JoeTisserie Pork Butt I

joetisserie pork butt IYesterday, I tried a new barbecue joint, and tried the pulled pork sandwich from their menu. It wasn’t bad, it was flavorful, but there was no evidence of any smoke.

I got the hankering to do make up my own big plate of my own homemade pulled pork, — with a hint of smoky goodness. The weather forecast for the next few days was rain free.
joetisserie pork butt I

JoeTisserie Pork Butt I

Soon as I had wolfed down all of the remaining baked beans and pulled pork bits, I headed over to a decent grocer and picked a boneless pork butt for a JoeTisserie cook.

There was just one boneless pork butt left in the display case. It weighed in at 4 pounds and 4 ounces, sort of on the smaller side. On the other hand, it was way better than the cryo packed big box store pork butts swimming in a saltwater bath.

The JoeTisserie is a favorite Kamado Joe accessory. If you’re thinking about picking this baby up, check out my review here.

JoeTisserie Pork Butt I – Pork Preparation

First thing is to remove the elastic netting that the grocer uses. After trimming away as much of the fat cap as I could, the pork but was tied up using cotton butchers twine. Lastly, the pork butt was given a liberal coating of mango and chipotle spice rub.

When I was finished, the pork butt weighted in at 3 pounds and 11 ounces on my kitchen scale. I cleared out a shelf in the fridge and put tomorrow’s dinner, unwrapped, to air dry.

joetisserie pork butt I
The pork butt all trimmed, seasoned with the spice rub, and tied together. Ready for the JoeTisserie tomorrow. For now, it goes unwrapped into the fridge to dry a bit.

JoeTisserie Pork Butt I – Kamado Joe Preparation

Task complete, now to get the Kamado Joe Classic all set up for tomorrow’s cook. It will be dark when I get started, I don’t want to fumble around too much with a flashlight trying to get things going.

joetisserie pork butt I
The Kamado Joe Classic firebox prepared for the early morning startup tomorrow. Notice the single paraffin fire starter cube in the center of the charcoal.

No special technique here, I just dump in the lump charcoal. Notice that I do not use a drip pan in this cook. I have never had any issues with flare-ups cooking pork butts on the JoeTisserie.

JoeTisserie Pork Butt I – Let’s Get Started

joetisserie pork butt I
The moon and the clouds as I fire up the Kamado Joe Classic for today’s cook.
Early this morning I fired up the Kamado Joe. The moon was still up and I got this cool shot. Next time I need to use a tripod! Anyhow, I am shooting for 225 to 250 degrees for my low and slow barbecue. From prior cooks, and the notes that I keep on most every cook, I have good idea of where to set the vents.

I get the pork butt onto the spit rod and secured in place with the spit rod forks. I don’t tighten them yet as the final placement will be done at the Kamado Joe.

joetisserie pork butt I
Spit rod and spit rod forks securing the pork butt. Final adjustment will be at the Kamado Joe.

I want the pork butt to be centered over the firebox. I also added two fist size pieces of cherry wood for the smoke. I got a load of really nicely seasoned cherry from Doug. I had to pick up a splitter to knock it down into manageable pieces. The splitter review is a future post.

joetisserie pork butt I
The pork butt has been centered over the Kamado Joe Classic firebox. I just snug the spit rod thumb screws enough to keep them secured.

Had to peak, this is the pork butt an hour into the cook. It is starting to get a nice color. I also have an nice blue smoke coming from the Kamado Joe.

joetisserie pork butt I
One hour into the JoeTisserie cook.

Another peek, this is 3 1/2 hours into the cook. Looks good enough to eat already!

joetisserie pork butt I
Another peek at the JoeTisserie pork butt 3 1/2 hours into the cook.

Taking a break after cutting the grass and knocking out a few other chores. We are now 6 hours into the cook. This looks awesome, can’t wait to try some of that bark!

joetisserie pork butt I
We are now 6 hours into the JoeTisserie pork butt. The bark looks good! Can’t wait to try some.

We are now 8 hours into the cook and I take the temperature using my not so instant read thermometer. It shows 200 degrees. I double check, taking readings in several spots. It’s done 2 or 3 hours earlier than expected!

joetisserie pork butt I
It’s done, the not so instant read thermometer reads 200 degrees already!

JoeTisserie Pork Butt I – Done Already

Hum, done earlier than expected! After taking this awesome smelling treat inside, the spit rod, spit rod forks, and the cotton butchers twine are removed. I let it rest up and cool down for an hour or so while I clean the spit rod parts.

I decided to leave the Kamado Joe vents opened up and burn what remains of the charcoal. I started doing this to burn out any cooking oils that come from the self-basting drips from the JoeTisserie.

Dang it, no burger buns. Used a couple of hot dog buns and some leftover cole slaw topping, making it Carolina style. Man this is good! The pork is moist and flavorful with a hint of smoky goodness. I had some vinegar sauce I made for the last pulled pork cook, but didn’t use any of it.

joetisserie pork butt I
JoeTisserie pulled pork with some cole slaw toppings –Carolina style.

Nothing like freshly cooked pulled pork sandwiches.

Check out my other Kamado Joe and JoeTisserie recipes and links here on my Outdoor Eats page.