Taking a break from the Tyler Recipes - BBQ anyone?

I've decided to take a break from just blogging about Tyler recipes but didn't want to start a new blog and risk losing thousands of loyal followers, so from now on you can read about everything I'm cooking.  That was a long sentence and probably a run on but since I'm no longer in school and not being graded, I'll continue to put as many thoughts as I want into once sentence, just seperating them with commas and the occasional semi or regular colon; henceforth and not withstanding furter addendums that may arise as I type about whatever I damn well please.

My love of BBQ started at the young age of 9 when I spent a summer working on a farm in South Carolina.  It was Camp Farm Summer BBQ!  Every friday night we'd gather around the old oak tree, sing songs, and eat bbq.

Old timey clothes were optional but since everyone else was wearing them, I decided to play along.

 Okay, I never went to summer farm camp when I was 9, it was when I was 13.   But seriously, I never went to this camp and I just made up the whole thing.  But it sounds pretty awesome so maybe I'll start a BBQ summer camp someday.  Until that day happens, I'll just do it in my backyard.

A few weeks ago I bought myself a smoker.  I researched the brands, types and finally decided on the Masterbuilt Electric Smoker with built in meat probe!  Meat probe is a fun word to say.  I dare you to say it a few times without laughing.

There's my new baby!  About the size of a tall mini fridge.  Propped it up on some old bricks I found around the house. 

Now the BBQ purists out there will look down upon me for buying an electric smoker.  It still uses wood, but no charcoal so it's probably the equivalent of using a gas grill instead of charcoal one.  I chose the electric due to it's convenience factor (maintains temperature) and ease of use.  Pop in some chips, fill the water pan, set the temp and time and you're good to go!

With the smoker heating up, it was time to prep the meat.  I started with an 8lb pork butt (not from the butt of the pig, but the shoulder.  Why is it called butt then?  Not sure and don't care.  Moving on).

Notice the nice marbling of fat and meat.  You want to get a nice fat to meat marbling going on in there.  It keeps the meat juicy while cooking.

I decided to use this recipe that I found googling around the web.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pork4.html

Maybe it was the championship in the title that got me or the great pics.  I hate recipes with no pics.  How do you know it came out well if you have nothing to compare it to?

So I first mixed up the dry rub and injection solution.

Now comes the fun part of trimming the fat cap off the pork.  It's actually pretty gross so I won't go into detail.  Some recipes say to leave it on but I like the school of thought for taking it off so you can get more rub on the meat.

I'm glad this one came out blurry but you get the idea.

Kitchen scissors work well for getting under the fat cap.  Snip Snip. 
Note:  Plaid flannel shirt not required, but recommended attire for cooking BBQ.

After trimming it, you inject it with the solution and then rub it down with the rub.  

Rub a dub dub, bring on the grub.

   Now place it in the smoker and wait, and wait and wait and wait.  Depending on the size and temperature (I cooked between 220 and 240) you can expect it to take between 8-12 hours.  During the cooking process I occasionally added more wood (used Cherry wood) and sprayed the meat with apple juice.

After about 4 hours.  Meat probe nicely inserted.  Make sure it's not touching the bone. "Keep your meat probe off my bone," said the pork butt as I gently inserted the probe.

   
The important thing is that you have to cook it to at least 190 degrees.  I used the built in meat probe (hehe) as well as an instant read digital thermometer.  I ended up cooking it a little over 190 but it didn't seem to make a difference.

And here's what it should look like when it's done.

That is a work of bbq art!  I've already made it my desktop background and ordered a poster print for my office wall.

While it's still hot, you can slice it or shred it up.  Make sure to use large forks, meat paws, or insulated gloves.  I used gloves which worked marvelously.  It should come apart easily and the bone will slide out.  If not, then it hasn't cooked long enough or our meat probe/thermometer is wrong.

Pulled pork! 

Eat it plain, mix it up with some sauce or put in on a bun and have yourself an awesome sandwich!

Ate this at 11pm.  Had to try it hot out of the smoker.  Also tasted good reheated the next day.

As my first foray into the world of real slow smoked BBQ, I was very pleased with the results.  Had a mild smokey flavor, tender juicy meat, and delicate mix of sweet and spicy bark.  Being a certified BBQ judge (see pic below),

Certified Barbecue Judge (CBJ) # 62178 reporting for duty!

I've been trained (took a 4 hour class) on the art of tasting and evaluating bbq.  And on a scale of 2-9 (9 being the best) I'd say this rates at a 8 for appearance, 7 for taste, and 7 for tenderness.  It was excellent but there is always room for improvement.

I also cooked up some ribs,

3 racks of Baby Backs courtesy of the neighbors via Alpine Butcher.

  
chicken,

Drumsticks with a basic rub smoked in Hickory.

 
John Legend's mac and cheese,

http://www.marthastewart.com/348566/john-legends-macaroni-and-cheese

 

 

 

 

and collard greens,

  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/collard-greens-recipe/index.html

for the big game on Sunday.  Even though our team didn't win (and I'm just getting over it now), I still enjoyed a wonderful dinner with our neighbors. 

 

Special thanks to Sam, Jules, Monica and Jason for sharing in this BBQ feast.  The first of many to come!


Coming up next:   Whatever I feel like making.  Any suggestions?