We actually came up with this recipe and method basically, of cooking pork butts
when I was doing a lot of charity work. I love giving back to my communities, but sometimes
we just need to get 200 pounds of pork done - and so choosing those smaller pork butts, putting them
in the pan makes it easy. We still get all that wood fired flavor and a lot less cleanup and mess.
All right, so we're going to make the easiest ever pulled pork. So there's a couple of tools here..
we've got apple juice, Traeger pork and poultry rub.. we've got a pork butt that's about eight
pounds, and the key to this all - this is a disposable aluminum pan. One of the most important
things about doing the easiest ever pulled pork and my method just works like brilliantly easy
is that this pork butt - as you can see we've got it all wiped off.. okay there we go - has
to go and fit into the pan, but it can't touch the sides and the reason is - is that we want to
make sure that that delicious wood-fired you know goodness and smoke gets all the way to the bottom.
So, you don't want it touching the sides and then you want to get it all seasoned up.
So that eight pound range usually works for this. All right so - next step to this is really simple.
Generously spritz it with apple juice, or peach nectar, or bourbon, or beer - whatever
liquid you like. All of those will work, I just prefer fruit juices because it really does help
build up that delicious bark on the outside. So, generously spritzed everywhere and then
go to town with seasoning. At least three quarters of a cup, to a cup of barbecue rub. Remember,
this is eight pounds of meat and we want to make sure that has great flavor, so be super generous,
just like that. Now, get to rubbing your butt. You want to make sure all of the sides are
covered - from the bottom to the top.. and do it in the pan to make your life easier, because
anything that's left over in the pan is just going to give you more flavor later on. Rub that butt.
Easiest ever pulled pork. Simple. No trimming, no nothing. A pan, lots of room around the sides,
apple juice, Traeger pork and poultry... and then right before you go to the
grill - spritz it again because smoke is water soluble, we want to create delicious bark.
Let's go to the grill.
So, for me at home - a lot of times I'll actually custom blend my own stuff. I'll take half cherry,
half hickory.. sometimes I'll take half mesquite, half cherry. You know, for my big cooks a lot of
times though, it's a base of hickory and a sweet fruit wood. I like that balance between the two.
Fat cap on the bottom, and the grill is set to 225F degrees. Pop it in there uncovered,
close the lid and don't come back until it gets to 170 to 180 degrees F, unless you
want to spritz every 45 minutes to an hour with apple juice.. really simple.
Good morning everybody, we have had this gorgeous pork butt on the traeger grill overnight.
This is the easiest ever recipe on how to make, you know, literally - delicious, succulent,
moist pulled pork - done on the grill, overnight. Easiest ever recipe. Take a look
at all that mahogany bark. That's what I'm here for. I'm
here for the bark, it's pristine. Got coffee, I got a pork butt.. life is good everybody.
So, when it comes to wrapping a pork butt,
I always like to echo the same rub that I used on the outside - on the interior package. So,
sprinkle on a little bit of traeger pork and poultry, for that added flavor boost.
You know, I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to heat - I'll fully admit that, so I use a very
moderate amount of hot sauce in my wrap.. but, if you're at your house and you love hot sauce
-load it up, put a cup in there if you want. I love that little bit of heat, but I don't want
it to overwhelm the flavor of the pork. One of my favorite kind of ingredients that I love using
in pulled pork wraps is ghee. See, ghee has all the milk solids already taken out of it - it's
a little nuttier, but you can always swap in a margarine based product.. you can always swap
in regular butter, but I love the texture. It's almost sensual that it gives pork, that little bit
of buttery goodness is great in the background. We want to enhance some of that sweetness,
so - whether it's light brown sugar or dark brown sugar.. heck, you could even use molasses or corn
syrup, but add a little note of sweetness in there and everything will come to the party.
So when you do a wrap you need to add a little bit of moisture in there.
It'll actually help steam out the pork, and actually break down the fibers of the meat.
I love using apple juice, apple cider.. I've even used pineapple juice, peach nectar...
you could even throw a soda in there if you wanted to.
So up until this point we've been smoking the pork low and slow at 225 degrees,
but once the pork is wrapped with foil, feel free to turn it up to 275 degrees
fahrenheit - that way you'll expedite the cooking process & get it done a little quicker.
So, how do you know when your pork is done? It's a really important question.
So, basically you want to use a digital thermometer, and when you put it into the
pork it should have little to no resistance. Usually that's somewhere anywhere around 202
to 208 degrees F - and then, you've got to let it rest. A minimum of one hour.
All right, this is truly one of my favorite moments in all things cooked barbecue. It's
that second that you can pull that bone out. Look at that.. and my thumb's on that part, but look
at how clean that bone is it is smoking hot. This is a great indication that your pork butt
has completed its entire cooking cycle, because this tendon releases when everything's good to go.
I love using my hands to sort pork, I use basic knit gloves with nitrile gloves over them,
that gives me enough protection. As I'm going through the pork, I'm not
just shredding it up and throwing it in a pan - I'm actually shredding it and removing any gristle
and fat that may be in it.. and that way you end up with a really - what I consider a clean pork.
Don't waste a single drop of those pan drippings make sure once you've got all your pork shredded
up, use all those pan juices and drizzle it all over those succulent moist pieces of pork.
I love to talk about the versatility of pulled pork. Yes, we have this great classic sandwich -
with slaw and a you know just a traditional regular white bun.. but pulled pork is awesome.
You can make shepherd's pie, nachos, pizza, empanadas - you can go in a million directions
with pulled pork. It is truly, once it's cooked, one of the most versatile barbecue leftovers ever.