Pulled pork breakfast tacos

E

EricC

Member
Last weekend I smoked a pork butt, a 16 hour cook that yielded around 7lbs of finished product...


And that means lots of leftovers. What to do? A favorite is pulled pork breakfast tacos...

In my experience the best way to heat tortillas is on a hot, dry skillet. Better results than the oven, and don't even bother using a microwave...




Assembled...


And I like mine served with a little salsa fresca...


Delicious!
 
Now that looks like a filling breakfast with a lot of flavor. I just drink coffee most of the time in the morning but I'd make room for two of those. And maybe a Bloody Mary on a Saturday morning. Id be all set a ready for a nap 8:30 am
 
You got a 7 lb. net yield from one pork butt? That's highly unusual, it's more often like 50% on an 8-9 lb. bone-in roast. 16 hours seems awfully long, too. That is WSM you're cooking on, yes? What temp were you running?
 
It was a 11.5 lb butt and I trimmed about 1.5 lbs fat off, cap and misc. I normally see more like a 60% yield but really I'm just estimating, aside from the original weight. I had originally been thinking 6 lbs but rounded up because this one seemed to have a better meat ratio than usual. So yes 7 lbs might be pushing it.

The guideline from virtualweberbullet is 1 1/2 to 2 hours per lb after trimming and I've found 16 hours for a butt that size to be around the sweet spot. This one ended up especially tender, falling apart as I took it off.

Yes, an 18.5" WSM, loaded with most (maybe 16 lbs) of a 18.6 lb bag using the Minion method, maintained a steady 225 throughout.
 
I, too, smoke butts for about 16 hours at 225. It takes about that long to get the meat up to 190 deg, which is what I call the "pulling point".
 
I switched to 250 - 275° in my standard Weber and found the 8 hour cook time more to my liking. I couldn’t tell any difference in quality.

With just 2 of us, I find myself going to a BBQ joint that does it right overnight and getting a lb. for $14 to go. Two meals and that’s enough for a while. I’m still trying to get my head around brunch taco’s.

Hilditch
 
I don't usually see bone-in butts that large. I used to get the 2 in cryovac from Sam's, and they never weighed more than about 18 total. I also went to 250 at the top grate as my standard temp, and found no difference than cooking lower. Actually, anything under 300 is still considered "low". TVWB is a great resource. I used to be on the forum there regularly years ago.
 
I don't know where Doug is located but I see Hilditch is in GA.

I'm a Texas boy and down here brisket, ribs, and sausage are the main staples. Pulled pork is done but you don't find it in every BBQ joint. And Texas style is different, the pork is typically left dry; the stuff I had in NC had been soaked in some sort of apple cider vinegar sauce. Personally I go somewhere in the middle and add a little apple juice to keep it moist without getting too acidic (The Wife doesn't like acidity).

Breakfast tacos, though, are ubiquitous down here. Most BBQ joints offer them in the morning, and non-BBQ versions are found pretty much anywhere you can get breakfast.

A few years ago I was stranded overnight in the ATL airport. I wanted to grab some breakfast tacos for my flight out the next morning, and I walked all over that dang airport and couldn't find them anywhere. Y'all are missing out... ;)

Anyway, this time of year I do long cooks on Saturdays while watching CFB, often with the smoker, something different every weekend. I've been trying to keep my food posts here related to cast iron cooking and the smoked butt was meant as preamble, but I've enjoyed the sidebar BBQ discussion.

This weekend, though, I'm leaving the smoker alone and doing a DO recipe inspired by something Spurgeon posted, stay tuned...
 
If God would have intended for BBQ to be anything other than pork, He wouldn't have invited pigs.

Those breakfast tacos look delicious. I'll have to try that!
 
Spurgeon

If you ever come to Texas and try our brisket you just might change your mind

PM me when you are coming and Ill take you to the best joints

Jack
 
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