasoning from The Spice Lab and All American Seasoning & Rub from Pork Barrel BBQ. That added both flavor and color. The meat went back into the refrigerator overnight.
I preheated the grill to 250 degrees F using Expert Grill Sweet Blend pellets from Walmart. I had used Pit Boss Apple Blend for the tenderloins, so I wanted to try something different. I liked the Sweet Blend well enough to add another bag to my shopping list.
I added a mixture of apple cider vinegar and apple juice to a tray placed on the bottom rack of the Ironwood to keep the meat moist. I am really glad I used the tray as there was quite a mess left in the tray after the cook. I would not have wanted to clean that mess out of the grill. Unfortunately, I forgot to cover the tray with aluminum foil, so I did have some cleanup work to do.
The meat went on the top shelf. I checked it every couple of hours, spritzing it with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and apple juice. I turned the meat 180 degrees after four hours. After six hours of smoking, the internal temp was about 155 degrees and the bark looked good. I monitored the cook using both the Traeger probe and another thermometer from Tudoccy which seems to be more accurate than the one from Traeger.
I wanted the cook to finish about 4:00 pm so I could pull it for an early supper. I would have liked the meat to remain unwrapped for the full cook to develop more smoke flavor and an even better bark, but I was afraid that it might not come up to full temperature so I decided to place the meat on a rack in an aluminum pan tightly wrapped with aluminum foil. I added a mixture of 1/3 apple cider vinegar, 1/3 apple juice, and 1/3 Kinder's Organic Mild BBQ Sauce. Initially, I mixed the ACV and Kinder's, but that was way too sour. The apple juice diluted the vinegar and added some sweetness to produce a more balanced flavor.
The pork when back into the Ironwood for another 3 1/2 hours until it was probe tender. While that was cooking, I soaked a couple of ears of corn on the cob and placed them in the smoker along with the meat.
I removed the meat from the smoker and allowed it to cool slightly. When I removed the aluminum foil, I found the aluminum pan was nearly full of juices from the meat along with the marinade I had added at the start. The bone came out of the butt easily and the meat was not difficult to pull using meat claws. There was a nice smoke ring under the bark. The bark itself was a little salty, but the meat inside was tender, flavorful and juicy. After pulling the pork, I poured all of that liquid over top the meat,
When we sat down to eat, I placed a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's original BBQ sauce on the table. That sauce is ubiquitous in the Chicago area. However, we never opened the bottle. The meat was smoky, sweet, and spicy without the need for additional sauce.
Since it is just my wife and I, we should get a total of ten meals from the pulled pork. That will be some good eating.
I will probably try either some St Louis style ribs, rib tips or a full slab of spare rib sometime this summer. In many places rib tips are considered scrap meat removed in the trimming of spare ribs to get St Louis style ribs. In the Chicago area, BBQ rib tips are considered a delicacy.
