Second attempt at injecting a pork hand

[KamadoSimon]

Ok, been a few weeks since we've done a long cook - so going to try one this Sunday with some of the ideas that Steve suggested. It will also be my first attempt at a long cook with a) BIg K charcoal & b) using the Maverick which was delivered this week - new toys!

- 3.2KG pork hand / Boston Butt with the bone still in;
- 1 pint of apple juice with some salt added;
- going to inject it Saturday evening & then when I am done, wrap in cling film to hold all the liquid in;
- Add a simple rub all over, made up from:

- soft brown sugar;
- garlic salt;
- black pepper;
- chilli powder;
- smoked paprika;

Will add some photographs as I go.

Any ideas on the ratio of Apple Juice to salt for the injecting? Thought I would try this method rather than a brine bath...

Cheers,

Simon

[bencops]

A tablespoon of salt in that amount of apple juice.
And 1/4 cup brown sugar.

[KamadoSimon]

Ok - thanks. And is that about the right amount of juice I am thinking of using?

[bencops]

yes, all sounds good. Have fun!

[keith157]

What Bencops said. On a purely technical note, you are experimenting with a new technique and adding two variables. Scientifically you should only vary one of the factors either the new charcoal, brining or the Maverick.
Not pontificating just speaking as Devil's Advocate as I threw everything together when I got my IQue and was successful. But then again I'd had no success whatsoever without it
Good luck and let's face it if it's edible, and why wouldn't it be , try the variables one at a time. Okay you have to eat more beautiful pork, and maybe buy elasticated waistbands but in the long run you'll have cracked it.

[KamadoSimon]

I know where you are coming from Keith - but i have cooked with nearly a bag of the stuff now and am fairly confident it'll see me through until morning at a fairly constant temperature of 250f - i've set the maverick to warn me if it falls below 220f or goes above 270f and of course as soon as the meat is at 200f internal i'll pull it. So it'll just be my sleep that suffers if anything goes wrong as i've decided to do it overnight. Starting 40 mins ago. Wish me luck - the wind & rain are awful!

[KamadoSimon]

The Kamado held it's temperature really well all night, despite the gale, the torrential rain & the fact it was showing 4 degrees out when I got home at 10pm last night.

It had dipped to 221F at 7am this morning from 250F-ish when I went to bed at around midnight. So I checked the charcoal & sure enough, there wasn't a whole lot left. This is down to me not putting on bigger chunks - but given it was lit at 10.30 last night, not bad going.

Refreshed the charcoal & the meat hit a stall - it was only off the grill for 5 minutes maximum, but when it went back on it stayed at 164F for ages before starting to creep up after an hour and a half.

Hoping to finish the cook around midday, then wrap & keep warm until dinner.

Really impressed with the Maverick's though - great piece of kit.

Just before being put on the BBQ:


At 7am this morning:

[JEC]

Result on the temperatures staying stable all night unattended. Hope it comes off in time for lunch.

[Swindon_Ed]

Simon, i'd recomend trying hot and fast pork, as i've been cooking most things this way as i can't be bothered to do overnight cooks at home and i'm getting great results, you just need to finish the meat at a slightly higher temp'. Cooking hot will save the need to cook overnight and with a ceramic it'll be easy to maintain the higher temp', you also don't get any stall cooking hot.

[KamadoSimon]

Hi Ed - agreed, I am going to try one at 300F next & see how that compares. But with the Mavericks in place, I am going to be perfectly happy to do another overnighter - these things hold their temperature so well that you can get 8 hours kip without a worry. What temperature do you do your high cooks at? And do you do anything different with the rub or meat? Cheers, Simon