Slow cooked pork roasts, especially a Blade Roast, aka Boston Butt, is one of my favorites, but I never seem to have time to do one. Well, I got to thinking, maybe I could find something that would be just as tender and not take as long on my grill. I don’t own a “Green Egg” or “Tragger” or “Weber” slow cooker/pellet grill. However, I do have an awesome Broil King gas grill with a Rotisserie. So, I looked for a recipe that uses a Rotisserie and would come close to a long, long slow cook on a wood pellet grill.
I was hoping to repeat the incredible tender, juicy pork roast that I remember from one of the best neighborhoods we have ever lived in, Wood Valley. It’s located in Raleigh, NC. It’s a place we remember so fondly because of the community, friends, neighbors and unforgettable memories we made there. I remember being “volunteered” to help get the pigs and butts ready for the annual, Wood Valley Pig Pickin’. It was famous in Raleigh, well, maybe just in our neighborhood, but it was something very special. The “Boys” met at the community swim and racquet club at 5:30am. We split up duties and I went off with Bill Sinnett to get one of the 150 Gal Oil Drum cookers. We used three. Two were for the whole pigs we were roasting and the third was for 150lbs of pork butts. Others went off in separate directions to collect the pigs, the pork butts, the 50Qt pots to make the outstanding vinegar based sauce and all the other accoutrements. The homeowners attending were expected to bring dishes to share.
I won’t name the person, but one person was left behind to start creating the charcoal and burning wood to put in the cookers when they arrived. We wanted to get started as early as possible because we knew it would take all day and folks were expecting us to start serving around 5PM. The charcoal and burning embers were supposed to be started in a pit dug into the ground and would be kept going all day long so we could add burning embers and charcoal as needed. We were gone about an hour, and when we all arrived back, we discovered the fire hadn’t been started. Puzzled, and a little anxious, we looked for the person who was supposed to be tending the fire that wasn’t. No where to be found at the club house or pool area, we went on with our tasks, going off the get some additional tools and things we knew we would need.
When we got back, the “Firestarter” was there and was walking back from the clubhouse with a beer in his hand. Yep it was early, but early and day long beer drinking was part of the experience, so he had started without us. He was walking over to the pit as we asked where he had been. He explained that with all the dew from the previous night, it is the south and can be hot and humid from time to time, it had been impossible to get the fire going, even with the fire sticks. Several of us walked towards the pit and I suddenly noticed the smell of gasoline. “Firestarter” had put his beer on the ground and was pulling a pack of matches out of his back pocket. He continued to explain why he hadn’t been able to start the fire, how he had gone home and gotten his can of gasoline for his lawn mower and then soaked the wood when he had gotten back. He lit the match, threw it towards the pit and “WHOOSH, BOOM”. Suddenly, any of us near the pit, no longer had any hair on our legs. It was over in a flash and it was nothing more than the fumes flashing off when the match hit, but it sure got the heart pumping and it was one of those, “here, hold my beer moments”! We all started laughing, no one wanting to admit it had scared the hell out of all of us. I suddenly felt thirsty, so it was time to open my first beer of the day. We were a little late serving up the pork, but it was some of the best I’ve ever had.
Needless to say, I can’t repeat that experience every time I want pulled pork or tender, juicy bar-b-q pork. But the memory of that, and how it tasted, made me search for a good alternative that I could do at home.
This recipe is for any size butt. The one I made was 8 lbs and we did have a lot of leftovers. Prepping the Butt, and cooking it to the right internal temperature, is the key to its juiciness and tenderness.
Prep time: at least 8 hrs. – Cook time: 4 1/2 hours
Ingredients
As many beers as the Chef wants
1 – 8lb Blade Roast, aka Boston Butt
1/4C – Brown Sugar
3/4C – Salt
Cooking twine/string
1/2C – Paprika, smoked is best
1/3C – Brown Sugar
1/4C – Garlic Powder
2T – Black Pepper
2T – Chili Powder
2T – Onion Powder
2T – Chipotle Chili Powder
1T – Cumin
1T – Dry Mustard
The amount of Dry Rub you make will be enough to do two 8lb butts. I save the extra and will use it for another butt on the rotisserie, or it is an outstanding rub for pork chops or St Louis style pork ribs.
Making The Magic
Prep your Butt well in advance by marinating or “Brining” for at least 8 hours. I did mine overnight. Use hot water to melt 1/4C Brown Sugar and 3/4C Salt together, about 4 cups of hot water. Stir until well blended. Place the Butt in a container large enough to add about 8Qts of cold water and the sugar/water blend. You want the Butt to be completely covered in the brine/marinade. Put it in the fridge for at least 8 hours. Cover the container and let it sit. there’s no need to stir or shake the mixture.
At some point prior to pulling the Butt out of the fridge, get your rub ingredients together and blend them thoroughly. Mix the Paprika, Brown Sugar, Garlic, Onion, Chili Powders, Black Pepper, Cumin, and Dry Mustard. Be sure it is thoroughly blended. You want the ingredients to melt into the pork as you rub it on and while it’s cooking. These spices enhance one another as they heat up and blend with the fats and juices coming from the pork. As they darken, and they darken quite a bit, the flavors will intensify, blooming into a unique combination that will make your mouth water just thinking about it.
When the Butt has been brining for at least 8 hours remove it from the brine and pat it dry, all around. Once dry, you’ll want to evenly score the “fat cap” on the butt. DON’T trim the fat off! This is where a lot of flavor comes from, and it becomes the “cracklin” when it crisps and releases it’s juices.
Preheat your grill to about 350°. the lower the heat, the longer it will take to reach an internal temperature of 185° to 190°. That’s an important measure. The Butt has to reach that temperature in order to make it tender and juicy. This cut of pork has a lot of tendons and connective tissue that can make it very tough and chewy. However, it begins to break down and melts into the surrounding muscle tissue when it gets to around 175°. Cooking it too quickly, at higher temperatures, will also melt the connective tissue, but it will also burn off, and the juiciness will be lost, resulting in dry and tasteless pork.
The scoring will allow you to rub the spices into the fat cap and surface of the pork. Doing this will greatly enhance the flavor of the meat and it also allows the “cracklin” to develop. Officially, cracklin’ is the product of a whole, roasted pig, and what happens to the skin as it roasts. This is pretty close though.
Once dried and scored, you want to thoroughly rub the Butt with olive oil. Coat it all around because the oil is going to begin the process of melting the dry rub into the Butt. Once coated with the oil, sprinkle and rub the blended spices into the Butt.
Rub the spices into the scoring and on all sides. Don’t be afraid to get your hands in there. It washes off. Just don’t rub your eyes or nose if they start to itch!
After the Butt is well crusted with the rub, you’ll want to truss it up with the cooking twine. It’s not absolutely necessary, but you run the risk of the meat falling apart and off the spit, when the connective tissue and tendons begin to break down and melt. Just add or replace any of the areas where you knock the rub off.
Now that the Butt is trussed and completely encrusted with the rub, you’ll want to skewer the butt on the spit. Because of the position and shape of the bone in this cut, remember, it’s a should blade cut of pork, not really a part of the butt, it was necessary to skewer this by running through the narrow part of the cut, side to side. Running it lengthwise would have caused the Butt to be offset and not centered on the skewer. This way, it just fit better on the spit and rotated better on the rotisserie.
Once the Butt is on the rotisserie, monitor the temperature to be sure it doesn’t get too high or low. I used a quick check meat thermometer to check the internal temp every hour. It’s important to let the Butt reach an internal temperature of 185° to 190°. When you take it off the rotisserie, it will continue to cook internally, so take it away from the heat as soon as you see it reach that temperature.
About 2 hours into the cooking I also added a “smoker box”. It’s an awesome way to get the flavoring of a smoke pit fire and still use a gas grill. This Butt will still have an incredible amount of flavor with out doing this. It’s completely optional, as far as I’m concerned. If you do want the smoke pit flavor, I used Hickory wood chips, soaked in water for about an hour, and placed in a stainless smoker box that fits on my grill. It goes directly on top of the sizzle plates of the grill, below the cooking grate. I turn the burner on, beneath the smoker box and monitor the temperature of the grill, when it starts to rise more than a few degrees I turn the burner off. I go back and forth with the burner to allow the Hickory chips to release their steam and start to smoke as the heat up and start to burn. It may be more work than you want to do, but I love the additional layer of flavor it adds. I have to do this on my grill because it has a dedicated rotisserie burner that is high up next to the meat that turns on the spit, not below it.
When the Butt has reached a temperature of 185° to 190° at the center, remove it from the heat and let it rest for about 15 minutes. The internal temperature will continue to rise for a few minutes and then start to drop. Cutting into the Butt too soon will release a large amount of the internal juices onto the cutting board. That’s not where you want them.
The rub will begin to darken as the Butt cooks. The brown sugar caramelizes, and the paprika and chili powders all darken and create really intense flavors in the fat cap. Without the trussing, it’s possible the meat could just fall apart, or even off the spit. It does just fall off the bone when you you carve it up.
Now it’s time to carve into this beauty. One section of this cut will be perfect for chopping and pulling apart. Another section, on the other side of the bone will have a beautiful hunk of pork that will be perfect for slicing. You’ll see this as you cut into the Butt yourself. It can all be chopped and pulled, if that’s your preference.
Having learned how to do this on my gas grill and rotisserie opens up a whole new layer of grilling I hadn’t tried before. Gas grills are not generally viewed as something you use to “slow cook” meats, by most folks. I was one of them, but I so wanted to recreate that taste of a Boston Butt, cooked in a smoke pit for hours, I decided I had to at least give it a try. OMG, I’m so glad I did!
Variations To Keep It New
There are so many rubs out there, the variations are endless. Make a vinegar based bar-b-q sauce to go with this. It’s my absolute favorite with chopped pork bar-b-q. There are 4 other types of wood chips you can try, to change the smoke flavor. My favorite is Hickory, and not because I live in Hickory, NC.
Wines We Love With This
BEER! – There are so many microbreweries that make awesome beers in North Carolina, I could list twenty or more and still just be scratching the surface. There’s an amber ale, called Independence Harbor, brewed in Rochester, NY and sold at Aldi’s that is awesome, especially given the price.
Sweet Tea – THE Southern Table Wine!
Pinot Grigio
Leftovers
Holy cow, there are so many things to do with this. One of my favorites is to use this in a Cuban sandwich. The recipe and the technique for making a Cuban, without a sandwich press will be coming next week. It’s also part of my “Dinner and a Movie” series. This is inspired by the movie “Chef”. Find the movie and be ready to watch it while you enjoy one of the best, and simplest of sandwiches that comes from our Cuban brothers and sisters.
Great memories are made with great food and great friends. Ya’ll come back now, ya hear!
Question
What is your favorite kind of bar-b-q, barbecue for those who can’t spell southern style.
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