How to Use your Smoker for the Best Darn Pork Butt!

How to use your smoker to make the best darn pork butt ... preparation is the key!

Get an 8 pound pork butt ... now that is actually a pork shoulder, but "butt" is more FUN to say!

4 cups wood chips, ( I like to use hickory) soak them in water for 1 hour

Preheat your BBQ smoker grill to 225 degrees F. I use an electric smoker to keep the temp steady.

Inject the pork butt with brine about every 2-inches:

Brine:
1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

combine the brine until the salt and sugar dissolve and fill up your meat syringe.

Now rub with marinade:

Marinade:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons of chopped garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Place all the marinade ingredients into a blender and whip until smooth.

Let's get serious now with a dry rub:

Dry Rub:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sweet paprika
1/4 cup coarse salt
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup dry mustard
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Old Bay crab boil seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Rub this on generously. Once you have given your pork all this kind of "love" it is ready for the smoker grill! Place the pork on the grill, directly over the drip pan and cook. Be sure to keep the temperature steady if you are using charcoal.

After 6 hours, spray the pork with cider mop every half hour. You can actually mop this on or use a spray bottle, which is what I do. Cook until a thermometer placed into the thickest part of pork reaches 195 degrees F.

Cider Mop Spray:
1 cup apple juice
1 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar

Once the butt comes up to 195F take it out of the smoker and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the bone and chop or "pull" the pork making sure that you mix in some of the really tasty outer area with the juicy inner meat ... WOW ... I am starting to salivate here!

Serve with sandwich rolls, your favorite side dishes along with a BBQ sauce of your choice and you, my friend, have a terrific feast! Invite your family and friends and PS. Please invite ME!

Learning how to use a smoker just takes commitment, so practice, practice, practice.