Super Bowl - Zurcher Style

I haven't mentioned this before, but I got Robert a Big Green Egg for Christmas this year. 

It is a ceramic grill/smoker that we have been trying out for the past few months.  We have made delicious steaks, burgers, chicken, turkey breasts, etc. based on recipes off the Internet.  You see, the Big Green Egg (BGE) has a bit of a cult following.  Google a couple of recipes and see what turns up.  We will call these people, um, passionate.  I didn't say crazy, just passionate.  So, I'm talking to my friend Dan the other day, Hi Dan!, and we somehow get on the subject of the BGE.  I think it started with the Super Bowl menu and how yummy it sounded.  He and his wife cook all the time on the BGE.  So, he says he's doing pulled pork for Sunday.  I want to do pulled pork.  So, I do a bit of research on the Internet and Dan provides a crash course as well.  I find a 10.5 pound pork butt at the store and take him home.  I want to make sure I have enough butt.  I've been told I have more than enough butt, and trying to find a pair of jeans to put this butt in is just further proof.  I like big butts and I cannot lie...

All the research says it takes 1 to 1.5 hours per pound on the BGE to do a butt properly.  So, we are looking at about 12-16 hours at a temp around 225 degrees.  Taylor's closing night was last night, so we decided to put the thing on the grill before we went.  If it got done a little early, you can remove from the grill, wrap in foil and towels, and place in a cooler for another 3-4 hours.  I guess math was hard for us last night because we could have waited until we got home from the performance, but we didn't and put it in at 5:00 pm.  I got up at 5:30 am and things were humming along so I went back to bed.  Ish.  When I got up again at 7:00, all hell had broken loose.  The temp was 175 and the internal butt temp was 192.  Needs to be 200.  So, after constant consultation from Dan, I ignored his advice of finishing in the oven and restarted the grill.  Since I wasn't in a hurry, I thought it might be ok for it to go a bit longer.  So glad I did.  The meat went down to 181, but once the grill got going, it started to rise.  So, after 18 hours at 11:30, I took the meat off the grill.  I wrapped it twice in heavy duty foil, wrapped it in swaddling clothes (towels), and layed it in a manger (cooler).  I am exhausted.  I feel like I have been through childbirth.  Going to let it hang there a couple of hours before I shred. 

Dan also gave me a recipe for Atomic Terds, which are stuffed jalepenos with cream cheese, smoked gouda, and wrapped in bacon.  He also adds some taco meat or other kind of meat with the spices from the pork rub. I think they need a new name.  I'm just saying. 

Jalapeno photos courtesy of DZ

A good time was had by all.  Back to eating healthy today.