Equipment needed for startup

[SoEzzy]

[Herman]

the picture provided by cape looks pretty much the way I serve my q and it is cooked to 195-200

Herman

[corndog]

I'll second Herman....ours looks about the same, and I am sure that some of those larger peices could be pulled also.
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Kevin "Corndog" Cameron

Dang it boy, that's some mighty fine eatin'!!!!

[Pit Boss]

SoEzzy, the others are correct. That butt would have hit at least 195 as that's the way I cook all my butts. It also was not sliced...I'm from eastern North Carolina, and while that butt was smoked and not cooked the traditional Eastern NC way, we certainly don't slice our pork...we chop it!

A butt cooked to 195 and chopped is nor more mushy than a butt cooked to 195 and pulled. It has more to do with perception than actual mushiness...in my opinion.

My technique is to simply break the butt into a few large pieces, sort of mash them with the heel of my hand, and then quickly give it a 'medium' chop. Works for me.
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Somewhere in Kenya...a village is missing their idiot.

[SoEzzy]

No problem cape_fisherman I don't mind being wrong...well I do mind, but not when it's for educational purposes.

I've seen so many that take pork to over 195, then chop or sliced, and all you get from some kitchens is mushy meat.

Your picture still looks good and firm not mushy, hence my question about the temperature it had reached, and the technique for chop or slice.
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Here's a change Robert.

I still work here!

[Pit Boss]

I'd guess that most places that slice are taking their meat to 170-175. I really don't know as I don't use that technique.
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Somewhere in Kenya...a village is missing their idiot.

[corndog]

I think we have a difference of perceptions of bbq prep...
Sliced
Pulled
Chopped (varies in coarsness)
Pulverized....

In different parts of the country, heck, even in different parts of the state, que is prepared differently, both in cooking and serving.
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Kevin "Corndog" Cameron

Dang it boy, that's some mighty fine eatin'!!!!

[Joe Bryant]

Thanks for the insights, capefisherman. What do you like to chop with? A cleaver? Or something more like the knife in the photo?

J

[Pit Boss]

With bbq cooked to 190-200 you can chop with either a clever or large knife...it's gonna fall apart anyway.

I grew up using a cleaver...and still do. When I'm cooking at home I generally just grab a 12" cimeter knife (like you see in the picture).

When cooking butts the knife works just fine. If I was cooking a whole shoulder with skin or a whole hog, and I wanted to chop some of the crispy skin in with the meat, then I'd highly recommend a cleaver. The added weight will just work better.

I have very fond memories as a child watching the "old men" chopping up whole hogs at fundraisers (typically those for churches or volunteer fire departments) with two cleavers each...one in each hand. The music they made with those two cleavers rhythmically hitting the wooden chopping blocks was magical. That's another reason I will many times use a cleaver...not because I have to, but because I simply just like the sound.

I will say that the picture I posted is nothing like the bbq I grew up on. In the pic the meat is a butt, smoked, and what I call a medium chop. I grew up on bbq that was cooked over direct coals, whole hog, and very finely chopped. By not being indirect smoked, traditional Eastern NC bbq is a much lighter color and won't have a smoke ring (also because of the whole hog being cooked with the skin on). The chop is so fine that some folks from off say it looks like sawdust. Many of those same people don't like it...too bad for them.
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Somewhere in Kenya...a village is missing their idiot.

[pafisher]

buffalo choppers rule !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i wish i had one . i've used them many times ,once you get used to them you can do many things with them ,and if you are doing all the prep yourself,it'll make your life much easier.
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