Ingredients:
- 7-9 pound Boston butt
- Rub with Love – Steak Rub
- Coarse/Kosher Salt
- High quality lump charcoal
- 3-5 Large Hickory chunks
Meat Preparation
Before preparing meat, place Hickory wood chunks in bowl of warm water to soak.
Place pork butt on large cooking sheet. Pat surface dry with paper towels.
Cover surface of pork butt with as much Kosher salt that will stick to surface. Gently pat the salt onto the meat with hand, but do not force more salt than will naturally stick.
Cover surface with as much Rub with Love Steak Rub that will stick on surface. It is really hard to over-do Rub with Love, so be liberal. If a stronger flavor is desired, wait about 20-30 minutes after salting to apply Rub. The salt will draw out moister, allowing more rub to stick.
Grill Preparation
Make sure all ash from previous cooks is removed. I typically give the Egg a moderate cleaning all around before starting the cook. Open top and bottom vents fully. Fill firebox with high-quality lump charcoal. Light charcoal with typical methods. Allow most of the charcoal to ignite, then close lid and reduce top and bottom vents to nearly closed, 1/2-1/4″. Periodically “burp” grill to let out heat. Target temperature is 250°F. Once grill is nearing temp, place soaked Hickory chunk on coals. Install Plate Setter legs up, placing grate on Plate Setter legs. I wrap my Plate Setter in foil to keep it clean; the butt drips a lot. It typically takes me 30-45 minutes to prep, light, and get grill to target temp.
The Cook
Once the grill has stabilized at 250°F for about 10 minutes, place meat on grill, fat up. The BGE is exceptional at maintaining temperature. Very small adjustments are needed to correct temperature trends. Remember, it takes a few minutes for vent adjustments to change the temperature. It’s more about looking at trends than the exact temps. I typically make adjustments about 1/8-1/4″ at a time, and wait 5 minutes for temps to change. Again, look for trends, not temps. Check grill temperature every 30-60 minutes. About 4 hours in, flip the butt using 2 large spatulas. After flipping, start checking temperature of meat. At 4-5 hour mark, meat should be nearing stall temperatures of ~165°F. During the stall, the meat will stay around 165°F for 1-2 hours. Target internal temperature is 195°F – 205°F. It is likely there will be a 10-15°F variance in different areas of the meat. Try to get every part to a minimum of 190°F, but don’t let any part get over 225°F.
When all parts of meat have reached target temp, remove meat from grill and allow it to rest for 1 hour. After the meat has cooled, pull apart by hand or with fork. Discard large hunks of fat; there should not be many. Optionally, chop meat with large knife after pulling. Mixing the outside parts of the meat with the inside sections will distribute the seasoning and flavor throughout the final product. Meat will keep 5-7 days refrigerated.