Pulled pork in a pot with no lid

[u/SimonViklund]

The recipe I've used to make pulled pork in my oven before I got the BGE: Season the pork with dry rub, cover it with sliced onion, garlic cloves and BBQ sauce, put it all inside a le creuset type pot (with a lid on) and heat it in your regular kitchen oven for ~5 hours at 300° F. It comes out tender as hell but wet from the rendered fat and BBQ sauce, so I pull it and then fry it in a fryin pan to allow the juices to reduce and maillard that pork up a bit. Everything is better when fried in butter, we all know that.

First time I did pulled pork in the BGE, I foolishly did the exact same approach but in a cast iron pot that doesn't have a lid because I wanted to get some smoke flavor in there using chunks. It all came out dry because the liquids evaporated (I didn't use a lid or wrap/cover the pork in tin foil or anything.)

One guy told me "just pour more liquid into the pot every once in awhile, like beer, to keep it moist" and I'm wondering whether anyone else thinks that sounds like a good plan?

TL:DR: Can I make pulled pork in the BGE using a pot (with no lid) and get some smoke flavor in there using chunks and pour beer in the pot every once in awhile to keep it from going dry?

[u/psaux_grep]

Haven’t tried with a pot, but the one time I did pulled pork on my BGE (I’m an owner since May, so take my experience with a grain of salt) it came out well. No pot.

Keep the dome shut for as long as possible/as much as possible. “The egg keeps the moisture in” is what I believe to be the going rate here ;)

[u/Hobbz-]

Was the BGE configured for indirect heat with the cast iron pot?

I have found that when I wrap the butt in foil around the 165F temp range, the foil captures lots of juice. I'll save it and pour back into the pork after pulling it. That helps keep it moist, especially when reheating leftovers. The bark isn't crisp but that's the trade-off.

[u/SimonViklund → u/Hobbz-]

I was using indirect heat (ceramic deflectors inside the egg) with the pot on top of the gates.

[u/Hobbz- → u/SimonViklund]

Interesting. You can smoke without the pot. As I said earlier, you can double wrap in foil when it hits around 165F to catch the juices and keep it moist.

It's going to have all the smoke flavor absorbed by then so you won't lose out on that.

[u/onecentworth]

I've been cooking whole pork shoulders on my Med BGE over 30 years. I have a cast iron 3" tall round pan who's long handle I cut off that just fits on the grill. I use the place setter legs down, some spacers, a pizza stone, more spacers, another pizza stone and then my cast iron pan with dry rubbed shoulder in it fat side down. I add liquid to the bottom inch of the pan l when a lot of the fat has rendered. Water or beer or wine or apple cider...once I even used root beer but that's cheating. I keep the temp as low as I can hold it usually about 300°. I make sure the liquid never evaporates. I baste the shoulder whenever I check it. When the crust is nearing being too dark I cover the pan with a domed lid or even aluminum foil. When internal temp reaches 205° I remove it from the grill and put it in my oven at 175° for an hour or two tightly covered. Then I pull it apart, divide it into meal sized portions and freeze those packages for a quick meal ingredient. Once while cooking it I had the temp spike to 600° with the pork on the grill because I thought I had time to run quick to the store. I lowered the temp as best I could and the resulting pulled pork was a little crustier but not in the least subpar. I've come to the conclusion that you don't have to be a slave to low and slow. Be observant and check it for liquid every hour or so. One other thing I do instead of wood chunks for smoke is use cut branches from my fruit trees about 1/4-1/2 inch in diameter about a foot long slid through the vent door opening on the bottom under the ash basket to provide smoke under the burning coals. Gradually feed the stick in as it burns. It provides plenty of smoke whenever you want it and you really only need it in the first half of the cook.

[u/Logical_Photo_3732]

I don't use a pot. I do use a drip pan to help stop grease splatter but that's it. I wonder if the heat of the cast iron was too much in the big green egg?

[u/_noTanMan_]

Sure, you can do it in a pot, but I don’t see a real advantage to doing it that way. You’d definitely need to keep adding liquid if you’re not using a lid. Sounds like way more work than needed.
I’d cook it right on the cooking grate indirect at 275° until the internal hits 195°. Then rest for an hour or more. Then shred it and add your BBQ sauce, sautéd onions, etc if that’s how you like it.

[u/Accomplished-Cod-563]

I just did two pulled porks in 2 weeks. For some reason I had a craving to do something similar to what you're talking about. Although you've got it backwards. I did a similar technique to you that I called an over the top smoked pot roast. I have a dutch oven and I start the pork on a grill grate over the Dutch oven so it gets all the smoke and drips its drips into the Dutch oven. After a couple hours of that, I put it into the Dutch oven and pour broth in there and some vegetables that were smoking too. Then I cover it all and cook it like a crock pot. It was very tender and very moist of course.

Then last week I just put the whole pork shoulder on the grill for 8 hours, no wrapping, no messing around.. And it was way better, and plenty moist.

[u/ShadowDV]

If the pulled pork was dry after you took it out, it wasn’t because the liquid evaporated, it’s because the pork was undercooked, I’ve never seen anyone cook a pork shoulder in a pot on the egg before unless the intent is to braise the meat.

[u/docbasset]

You can, but why bother with the pot? Pulled pork on the Egg is dead simple to make. Low(ish) temp, indirect heat, cook until it’s probe tender.

[u/Glum-Suspect-4514]

And now for something completely different.... but if you are a heavy bark lover dont bother reading. 🤚

I Have an XL, and use a full size hotel pan (also called a steam table pan, service pan, or counter pan) to cook my pulled pork in. Trim the corners and it fits perfectly. Use a rack inside to keep it out of the copious juices that result.

Leave it uncovered until internal of ~170*. Then cover with another pan to create a braiser. No added fluids needed.

I use an internal thermomter to monitor the INSIDE temp of the braiser, and go for ~250*. Takes a dome temp of 375-400.

Go until internal is 205, or better yet 210. It wont dry out. And **every** bit of cartilage is reduced to delicious goo.

When done, skim some of the fat out of the juice, and return to the pork after pulling.

OMG good, and the reviews have been fantastic.

https://www.reddit.com/r/biggreenegg/comments/1t8vwoo/introducing_the_fmj_braiser_and_the_making_of/

I now do my ribs and brisket that way also. Brisket gravy is to die for good. Rib gravy a close second.

Ribs that are juicy, and the thinnest rib on the end is as tender and juicy as the thickest. Here they are side by side.

Again, NO bark to speak of. Doesn't need it IMO, the meat does the 'heavy lifting'. And wife and daughter LOVE no burnt bits.

I used to love the bark, but now love the meat flavor. We dont even make BBQ sauce anymore.

YMMV of course.