Joe's Butts

Glancy Family Cookbook Volume II, chapter 3

Category: Main Dishes

Serves about 30 people

This recipe calls for 2 Boston butts, about 15 pounds total. Joe's theory is if you're taking a day to cook it, you may as well make a lot.

Ingredients

2 Boston butts (aka picnic hams), 15 lb total
Canadian Steak seasoning
Penzy's Bicentennial Rub (any poultry/pork spice will do; usually has citrus and is more orange in color)
cayenne pepper (or a spice with heat)
assorted sauces (traditional northern red sauce, mustard based sauce, spicy vinegar sauce)

Steps

Trim fat from meat.
Cover meat liberally with dry rub. There's no set ratio for dry rub combination; it's different every time.
Ideally do this first step the night before and wrap trimmed, rubbed meat tightly in cellophane and let rest overnight in fridge.
To cook, use a Weber grill; use approximately 30 coals to start, mounded on one side of the grill. On the other side of the grill, place a foil pan with vinegar, beer, or water to keep pork moist.
When coals are white, place pork on top grill grate. Cook "low & slow"; Joe usually cooks for 7-8 hours. Recoal as needed, usually 1 or 2 times.
Wood chips or chunks (preferably hickory or mesquite), soaked in water overnight, can be placed directly on the coals every hour or so.
The temperature of the cooked pork should be 160 degrees.
Wrap in heavy foil and place in a cooler overnight.
The next day, the pork will still be warm and easy to pull. You may need to reheat in a foil pan on the grill, adding apple cider vinegar/water (50/50 ratio) to the pulled pork while reheating; approximately 1 cup for moist BBQ.
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