Big Green Egg Pulled Pork

Step 1

Step Prep the Big Green Egg for indirect cooking by filling it with natural lump charcoal. Light the charcoal with starter cubes or a torch and burn for about 10 minutes. Make sure that both the bottom vent and daisy wheel are wide open when igniting and the plate setter placed after lighting. Next, add 3-5 chunks of wood. We use 3 large chunks (about the same volume as a baseball of hickory and pecan wood (2 hickory/1 pecan). Apple wood chunks are also fabulous here with pork butt. Adjust the daisy wheel and bottom vent to be about 5% open. We like to smoke butt at 240 degrees F. You can smoke butt anywhere from 225 degrees F to 250 degrees F, but keep in mind that the higher the target temperature makes for a shorter cooking time and nicer crust. A lower cooking temperature creates more tender and juicy meat. 240 degrees is the sweet spot for us.

Step 2

Step Remove the pork roast from the package and place it onto a cutting board or clean surface. Make sure to trim excess fat from the fat cap to ensure a nice outer bark. The internal fat content of the butt will baste the meat as it cooks. Season the roast generously with freshly cracked pepper. Then coat generously with yellow mustard. Next, Coat the butt with a bbq spice rub. We love this blend from spice house, but your favorite pork rub will work here. If you like a little sweetness to the bark, you can mix in a few tablespoons of brown sugar. IMO a good bark has a nice blend of sweet and spice.

Step 3

Step Make sure you have a pan or drip tray. You need some means of catching the drippings as they will put out your fire. We use disposable aluminum pans. Place the seasoned butt roast on the Big Green Egg cooking surface and insert a temperature probe and close the lid.

Step 4

Step Every 3-4 hours liberally wet the butt down with undiluted concentrated apple juice. When doing so, try to be as quick as possible to avoid heat loss. Don’t be surprised when the temp stalls at between 165* - 185*F. When the internal temperature reaches 200*F, remove the butt onto a cookie sheet and wrap it in tin foil. Place in an empty cooler with clean old towels and let it sit for 1 hour. The rule of thumb is 90 minutes/lb to give a general idea but use a meat thermometer with a cabled probe to track temp continuously without having to remove the lid.

Step 5

Step Remove from the cooler and pull. Ensure the removal of any remaining fat and fascia when pulling. We like to use nitrile gloves when handling the hot pork when shredding. Sprinkle with a little extra seasoning, if desired. Serve the pulled meat with all your favorite fixings. We love pork sandwiches with southern vinegar cole slaw!