Dear Abby:

OK - I hate to admit it, but -

I think I may need your perfessional opinion.

Now I don't want to you to get a swelled head or hurt yourself in any way,

so be careful.

I'm thinking of making some pulled pork BBQ with pork shoulder butts.

Everything I've read, or everybody I've talked to says just to cook the meat

in a covered pan with water and some sauce in the bottom, boiling it until it falls apart.

What I had in mind, however, was to brown the meat real good on all sides first, with some rub on it.

Then put the meat in a pot with some genuine Gladys sauce and spices and maybe a couple cans of beer,

rather than water for the steam. Slow cook it for a long time until it falls apart. Take it out and pull it all apart,

then put it on a tray over a fire to brown it all up some more before putting it in a serving dish with a little more sauce.

Am I correct in my thinking that this should have a lot more flavor than just boiling the pork?

Dear Abby:

OK - I hate to admit it, but -

I think I may need your perfessional opinion.

Now I don't want to you to get a swelled head or hurt yourself in any way,

so be careful.

I'm thinking of making some pulled pork BBQ with pork shoulder butts.

Everything I've read, or everybody I've talked to says just to cook the meat

in a covered pan with water and some sauce in the bottom, boiling it until it falls apart.

What I had in mind, however, was to brown the meat real good on all sides first, with some rub on it.

Then put the meat in a pot with some genuine Gladys sauce and spices and maybe a couple cans of beer,

rather than water for the steam. Slow cook it for a long time until it falls apart. Take it out and pull it all apart,

then put it on a tray over a fire to brown it all up some more before putting it in a serving dish with a little more sauce.

Am I correct in my thinking that this should have a lot more flavor than just boiling the pork?

I would think it would have a lot more flavor. I usually cook boston butts in the smoker oven (low and slow) with just the rub on them, but I don't see why your plan wouldn't be good. That's kind of how they make the barbecue at the Toga benefit-they cook the whole boston butts on a big grill, but they don't cook them until they're completly done. Then they take them off the grill and pull the meat off and put it in these big stainless steel pans with the sauce and let it simmer in the sauce until it's done. Everybody seems to like it.

Tom,

If you cook them slow in the smoker oven, do they dry out?

Or do you have some sauce or liquid in there with them for steam?

I'm remembering the South Florida BBQ places doing the butts in a fire all day,

cooking real slow - and they are excellent.

Then you put your own sauce on the meat at the table.

I think it's this weekend's project.

Thanks,

PVS

Tom,

If you cook them slow in the smoker oven, do they dry out?

Or do you have some sauce or liquid in there with them for steam?

I'm remembering the South Florida BBQ places doing the butts in a fire all day,

cooking real slow - and they are excellent.

Then you put your own sauce on the meat at the table.

I think it's this weekend's project.

Thanks,

PVS

Absolutely not-it seems to work like browning or searing the meat on the outside, sealing the juices in. The first time I made one of those smokers I cooked a whole hind quarter of venison in it, kind of just testing it out. I was expecting it to be really tough and was very surprised when I went to slice it when it was done and the juices just started running out of it. It was very tender and i've been a smoker oven fan ever since. A chicken on a can comes out the same way. I always smoke a whole turkey at Thanksgiving and they don't even get dry.