So every year for the past 35 years my family has spent the night of July 3rd slow smoking some form of pork for pulled pork BBQ the next day. For the most part when my grandfather was alive he smoked a whole 130+lb hog. I took over the tradition in 2005 following his death.
I mainly stick to Boston Butt cuts of pork because they are on average 50% fat, 50% lean and they produce the best flavored pulled pork BBQ out there IMO. This year I purchased 3 that all weighed between 8 and 9lbs. I also bought some full racks of ribs to slow smoke. I know most of this food is very bad for me with the recent diabetes diagnosis, but its just 1 day out of the year for me.
Knowing that I would be up all night cooking these butts I treated myself to something I had been wanting to try since the first time I saw them. They are called Atomic Buffalo Turds or ABTs for short. Essentially they are jalapeno poppers that are wrapped in bacon and have cream cheese and a little smoky sausage stuffed inside. You set up the grill for indirect cooking and heat to 200f and place them on opposite side of the the grill away from the coals. You want to place 2-3 fist sized chunks of smoking wood (I use Mesquite) to get a nice thin blue smoke going. Maintain a temp of 200f and let them cook for about an hour. I can honestly say that they were the best jalapeno poppers I have ever ate. I think I am going to cook some every time I have people over.
Ready for the grill
On the Grill and Cooking.
The Recipe
Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABT) Source
- About 2lb. fresh Jalapeņos
- 2 8oz blocks cream cheese (room temp)
- 1C shredded sharp cheddar
- 1 heaping tblsp dry onion
- 1tblsp. granulated garlic
- 1/2 c or more Pulled pork or fine chopped little smokies
- 1 or 2 tblsp. Honey. (secret ingredient)
- bbq rub
- 2 lb bacon thinner the better
Cut peppers in half length wise scoop out seeds and membrane set aside. Set bacon out and let come to room temp. Mix all remaining ingredients except bbq rub thoroughly. Fill peppers with mixture. Cut bacon in half. Wrap half slice around each pepper. (I do not use tooth picks to hold together. The bacon holds together well if it is at room temp.)Sprinkle with bbq rub. I like to refrigerate overnight. Cook at about 225 - 250 until bacon is done about 1 hour.
It's going to take 10-12 hours to cook the butts to perfection. The secret to cooking awesome pulled pork BBQ is to cook the meat low and slow, this allows time for the heat to break down the fat and render out all of those tasty juices. You always cook the butts with the skin side up that way the fat layer under the skin will melt down into the meat, which will help maintain moisture and flavor. I do spritz the top of the meat with a mixture of 50% vinegar, 50% Water and 1 cup of table salt. I also apply a dry rub to the meat 4 hours before cooking. My rub is of my own recipe and if anyone wants to know it I will be happy to share.
So like I said, the trick to cooking awesome pulled pork is to cook the meat low and slow by indirect heat. By that I mean keep the temps between 195 and 210 for at minimum 7-8 hours. If your meat is larger than 7lbs you might want to step it up to 9 hours or longer. For the 3 I am doing its working out to about 11.5 hours of cooking time I think. I burn Kingsford Charcoal on one side of the grill and place my meat on the other. I like to use 2-3 fist sized chunks of smoking wood placed directly onto the coals, which provide a nice thin blue smoke for about an hour. I will add more once the smoke dies down and will stop adding them all together around hour 7 or 3/4 of the way through the cook.
Here is a photo of the meat at about 5 hours in.
The "eats" we prepare to go along with all of this pulled pork and Ribs is almost my favorite part of the meal. The women of the family (mom, sister, grandmother, and aunt) cook: home made southern Mac and Cheese, Potato Salad, Coleslaw, Corn on the Cob, Mashed Potatoes, Yeast Rolls, Hash and Rice, and some one will no doubt cook something to surprise everyone with. For desert they usually cool home made bananna pudding, home made chocolate pudding pies, an apple pie or two and various cakes. This year I have something special planned! Home Made Georgia Peach Ice Cream!!!!
That's all I have for now but I will be sure to take some more photos tomorrow and post them up.