Dad Pro Tip #1: Barbecue Skills

Dad Pro Tips is here to help you crush your next cookout! Sure, you can do some hot dogs and cheeseburgers, but nobody is going to remember that unless you royally screw it up. If you want to set yourself apart, it’s time to step up your game and smoke some meat.

This past 4th of July, I made pork ribs and pulled pork. Everybody has a little bit different technique, but the basic principles hold true. Keep the temperature low, cook it slow, and let the smoke flavor shine.

The Meat

To make pulled pork, you need a pork shoulder, also called the Boston Butt. I normally go for a 5-6 lb one. That keeps cooking times reasonable and each one will feed about 10-15 people, depending on level of hunger.

For ribs, I prefer the St Louis-style. They’re bigger, meatier, and tastier than baby back ribs. We had four smaller racks this time, probably slightly bigger than a half-rack.

The Prep

I run with a Traeger smoker. It is a set and forget setup. Get it going, turn the dial to whatever temperature you want, put the meat on, and do whatever else you need to get done. I set my temp for 225 degrees. I plan on the shoulders cooking for about 9 hours, the ribs for 5.5-6 hours.

For this session, I had a mix of about 75% hickory pellets, 25% oak to start with, and as that ran low I filled it up with maple. The shoulders got most of the hickory/oak mix in the first three hours. I put the ribs on as the maple pellets started in.

I don’t brine, marinate, or inject. Some folks do. Your choice, but I haven’t found a need to. I make a mustard rub to get a bit of flavor for the bark, or the dark outside “crust” of the meat when you’re done. Rub it on, and toss the meat on the smoker.

Since I’ve got my hopper full and I don’t need to mess with keeping the temperature steady, I’ve got about three hours to kill before I prep the ribs. Otherwise, watch that temp and keep it as close to 225 as you can. Keep the smoke flowing!

Now it’s time to prep the ribs. I use the same sauce as for the shoulders. However…the ribs need a little extra love before you toss them on. There’s a hazy membrane on the underside of them that needs to come off, and it’s a pain in the ass.

When I put the ribs on is when I’ll put the meat thermometer in the shoulder. Put it through the thickest part of the meat.

Once I’ve got the ribs in there, probe in, I close it up and check back in three hours.

Now that three hours have elapsed, it’s time to get some more flavor on the ribs. Pull ’em out and get some heavy-duty aluminum foil. You’ll need two sheets per rack, enough to wrap them up from the bottom and the top. One sheet isn’t big enough to do it. Grab some dark brown sugar, honey, and Italian dressing. Normally I also add maple syrup, but since they already had maple smoke, I didn’t go that route this time. Sprinkle a good bit of the brown sugar on, pour some honey on, add a few squirts of dressing, and rub it all over until the ribs are nice and coated.

Now wrap it in the foil and get it back on the smoker for another two hours.

The shoulders, though they look delicious, are at a point in the cooking process known as the stall. The stall will last for a few hours. I started the shoulders out at 7 a.m. straight from the fridge, so ~37 degrees. My target temp is 203.

So in the first three hours, it shot up about 100 degrees. Then…it stalled. It takes the next six hours to get it through the next 60 degrees. There are ways you can minimize the stall time, such as wrapping the shoulder in foil, but you’re still going to have to deal with it. Don’t increase the temperature though. The fat needs time to render, which will make it soft and delicious and flavorful. Let it soak through.

After two hours, pull the ribs off and take them out of their foil pouch. Brush on the sauce and put them back on the smoker for another 45 minutes or so. For the sauce, I make it to taste every time. I have the same basic formula, but really it depends on how I’m feeling for what I want the sauce to be. It usually goes something like this:

• Sweet Baby Ray’s Original
• Mustard
• Honey
• Dark brown sugar
• Worcestershire sauce
• Apple cider vinegar

I usually make the rib sauce sweeter. I want the sugars to caramelize and just have a hint of the mustard and vinegar flavors, just enough to give it a little bite.

Once the ribs look good and the sauce looks like it’s caramelized right, I pull them off, brush on some more sauce, and cut them up.

I pull the shoulders off at about 203 degrees. I’ll test them in a few places to make sure it’s consistent throughout. When they come off, they should look like this:

Another good way to know if it’s ready at this point is to pull the bone out. If it comes out cleanly and without any effort, it’s right. But wait! There’s still time before they’re truly ready! All the juices and deliciousness needs to soak back through. You need to let them rest. Wrap it in foil and put it in a cooler for at least 30 minutes. That’ll soften the bark on the outside. Or…you can do it like I do. I like the bark being a little harder. I let them rest like that. I know, it’s barbecue sacrilege! Either way, after about 30 minutes, you’re ready to pull it apart.

I don’t add sauce. I let my guests sauce it up themselves, and honestly, if you do it right, you don’t even need it. The sauce complements the meat, it shouldn’t cover it up. I buy the eastern North Carolina style, vinegar based sauce, and I make a sweet and tangy one. Again, I make it to taste, but on this one I’ll add more vinegar, mustard, and I’ll put in a few squirts of hot sauce. I also combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and warm it up on the stove to make it a little thinner. My general ingredients:

• Sweet Baby Ray’s Original
• Honey mustard
• Dark brown sugar
• Italian dressing
• Worcestershire
• Honey
• Apple cider vinegar
• Frank’s hot sauce

Now, it’s ready to go. Call your guests, pile on the food, and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Congratulations! You’ve just taken another step towards being a Proficient Provider!

–I Am Jack–