Labor Day is behind us, the mornings finally have a little bite to them, and that means one thing on the Eastern Shore: it's time to put the first pork butt of the season on the smoker.
This is the cook we run every fall. It's long, it's easy, and it feeds a crowd. United Spice of America does the heavy lifting. It's our all-purpose blend, built to go on anything, and pork shoulder is where it shines brightest.
What you need
- One bone-in pork butt, 8 to 10 pounds
- United Spice of America, more than you think you need
- Yellow mustard or a little oil, just enough to help the rub stick
- Hickory or apple wood
- Foil or butcher paper
The night before
Pat the butt dry. Rub a thin coat of mustard over the whole thing, then cover every side heavy with United Spice of America. Don't be shy. A cut this big needs a real crust of seasoning to stand up to twelve hours of smoke. Wrap it and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
The morning of
Get your smoker settled at 250 degrees. Hickory gives you the classic deep bark; apple runs a little sweeter. Both work. Put the butt on fat side up and close the lid.
Figure about an hour and a half per pound. A 9-pound butt is a 13-hour day, so if you want to eat at 6, the fire is lit at 5 in the morning. That's the price of doing it right.
The stall
Somewhere around 165 degrees inside, the temperature will stop climbing and sit there for what feels like forever. That's the stall, and every pitmaster hits it. When it happens, pull the butt, wrap it tight in foil or butcher paper, and put it back on. Foil pushes through faster and keeps things juicy. Paper takes a little longer and keeps more of the bark.
When it's done
You're not cooking to a clock, you're cooking to feel. Start probing around 200 degrees. When the probe slides in like it's going into warm butter, usually between 200 and 205, it's done.
Now the part people skip: let it rest, still wrapped, for a full hour. Pull it too early and the juice ends up on the cutting board instead of in the meat.
Pull the bone out clean, shred the whole thing with your hands or a pair of forks, and toss it back in its own juices. Hit it with one more light shake of United Spice of America before it goes on the table.
Feed the crowd
Pile it on soft rolls with slaw, fold it into tacos, or eat it straight off the board while you pretend to make plates for everyone else. It'll keep in the fridge for four days and freezes well, so a Saturday smoke feeds you through the work week.
That's the first smoke of fall. Grab a bottle of United Spice of America, light the fire early, and welcome the season the right way.
