I grew up on pulled pork with a sweet flavor profile. Sweet seems to be the go to when folks make pulled pork. I'm here to tell you that a savory profile is a great change of pace that I absolutely love. A friend of mine named Phillip that helped me get my start in BBQ years ago taught me what he called a "Mexican pork butt." He took 2nd place at the American Royal in Pork with this recipe. My good buddy Sean Woodson, AKA Three Woodys BBQ, and I got to talking about Phillip's recipe. Woody went on to tell me about a recipe he was making that was similar but sounded even better to me. It's close to carnitas, but there are no crispy bits in here. Woody came and helped me with a pop up class in September, 2021 where we featured this recipe. This recipe was a huge hit, so we finally decided to write it up and shoot a How To video on it.
Meat Church How To YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/UkenVuBMW5o
Ingredients
- 1 bone in pork butt. 8-10 lbs.
- Meat Church Dia de la Fajita Seasoning
- Hot Sauce. We used Cholula.
- 1 stick unsalted butter, slice into pats
- 1/2 C Chicken Stock
- Tools
- 1 half steam pan & foil to cover
- Instant Read Thermometer
Prepare your Smoker
Prepare your smoker at a temperature of 250 degrees. I recommend a heavier smoke wood or pellet for this cook such as oak, mesquite, hickory or pecan. We used the Meat Church pellet blend.
Pork butt prep
Remove all excess fat from the pork butt.
Prepare the pork butt
Slather the pork butt thoroughly in hot sauce. Season all sides of the pork liberally with Meat Church Dia de la Fajita Seasoning. Allow the pork butt to "sweat out" for at least 15 minutes which just means let the season fully adhere.
Smoking the pork butt
This cook should take around 7-8 hours or so depending on weight. Plan on an hour per pound. Place the butt directly on the grate, fat side down.
We are cooking this butt until it has developed a great bark and has reached at least 170 degrees internal temp before we wrap. I highly recommend an instant read thermometer. This will probably be around 5-6 hours in depending on size and temp of your cooker.
At this point remove the butt and place it in a half steam pan. Apply a liberal coating of hot sauce. Apply more Dia de la Fajita seasoning. Then top it with the sliced butter. Pour the chicken stock in the bottom of the pan.
Cover the pan tightly with foil and return to the smoker. Continue smoking the butt until it reaches 205 degrees internal temperature. You will not be able to feel any resistance when you probe with your instant read thermometer.
Finishing
Allow the butt to rest at least 30 minutes.
Optionally - Pour the au jus into a fat separator. You can preserve this to dredge the meat through to add some great moisture when you serve.
Shred or pull the pork. Sprinkle more seasoning and toss the pork.
Toss the pork in the au jus.
Build tacos or sandwiches and enjoy!
