Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons (28 page)

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Authors: Colleen Rush,Gary Wiviott

BOOK: Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons
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8. “3½ down” refers to . . .
a. the temperature check taken at the midpoint of a spare rib cook
b. a full rack of spare ribs that has been cut in half
c. the weight, in pounds, of an untrimmed rack of spare ribs
d. 3½ pounds or less, the ideal weight of a fully trimmed rack of spare ribs
Answers: 1) WSM, 4 to 5 hours; offset, about every hour; kettle, every 45 to 60 minutes. 2) True. If the charcoal is mostly burned through, restock with a full chimney starter (or half-full, if you’re using a kettle) of lit charcoal. 3) 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the cooker; ensure that all sides of the meat are equally exposed to the smoke and heat inside the cooker. 4) c. 5) True, but don’t call it barbecue. Foiling traps moisture and steams the ribs, which turns ribs into meat Jell-O. If you get the urge to foil ribs, reread chapters 1 through 6, very slowly and out loud. 6) Trick question! a, b, and d are correct. 7) The longer the cook, the more the flavor of a seasoning mellows. 8) d.
7.
 
LESSON N°5 PULLED PORK
 
DEAR STUDENT,
 
YOU STAND AT THE THRESHOLD OF BARBECUE GREATNESS. WHEN YOU COMPLETE
this cook, you will possess the skills and instincts required to truly master the art of barbecue. Your prowess and commitment to the program have impressed even me.
Now you will embark upon the most challenging lesson you have yet faced: an all-day, meaty pork shoulder cook. This is the true test of the skills you’ve learned up to this point. It will require time, patience, and barbecue intuition as you’ve never used it before. And it will be labor-intensive. The pork shoulder needs to be flipped and rotated throughout the cook, and there are several charcoal and water pan restocks, depending on the cooker you’re using. As the most efficient cooker of the bunch, the WSM will require the least amount of futzing. The offset requires restocking about every hour. And if you’re using a kettle, brace yourself to fiddle with it, in some way, about every forty-five minutes to an hour.
At first glance, you’ll notice that the cook instructions are very specific and repetitive, with exact times for restocks and temperature checks. Despite the engineered, linear construction of the cook, this lesson is—more than anything—about learning to ignore rigid instructions and relying on your barbecue instincts. In the first few lessons, the inflexibility of my directions was intended to help you develop those senses and gradually become less dependent on recipes and exact temperatures and times. Now is the opportunity to test your barbecue instincts. While I was unbending and adamant about following directions before, you are now allowed to use your knowledge and get interactive.
With this cook, you should fully realize that barbecue is three things: delicious, highly variable, and delicious. Your ability to handle the challenges of the cook is directly related to how tasty the barbecue will be.
Be one with the pork.
 
Sincerely,
Gary Wiviott
PULLED PORK
 
 
Aside from the basic, essential details I insist on—the weight of the pork butt, the timing of the vent closures, and the broad six- to twelve-hour cooking span—you should be using your five senses to determine what needs to happen throughout the cook. If you’re paying attention, the meat or the fire will tell you exactly what it needs and when it needs it. You may decide at one checkpoint or another that the charcoal doesn’t need to be restocked or that adding a few pieces of unlit charcoal is sufficient to maintain the fire. You might sense that the cooker is too hot or that the water pan is running low before a prescribed check. You should have all of the wisdom and troubleshooting instincts you need to assess and deal with these issues without my telling you what to look for or what to do.
WSM AND OFFSET
 
SERVES 20 TO 25
 
 
2 (7- to 9-pound) pork butts
(See Buying Guide, page 188)
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup yellow prepared mustard
Graduate Rub (page 176)
Tart Wash (page 115)
KETTLE
 
SERVES 8 TO 10
 
 
1 (4- to 6-pound) pork butt
(See Buying Guide, page 188)
1 cup white vinegar
½ cup yellow prepared mustard
Graduate Rub (page 176)
Tart Wash (page 115)
9 TO 10 HOURS BEFORE DINNER
Start a KISS Method fire according to the instructions for your WSM (page 32), offset (page 34), or kettle (page 36).
While you’re waiting for the charcoal in the chimney to engage, rinse the pork shoulder(s) with cold water. Pour about 1 cup of vinegar over each shoulder, and lightly rub the vinegar into all sides. Rinse the shoulder(s) again under cold water. Slather each shoulder with a light coating of mustard, about ½ cup per butt. Smear a heavy coat of rub, about ¼ to ½ cup, over all sides of each piece of meat.
GRADUATE RUB
 
 
Making this rub should be a walk in the park at this point. In fact, if you made a big batch of the Junior Rub (page 147) and you have about one cup left over, just add one teaspoon of dried oregano to the blend, and you’re done. Or if you have one cup of Rudimentary Rub (page 115), add one teaspoon of chipotle powder and one teaspoon of oregano. And to prove I’m not a barbecue tyrant, I won’t even insist that you use this rub for the final lesson. You can also substitute the multipurpose Gary Wiviott’s Rub (page 160).
Because the flavor of a rub mellows over time, you need to use a quarter cup to a half cup of rub to thoroughly coat each shoulder. Using enough rub also ensures that, once the meat is cooked and pulled and you mix in Mr. Brown and Mrs. White (page 187), each bite will be a balanced, three-part harmony of crispy, spicy, bark, and tender, delicious pork.
WSM AND OFFSET
 
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
 
 
6 tablespoons paprika
4 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons Morton kosher salt
4 teaspoons garlic powder
4 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons chipotle powder or Toasted
Mexican Pepper Blend (page 18)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
KETTLE
 
MAKES ABOUT
½
CUP
 
 
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1½ tablespoons Morton kosher salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon chipotle powder or Toasted
Mexican Pepper Blend (page 18)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until the mixture is thoroughly blended.
Store in an airtight container for up to two months.
 
FLIPPING
AND
ROTATING
 
HOT PORK SHOULDERS
 
IN THE PREVIOUS LESSONS,
flipping and rotating the meat was essential to ensure that all sides of the meat were equally exposed to the hottest zone in the cooker. This lesson is no different, except for the fact that you’re handling up to nine pounds of solid, hot, fatty meat. When the instructions say “flip,” turn the meat vertically so the top side of the shoulder is flipped to the bottom side. To “rotate” the four-sided shoulder, spin the side facing the hot zone ninety degrees horizontally, so a new side faces the hottest area on the grate.
After years of juggling hot pork shoulders between grates, I can make this switch quickly and easily with a few paper towels in hand. Until you’re more experienced, wear insulated gloves and use an extra-wide, heavy-duty grill spatula and a pair of tongs to flip and rotate the meat.
 
 
WSM
 
WHEN THE FIRE IS FULLY ENGAGED and the cooker is reassembled, place both pork butts fat-side up on the top grate, positioning them as close to the center of the grate as possible without touching.
Set the oven thermometer in the center of the grate, between the pork shoulders.
The vents should be open.
 
 
30
MINUTES INTO THE COOK
Partially close all three bottom vents by one-third. (As always, keep the top vent completely open.)
 
2 HOURS INTO THE COOK
Check the oven thermometer. Refill the water pan.
4 HOURS INTO THE COOK
Check the oven thermometer. Refill the water pan.
Flip the meat fat-side down and rotate the shoulder 90 degrees so that a new side is facing the outer edge of the grate. (See Flipping and Rotating Hot Pork Shoulders, page 177.)
 
5 HOURS INTO THE COOK
Light a chimney starter full of charcoal. Check the oven thermometer.
When the charcoal is fully engaged, after about 10 minutes, put on a pair of heavy-duty oven mitts or work gloves. Grip the side of the center ring and carefully remove it (with the lid on) and set it on even ground. Take extreme caution and move slowly to avoid sloshing the water pan over the charcoals or on your feet. (For detailed instructions, see Restocking the WSM charcoal chamber, page 39.)
Redistribute the hot coals in the ring with tongs. Pour in fresh, unlit charcoal until the ring is three-quarters full, or the charcoal level is about one full inch below the top edge of the ring. Lay two chunks of debarked wood on top of the unlit charcoal.
Pour the lit charcoal in the chimney starter over the charcoal and wood in the ring.
Check the area around the outside of the ring to make sure there are no stray pieces of charcoal blocking the vents. Use the tongs to pick up any strays and return them to the charcoal ring.
When the charcoal stops billowing white smoke, about 10 minutes, add two more chunks of wood to the pile. Carefully reassemble the cooker, returning the center ring (with lid) to the charcoal bowl. Refill the water pan (page 38). Spritz the meat with Tart Wash. Flip the meat fat-side up and rotate the shoulders 90 degrees so that a new side is facing the outer edge of the grate.
 
7½ HOURS INTO THE COOK
Check the oven thermometer. Refill the water pan. Open one bottom vent.
Poke the meat with your finger. At this point, the meat should be starting to “yield,” which is a fancy way of saying that it’s not as firm. Stick an instant-read thermometer into a meaty—not fatty—section of the shoulder to gauge how things are going. Remember: temperature is only one indication of doneness. The temperature will probably be in the range of 160°F to 170°F. The internal temperature of a pork shoulder plateaus during the cook (see page 185) and can hover at this temperature for hours. Be patient, and know that this check is more for educational purposes. Observe, don’t act.
Spritz the meat with Tart Wash. Check the water pan and refill as needed.
 
8½ TO 9 HOURS INTO THE COOK
Poke the meat and check the temperature again to see if it is done. (See The Wabba Wabba, page 186.)
Pork shoulders in the 7- to 9-pound range can take anywhere from 8 to 12 hours to cook. If you are beginning to think the meat might be done, it’s not done yet and could easily use another hour or more.
After this check-in, give the pork shoulder a look and a poke every 20 minutes to check for doneness. Spritz the meat with Tart Wash and refill the water pan as needed. When the smaller of the two pork butts is truly, indisputably done, take that shoulder off. Leave the other shoulder on the cooker for an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour to compare the different stages of doneness.
Let the meat rest for 15 to 20 minutes before handling. The meat “pulls” most easily when warm.

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