Over the years I have made massive amounts of Pulled Pork. It was on our menu at the Kitchen and we had a tried and true method cooking it in an Electric Roaster. It came out super juicy and we all Loved it. My newest method is on the Smoker. It turns out just as Juicy and the Smokey flavor adds so much. Since I love them both – it comes down to how much time do I have to pay attention to the meat while it cooks.
For all of the following methods time is NOT the deciding factor. It IS the Internal Temperature of the meat. Today I smoked a double butt that my husband bought at Costco. They were very close in size, however one cooked faster than the other – by a whole 90 minutes. Just know that every pork butt cooks differently. The one you did last month will have cooked different than the one you do today. So if you need your meat done for a meal at a certain time, give yourself a lot of extra time. If your meat gets done even a few hours early, that is super because the longer you let your meat rest the moister it is. You can leave it all wrapped up and place it in an empty cooler. It will be hot for hours.
In the Electric Roaster – we cooked a double butt overnight while we slept. It’s a sort of set it and forget it method. In the roaster we would place the meat and smother it with BBQ Sauce at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, just before closing. Set the temp to 250 degrees and then leave it cooking until we got there in the morning. We would check to see if the bones were loose enough to slip out – if not we would turn the temperature up for an hour or so. It is done when the internal temperature reaches over 200 degrees When done remove from heat at let it rest for at least 90 minutes. This whole process is about 17 hours.
In my home Oven – using this method I can cook a double butt overnight as well. It takes less time in my oven than in the roaster. I am sure that has something to do with the temperature being more evenly distributed in the oven. The cooking time is closer to 10 to 12 hours in a covered pan in the oven. I can place a double butt in the covered pan, smother it in BBQ Sauce at 7 o’clock in the evening and pop it in the oven at 235 degrees. It would be done between 5 and 7 o’clock the next morning. When the bones almost fall out and internal temperature is over 200, remove from heat and let it rest for at least 90 minutes.
In the Smoker – using this method it takes a lot of attention, but less time. However, you can expect to spend most of your day dealing with meat. If we place an oiled and seasoned double pork butt in the smoker at 5 am with the smoker set at 235 degrees. It will take about 4 hours for them to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. While it gets to that temp it needs to be spritzed with Apple Cider Vinegar every 45 minutes . When it reaches 165 wrap it in a double layer of heavy duty foil and return it to the smoker until it reaches an internal temperature of 203 or more. To make sure that temperature is correct, move the meat prob to check a second location. When it’s done place it in a deep bowl (Still all wrapped up) and cover it with a large folded towel and place it in a cold oven or an empty cooler to rest for at least 90 minutes. Including the time it takes to rest, this method takes about 10 hours.
For both the Electric Roaster and the Oven – I use a large bottle of Famous Dave’s Sweet and Zesty to smother the Double Pork Butt before cooking.
For the Smoker I stir up a dry mix of 3 T course sea salt, 1 T course pepper and 2 tsp onion granules. I rub the butts with olive oil and then the dry mix. Place the butts directly on the smoker grates.
