Daddy's smoked Pork Butt

Pork BBQ is in my opinion the ultimate pork dish.  If done correctly it yields moist succulent strips of meat, with every piece carrying the ultimate in smoky porky goodness.  I know there are many out there who would disagree in fact BBQ disagreements would escalate beyond the horror of religous wars if not for copious amounts of beer involved.  The other primary camps are ribs and beef brisket (to be covered later).

This is more of a method than a recipe and so many of the individual components can be substituted or replaced that I won't really mention them but I will specify what is essential.

Step 1 the Brine.
Many people use rubs but IMO a brine is better because 1) we are adding moisture  and 2) we are adding flavor to all the meat not just the outside and lastly the crust does not burn it just gets crusty and yummy.  Others may disagree with this but it's my blog dammit so I brine.

The brine there are two essentials to a brine salt and water.  Everything else is optional and to taste  besides I don't measure when doing this .  As to the amount of salt you will need more than you think as you want the liquid to taste like seawater when you are done.  The salt, it's all the same chemically but I like pickling salt as the small crystals dissolve easily in cold water.  Kosher salt will dissolve the least of the common salts and plain old table salt is an acceptable choice.  For other flavors I like Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, cumen, any and all herbs that will go with the primary flavor profile (dried and powdered, don't waste the good fresh herbs here). Latstly I like bourbon for flavor.  It is a complex mix of savory, sweet and pure yumminess and just goe so well with pork.  Add any booze you like though, just be aware of the total flavor profile.

The brining method is simple.  Cover the meat with the brine and refrigerate for 24-72 hours.  During this time all the flavors (along with a bit more liquid) will migrate through the entire hunk of meat seasoning every bit of it instead of just the surface half inch (a rub).

Set up your smoker and put the meat on.  You want constant smoke and a temperature between 180 & 220 degrees F.  A small pork butt will take 8-10 hours with a large one up to 12 to 16 hours.  During this time the smoke is penetrating the meat imparting a unique flavor and a characteristic pinkness, fat is melting and basting the meat, connective tissues that make a pork butt tough when roasted at 350 are dissolving leaving moist tender meat behind.  When you ca easily pull off hunks of meat with tongs.  Wrap in foil and let the pork rest and cool for about 1/2 hour.  You can eat immediately but this is a hot piece of meat. 

I like a big pile of meat (i discard most fat when hand shredding) for a side, choose something light & crisp and eat with optional BBQ sauce of your choice.  Please lightly dunk, this meat is way too good to drown in sauce