Eastern Carolina Pit-Cooked BBQ

[gran398]

Eastern Carolina Pit-Cooked BBQ Pork


1 or 2 Boston Butts, plus 1 picnic

Grill or smoker

Kingsford charcoal, with hickory

Dry, split hickory wood

Charcoal chimney (large Weber), or separate coal cooker

Flat fireplace shovel

Salt

Dry rub(optional)

BBQ sauce(cider vinegar,water, salt, sugar, cayenne pepper, etc.)



You will be slow cooking pork shoulders, aka Boston Butts and picnics, directly over hot coals. Traditionally, the coals were hickory, cooked down to coals, and shoveled in under the cooking pork. You want the meat a minimum of 20 inches above the coals.

Begin by trimming excess fat from pork. Salt liberally, add dry rub if desired. If adding dry rub, cut back on the salt.

In the meantime, if using a charcoal smoker, place charcoal in pan, place pan on lowest position, light charcoal.(NO DRIP PAN)

If using a charcoal grill, light mound of coals on one side of grill (Meat will go on opposite side, this method will use indirect heat.) Disregard the 20 inch rule.

You can also make a small “pit” by using cinder blocks with a grate on top, meat covered later with cardboard for heat retention. This is the true pit method.

Place the meat above coals, fat side up, when  coals are ready. You will add more coals along the way via the charcoal chimney, or this next method. In a separate fire box, grill, burn barrel, etc, light charcoal, then add hickory. Burn hickory down to coals, but keep adding hickory. Fuel the main cooking chamber with these hickory coals using the shovel.

Hickory produces large coals, unlike oak. Also, the coals maintain high heat longer.

Keep the firebox at 225 to 250 degrees F for three to four hours. During the process, if too cool, open dampers and add more coals. If too hot (above 275) remove top/open cooker to dissipate heat. After the 3 to 4 hours, flip meat, and begin mopping with the thin sauce, every 30 to 45 minutes or so. You will cook for 3 to 4 more hours.

The wonderful flavor comes from the fat dripping on the coals. NOT from wood smoke as in the smoking method; there will be no smoke ring on the meat.

If using a charcoal grill and indirect heat,  spin the meat every 45 minutes so cooks evenly. However you'll lose flavor from the meat dripping on the coals.

Outside temp is a big variable…you'll need less fuel to maintain 225-250 the warmer it is outside.

After 6 to 7 hours, check internal temp of all pieces with RELIABLE meat thermometer. The picnic will be ready before the butt. Make sure internal temps read 170 to 175.
Keep cooking until it does. The lower you have kept the box temp, the longer it takes. Some pros go 9 hours. Mine usually is ready in 7.5 hours. Let the thermometer tell you.

Remove meat, let stand. When cool enough to touch, Begin pulling meat with your fingers, you can also chop if you like. Discard chunks of fat. Add a little sauce if you like. Make enough to freeze some; place in quart size freezer bags, seal up and freeze. When time to re-heat, place the bag straight from the freezer in a pot of boiling water….heat for 20 minutes. Keeping the Q in the bag keeps it from drying out.

Sauce: there are a bunch of good recipes for homemade Carolina sauces; or you can buy them. Biggest diff, east has no ketchup. SC sauces are like NC sauces, but with mustard.
Pick/experiment. The sauce has nothing to do with good Q. You have just made good Q!!

So you’re ready to eat. Get some collards, corn bread, sweet potatoes…..have at your redneck dinner!!

[RickK]

Man I'm drooling all over my keyboard.
Thanks for the recipe - looks good and easy.

[John Jones]

I could pig out on that without the sauce.

 

[gran398]

Bump for dburr

[GoneFission]

Scott - if you want to go true down-east BBQ - you gotta go whole hog:

[gran398]

Very true CJ. Same principal applies, but the whole hog. From the Rooter to the Tooter

Shoulders (Boston Butts) are a western NC thing....but easy for a small crowd.

Expanding on the "pit" concept using hardwood coals....in the old days, they would lay the young, split hog on old, stripped mattress springs. Turn the hog once, ends up as John illustrates. Then everyone grabs a plate....and "picks" it. AKA the "Pig Pickin'".

Traditionally, the Pitmaster and helpers go first.....first dibs on the tenderloin

[seabob4]

My preference Scotty?  The jowls.  YUM YUM!!!!

[seabob4]

OOPS, sorry Bud, that's on a whole hog smoked.  Just aft of the mouth.  Absolutely the best!!

[gran398]

All good!

Whole hog.... everything but the oink!

[wingtime]

DROOL!

[dburr]

Thankyou Scotty!!  Told Laura about the side by cooker and she said as long as it isn't another smoker, (she reminded me we have one  )  I need to get on it..

I am on idea #37 in my head for the grate and coal feeder.. What material did you use to insulate the boxes from each other?

[dburr]

Scott - if you want to go true down-east BBQ - you gotta go whole hog:

CJ what do you do to control flare ups?

[gran398]

My pleasure Dave! The two boxes were about an inch apart, with fire-proof sheathing between, separating the burn chamber from the cooking chamber. Sliding trap door at the bottom, pulled out from the rear.

It was an "experimental prototype"   using two box-style Brinkman smokers. Two chimneys, both with sliding baffles on top to control the heat. Worked great, but didn't last long... the thin metal burned out pretty quick, especially the box where the fire burned to make the coals.

Had some pics of it, uploaded to an old laptop which since bit the dust. Seems like there may be a pic of it around here somewhere, posted by Captain John(thanks CJ) .  I'll try and find it.

Edit: Two of these with chimneys. The left-side box was turned upside-down so the doors met in the middle, like a side-by-side refrigerator:




We made a big stand the whole contraption sat on, so you didn't have to bend down to tend it. It was a lot of fun, especially on a rainy Sunday. Carolyn never did like the looks of it though....called it "Darth Vader"....  

[dburr]

Got it!..

Was thinking about lining the "bottom" of the firebox with 1/4" plate and a grate with an air gap..

Thinking a good way to make coals like this guy makes "bio char"

http://youtu.be/AaZnX9a0P8w

The guy seems like a damn smart wingnut and that stove makes some heat quick!

[GoneFission]

Scott - if you want to go true down-east BBQ - you gotta go whole hog:

CJ what do you do to control flare ups?

We cook a pig like this one at around 220 degrees for around 8-10 hours.  2-4 hours with the skin side up at 240 or so, then turn it over and finish with the skin side down around 220.  It never gets hot enough for flare ups.  The coals/smoke/heat makes the fat to drip out of the pig and is collected in a container under the cooker.  Family super-secret "down east" sauce starts getting added in the last 4 hours or so.  Then come on over and "pick" you some!   :pig:  "Pull off the bone" tender, with a nice smoke flavor, and just a little bite from the sauce.  Can't beat it!  And the cooking crew is usually in pretty good shape after 10 hours or so of drinking beer, telling lies, and playing with the cooker.