THE MEAT: For pulled pork, you have several choices of pork to use; pork shoulder, pork butts, or pork cushions. They are all good choices. You could also use pork loins, but that's a little spendy for BBQ. The first three choices mentioned are fatty pieces of meats and you will lose about 25% during the cooking process. If you go with a bone in one of the three cuts, expect more loss.
THE RUB: Generally, you will not be using a rub on the front end of this smokin' process, but you will after its pulled. There are several good rubs available for pork BBQ, and the one available from Smokehouse Products is preferred.
THE PROCESS: There is really no up front work to be done on smokin' the pork. Apple or Hickory are excellent woods to use here. Since there is a lot of fat in this meat, be sure to check your drip pan on a regular basis. Put the meat on the smoker at 250 temp until the fatty outside is starting to crack. This will be about 7-8 hours. If you have gone with the bone in cut, smoke until you can easily pull the bone out with a pair of tongs. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temp is at least 170. When taken off, the meat should easily be falling apart as you move it around. The pork should be pulled while it is still pretty hot. Don't wait longer than 45 minutes or it will get harder to pull. You can just use your hands to tear the meat in small pieces (bit size) or use a couple of forks and pull it into strings. You can leave as much fat in here as your taste wants. Once the meat is pulled, mix in the rub to your taste or you may want to go with the rub and a BBQ sauce that suits you. Now that it's ready, ring the dinner bell... it's time to eat!
Bennet, please see the response on March 30, 2017. The normal operating temp of the Big Chief is 165 F.
Wish they would answer this Kyle
Hi Kyle, the Big Chief runs at a temperature of around 165 F but it is still my favorite for doing pulled pork and ribs… here’s how. Put the pork in the smoker and smoke it like on the Big Chief can for 2-3 hours. This gives it a great smoke flavor and keeps the temps very low so it isn’t cooking. Then I pull the pork out of the smoker, brush a little BBQ sauce on it if you like, then wrap it in foil and stick it in my oven at 250 F for four hours. For added smoke flavor when done, pull the pork, put it on a tray and put it back in the Big Chief and smoke it for another 20 minutes.
I just purchase a Big Chief Smoker and I’d love to try smoking a pork butt for pulled pork. This recipe calls for a temp of 250. The Big Chief doesn’t have a temp gauge. What is the typical temp this unit will operate at?
Thanks!