Dueling Pork Butts Smoked
Get ready to elevate your backyard barbecue game with this ultimate 'Dueling Pork Butts Smoked' recipe—a showdown of bold flavors and smoky perfection! Featuring two distinct seasoning profiles, one savory with a kick of smoked paprika and cumin and the other sweet and spicy with brown sugar and cayenne, this recipe lets you showcase the versatility of tender, fall-apart pork. Slowly smoked over a mix of hickory and applewood, the meat is spritzed with a tangy apple cider vinegar blend to ensure a juicy, flavor-packed result with a perfectly crisp bark. Whether you're feeding a crowd or perfecting your pitmaster skills, this recipe is the centerpiece your smoker has been waiting for. Serve these dueling pork butts side by side and let your guests savor the delicious battle of flavors!
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Recipe Information
Ingredients
- 2 pieces Pork butt (bone-in or boneless)
- 0.5 cups Yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons Black pepper, freshly cracked
- 2 tablespoons Smoked paprika
- 1.5 tablespoons Garlic powder
- 1.5 tablespoons Onion powder
- 1 tablespoon Cumin
- 3 tablespoons Brown sugar, packed
- 0.5 teaspoons Cayenne pepper
- 1 cup Apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup Apple juice (or other fruit juice of choice)
- 4 cups Wood chips or chunks for smoking (e.g., hickory and applewood)
Instructions
Prepare the pork butts by trimming excess fat, leaving about 1/4-inch for flavor and moisture.
Rub each pork butt with a thin layer of yellow mustard to create a binder for the seasoning.
For the first pork butt, combine Kosher salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and cumin. Generously coat the pork, ensuring all sides are covered.
For the second pork butt, combine Kosher salt, black pepper, brown sugar, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Generously coat the pork, ensuring even coverage.
Preheat your smoker to 225°F (107°C) and prepare a mixture of hickory and applewood chips or chunks for a balanced smoky flavor.
Place the pork butts on the smoker, ensuring that they are not touching to allow for even airflow.
Smoke the pork for 6 hours, spritzing every hour with a 50/50 mixture of apple cider vinegar and apple juice to keep the meat moist and enhance the bark.
At the 6-hour mark or when the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C), wrap each pork butt tightly in aluminum foil to retain moisture and speed up cooking.
Return the pork butts to the smoker and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 203°F (95°C) for optimal tenderness, approximately 4 more hours.
Remove the pork butts from the smoker and let them rest, still wrapped, for at least 30 minutes.
Unwrap the pork butts and shred the meat using forks or meat claws, discarding any excessive fat or connective tissue. Toss the shredded meat in the juices collected in the foil, if desired, for added flavor.
Serve the dueling pork butts side by side with your favorite barbecue sauces and accompaniments to showcase their contrasting flavors.
Nutrition Facts
Calories |
1537 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
% Daily Value* |
|||
| Total Fat | 119.9 g | 154% | |
| Saturated Fat | 41.3 g | 206% | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.0 g | ||
| Cholesterol | 409 mg | 136% | |
| Sodium | 1374 mg | 60% | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 12.5 g | 5% | |
| Dietary Fiber | 3.9 g | 14% | |
| Total Sugars | 5.4 g | ||
| Protein | 102.0 g | 204% | |
| Vitamin D | 0.0 mcg | 0% | |
| Calcium | 123 mg | 9% | |
| Iron | 7.0 mg | 39% | |
| Potassium | 1789 mg | 38% | |
*The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
