Pulled Pork with Crunchy Fat

[Clint Yeastwood]

Until yesterday, I hadn't made pulled pork in years. I decided it was time. I made a rub and smoked this baby over hickory with the fat side down.

It's incredible. The fat is the best part. Crunchy and greasy and delicious. I pulled the meat in about 30 seconds. It came right off.

I'm going to fry it in fat with celery seeds, garlic, bourbon, and onions. Then I'll freeze portions for sammiches.

My house smells better than Chanel headquarters. This is like takeout from heaven.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Is it lunchtime? I think it's lunchtime.

 

[Miraculix]

Is it lunchtime? I think it's lunchtime.

It shurly is!

 

[jtrainer]

The bark is my favorite portion... bark on meat is wonderfully delicious. Bark on the fat, I'll take it or leave it. If I don't trim enough of the fat off that gelatinous glob of energy can be a bit much for mouth feel. I do a pork shoulder a couple of times a year. Heavenly.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I want to see if I can get a big sheet of fat and forget about the meat.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Today I'm smoking more pork. I decided to try "dry brining," which is a strange term for salting the meat in advance and letting it sit. I got it from Serious Eats. They claim it makes meat tender and juicy, like brining, without pushing too much water into it. You just salt the meat and put it in the fridge.

Their explanation for using the term "dry brining" seems silly to me. It's just salt.

They claim that if you add baking powder to the salt, you will get better skin. I don't know how pork skin could be any better than what I got last time, but I decided to try it. Last night I combined salt and baking powder in about a 3:1 ratio and applied it.

They say not to rinse the meat after the process, but that is not realistic advice for dry rub users. If you put dry rub on dry meat, it falls off. If you put the dry rub on over the salt before you refrigerate, you're not dry brining. You're just applying a rub a day in advance. I put a little water on the pork when I took it out this morning. Maybe I'm not really dry brining!

The big dog at Serious Eats is a guy named Kenji Lopez-Alt. People seem to think he's the greatest cook on Earth. Color me skeptical. His restaurant gets lackluster reviews, and he said some things about pizza that weren't great advice. But there must be some good information on the site, or people wouldn't be so excited.

I also added a small amount of curing salt to my rub. My electric smoker doesn't produce a smoke ring, but I am told curing salt will make it happen.