So if you’re just learning how to smoke low and slow, a great place to start is with a bone-in Boston butt. I just can’t describe how delicious, fun, easy, and great this whole process is. You have to experience it for yourself to really know what I’m talking about.

Last month, I cooked a couple pork butts for my son Jamin’s first birthday party. Now I want to share some pictures and tips for cooking delicious pulled pork everyone will love.

Some experts will tell you to use fresh butts that were never frozen and some tell you to inject or marinate the meat overnight and some will tell you to let them rest for 30 minutes or so after they’re done before you pull them. This is great, and if you feel like doing the extra work, waiting, etc, you should probably do it.

But I can tell you, some of the best pulled pork I ever had was from a thawed pork butt, and I applied the rub just minutes before I set them on the smoker, and we were in no mood to wait half an hour to eat. And I promise it was extremely edible.

So my favorite theory in barbecue is this: barbecue is easy! (Once you have someone to teach you and you get some practice.) Of course, there are extra things you can do to make it better, but don’t let this stuff intimidate you. It is NOT rocket science, even competition style barbeque.

BBQ is about having a great time with family and friends, making memories, and producing some of the most delicious food on the planet.

Here are a few pictures from Jamin’s birthday barbecue and the train birthday cake my wife made. 

Click a photo to enlarge it.

How to Smoke Pork Butts

Here are a few quick tips on how to make your own outrageous pulled pork.

• Get your smoker up to 225–250 degrees F.
• Start with fresh or thawed pork butt with some nice fat marbling. The fat adds a lot of flavor and helps keep the meat juicy.
• Unwrap the meat, rinse it, and cut off any bloody, nasty-looking stuff.
• Cover it with yellow mustard (the kind you’d put on a hotdog). Sprinkle a generous layer of your favorite pork rub over the entire surface (edges, cracks, and all). Pat it down with your hand. Disposable gloves are handy for this.
• Load the meat onto the smoker grate and close the smoker.
• Add some fruit wood or your favorite smoking wood to the fire to kick up the smoke at the beginning. We smoke mostly with 100% hardwood charcoal briquettes and add a few pieces of wood at the beginning to create more smoke. The meat takes in more smoke when it’s cold than once it’s been in the heat for a while.
• Maintain your smoker at 225-250 degrees F.
• Spray the meat with apple juice about every hour to help keep the meat moist throughout the cook.
• Cook the meat for about 1½ hours per pound or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches about 200 degrees. This can easily take 8 hours or even 12 hours depending on the size of the meat and what the weather is like, etc.
• Extra tip: If the meat reaches the 170s and just hangs there for an hour or two, your butts might be ready to pull off. Sample it for tenderness and see how well it pulls apart. You want to be careful not to dry it out. Ultimately, you will need to determine when it’s done. This takes some skill, but remember, pork butts are easy to cook and hard to mess up if you keep the temperature fairly consistent.
• Pull it into small chunks or strips with forks or gloved hands.
• Eat it with hamburger buns (or homemade bread), cheese, and your favorite barbecue sauce. I enjoy coleslaw (finely-shredded) on my pulled pork sandwiches too.

How to Store Left-Over Pulled Pork

Here’s a great way to deal with left-over pulled pork. Freeze it in quart-size freezer bags. When you’re ready to eat some, thaw one bag in the refrigerator, and then put it in a kettle of water over medium low heat.

Indescribable!

Lavern

Click on a photo to enlarge it.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
4 cups sliced peppers
2 cups sliced onions
Favorite barbecue rub
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
10 brats

Lay the brats on your grill grate and season them with your favorite rub. Grill the brats over direct heat until they are well browned on two sides.

Once the brats are cooking on the grill, put a skillet on the stovetop or an outdoor burner, such as your grill side burner. Brown the butter in the skillet, then add the peppers and onions. Stir these often to keep them from burning. After it cooks down add a liberal sprinkling of rub and the barbecue sauce. Mix it well.

Serve the grilled brats on hotdog buns or homemade bread with the topping and sliced cheese. You may also enjoy ketchup, mustard, and other condiments with your sandwiches.

Extremely easy and edible!

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

Lavern

Enjoy the slideshow!

Lavern

Marlin Grills Chicken on His Day Off

Spicing up the Chicken

Marinaded Grilled Chicken

What ya think?

My Dinner

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Split Chicken Breasts

Smoking Under the Porch Roof While It Rains

My Delicious Smoked Chicken Breasts

Sorry You Can't Have the Whole Piece!

• 
• 
• 
• 

What have you been cooking this Spring? I would love to see your photos! You can post them to my wall on my Facebook page here after you “Like” my page. Or just leave a text comment on this post.

Keep on cooking!

Lavern

Later in the week, we have grilled steak and chicken on the menu also.

Grilled Burgers and Hotdogs

View of the Pamlico Sound From Our Deck

Proof You Can Cook Great Food Without Fancy, Sparkling Equipment

Sunset View From the Top Story of Our Rental House

Lavern

PS. (Warning: Do not eat your computer screen; it may quit working.)

Click on a photo to enlarge it and start the slideshow. Leave a comment to let me know what you think.

I’ve wanted a small backyard smoker for quite a while, so I’m quite delighted. Mine has a second tier grate and one of those optional grill pans, so I can grill steaks and burgers, OR smoke ribs, chicken, brisket, or whatever with an offset firebox.

We also fired up the BBQ26S Chicken Cooker and grilled some steaks, which I had marinated overnight and seasoned with a homemade mixture. Of course, everything turned out delicious, and we had lots of left-overs.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Signing off for more of those birthday ribs,

Lavern

PS. Thanks, honey.

Download Mouth-Watering Barbecue Screensaver

If you like to cook outdoors, you won’t want to miss this!

Lavern Gingerich

PS. Sorry, my new screensaver only runs in Microsoft Windows. If you’re running Windows, pick up your copy here.

To learn more about the revolutionary concept of Meadow Creek’s chicken cookers, visit our Chicken Cookers page.

Check out my pictures and leave a comment to let me know how you like it.

Warning: Your mouth may start watering! Be prepared to get hungry.

I hope you enjoyed the BBQ. Let me know what you think with a comment.