Saturday, August 25, 2018

Apple Smoked Pork Roast

If you were to go the rest of your life only able to eat meat from one animal, which would you pick? Although it would be incredibly difficult to give up steak (prime rib in particular), I would have to pick pork. Pork is the most versatile of all the meats. It has both red meat and white meat capabilities. As in, you can smoke sweet, or you can go mesquite. But wait, there’s more. Sausage, bacon, ham.... Some would say you could make these out of other meats. I’d say, “Wrong. Turkey bacon is not bacon.”

And then... Pulled pork, loin, spare ribs. Mmmm. I shouldn’t be writing this while I’m hungry. Oh well. So many options, so many things you can do with pork that you can’t do with other meats. If I could only eat one, I’d eventually get bored from any other options… 


Speaking of great things you can do with pork, the other day I was up to my old grilling tricks. I’d gotten a pork butt roast from the grocery store. And, I remembered that pork and apples go together like boys and rowdiness, so naturally, I soaked up some of my applewood chunks and grilled me a savory, juicy, amazing smoked pork roast. Want some? Just follow these easy steps.


First prepare you grill. Spread burning coals out over one side of the grill, the side opposite your vent, if you have a fixed vent. Next gather pre-soaked applewood chunks. I let them soak overnight, depending on the size of your chunks, you’ll want to soak them anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours. Lay the applewood over the coals right before you’re ready to place your roast on the grill. 

To spice a pork butt roast is simple enough. I used salt, pepper, and cinnamon and rubbed them all over the roast. Next, I cut small holes throughout the meat, and stuffed garlic cloves and basil leaves into them. I did about 5 holes. Use as much as you wish. The roast I bought happen to have a nice netting holding it together, which made the next step easy. I stuffed apple slices underneath the netting, covering the top of the roast. If you don’t have a netting, you could use toothpicks, or perhaps placing them in holes might work. 
 
Once you’ve done all that, you are ready to throw the pork on the grates, opposite the coals. As you take in the heavenly applewood aroma, position the lid on the grill with the vent sitting over the roast. Leave covered for at least one hour. Feel free to add quicker cooking foods after that time. The meat will take longer than one hour, but you want to keep the smoke in and not allow the fire to get too hot. 

Using an instant read thermometer, I wanted to check for an internal temperature of 145 degrees (because that’s what the National Pork Board recommends), but I left it in a smidge too long for that temp. It hit 165. I’ve read some places that say you should cook all meats to 165, but posh. 145 is likely the absolute lowest you’d want to go with pork. Anyway, mine was 165, and it was still excellent. So, take that information and do with it as you wish. Larger chunks of meat can handle higher temp better than, say, a chop. 


Once the roast hits the temperature you want, pull it out and let it rest for 10 minute. Once rested, slice it up against the grain, take out the garlic chunks (if you’re not tough enough to handle them), and enjoy.

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