Pork Butt

When I told the lady friend we'd be eating pulled pork butt, she thought it was a bad joke. I'm sure she saw visions of little piggies getting dragged to the butcher to have their tails yanked off. Or whatever.

But no, pork butt doesn't really come from the pig's hind quarters. It's actually from the shoulder area. Think of it as the place where the leg butts up against the rest of the pig. Some butchers avoid the confusion by giving this cut a different name. Boston roast, shoulder roast, and shoulder blade roast are common synonyms, and for our purposes, any of these will do.

Just like the beef, the pork butt is marbled with fat which will flavor the meat and help keep it moist throughout its cooking time. The recipe below is for the crock pot, but look for a grill recipe from nark in the weeks to come.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

The pork:
1 5-8 lb. butt

The rest:
salt and pepper
14 oz beef broth
1/4 c coffee or liquid smoke
1 big bottle (30 oz or more) of BBQ sauce
(I used Sweet Baby Ray's because it's, uh, sweet. But use your favorite.)
1/2 red onion sliced
bread and butter pickles
a package of rolls

Put it all together:

If you have a boneless butt, cut it into 3 parts. Rub the butt on all sides with salt and pepper and place it in the slow cooker. Add the beef broth and the coffee (or liquid smoke--follow instructions on the bottle). Then cover and cook on low for about 8 to 9 hours.

After 8 hours or so, strain the juices and put the meat back in the crockpot. DO NOT JUST POUR THE JUICES DOWN THE DRAIN!!! Sorry for the e-yelling, but please, save the juices; they're good for gravy, for reheating the meat, for stock, for soups, for whatever. Save the juices.

Once the meat's back in the pot, add 1/2 the bottle of bbq sauce and a cup or two of the juices and keep cooking on low for another hour. Serve the pork on rolls, top with red onion and pickles and maybe just a smidge more bbq sauce, and you're set. Enjoy!



-jaf