This variation on the traditional method has never failed me. I learned it at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue event more than two decades ago from an Arkansas cook. It's simple. Place a partially smoked pork butt in a paper grocery bag and finish cooking by slow smoking it. The paper absorbs some of the grease and keeps the meat from drying out. People ask me, "Won't the bag catch on fire?" The bag will be saturated with pork fat, but a bag fire hasn't happened to me yet. For true Southern pork butt, go with hickory wood. However, I like to use fruitwood—maybe even peach or cherry—mixed with pecan. Because pork butt slow smokes for 6 hours, this is not a recipe to try on a gas grill.
Suggested wood:Hickory or a combination of apple, peach, or cherry and pecan
Ingredients
Serves 10
Step 1
1. Mix the pepper and salt together and rub it on all surfaces of the pork. Set aside while you build the fire.
Step 2
2. Fill your charcoal chimney with briquets, set the chimney on the bottom grill grate, and light or prepare a fire in your smoker. Oil the grill grate.
Step 3
3. When the coals are ready, dump them into the bottom of your grill, and spread them evenly across half. Scatter the wood chips on the hot coals. Place the butt on the indirect side of the grill across from the coals. Increase the temperature to 350°F by opening the bottom vents on your grill. When the smoke starts to rise, close the lid. Place a candy thermometer in the lid vent. Smoke for 30 to 45 minutes to get the bark started.
Step 4
4. Reduce the temperature by closing the vents until you're at 225°F to 250°F. Smoke the pork for 4 hours. Place the butt in a brown paper grocery bag large enough to hold it, fold the ends over to close it, and return it to the same place in the smoker, opposite the fire. Add more briquets if necessary, and close the lid. Continue smoking for 2 to 4 more hours or until tender. Check for tenderness by pulling a piece of meat off and tasting it. The mark of a shoulder done to perfection is when you can remove the blade bone by pulling it out with your hand.
Step 5
5. When the shoulder is done, set it aside in a pan to rest for 30 minutes, then move it to a cutting board. Serve it Southern-style pulled (stringy portions torn off by hand), Kansas City-style thick sliced, or the-hell-with-it chopped. Some barbecuers like to mix in a little tangy barbecue sauce as they're chopping and combining the meat on a platter, especially if the pork is still a little fatty.
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