Smoking a Pork Butt in a Garbage Can Smoker

When summer comes around, outdoor cooking beckons and with little room in our Georgetown home for a standard offset smoker, the family retreats for part of the season to Narragansett, Rhode Island.  There we have more space to play, and more time to cook on weekends.  This past weekend we pulled out our homemade garbage can smoker from the garage for a low a slow smoke of some cured pork butt (also know as a pork picnic).  This cut of meat is comes from the shoulder of the pig, is relatively inexpensive (although prices for pork have recently skyrocketed due to PED, a porcine virus that has been killing piglets), and requires long cooking or braising over low heat to bring out both its tenderness and full flavor.
We built this smoker out of a need for such a device with limited funds, plus a new project for me and the kids.  Did I save much money versus a store-bought smoker?  Probably only a little and even less when you factor in the time to build.  But the satisfaction, coupled with its efficacy, can't be beat.

This is simply a 30 gallon (I think) galvanized steel garbage can I picked up at Home Depot.  I drilled some damper holes around the bottom that can be opened or closed with steel electrical box covers that have been secured to the can with sheet metal screws and can be swiveled up or down to cover the holes.  Similar holes have been drilled in the lid of the can with dampers.  The key to the build is to give the pit master as much control over the fire so as to keep the temp in the 250-275 range.

Four long 1/4 inch bolts are secured around the perimeter of the can, about 2/3 of the way up from the bottom.  These bolts provide a simple rack upon which a free-standing grill grate sits to support the meat.  The grate does not have to be super heavy duty as it is only supporting the meat at low temp.  No grill marks are intended.  But make sure the grate will fit in your garbage can or can be cut down to fit.

The most important modification?  A thermometer, at the same elevation in the as the meat.  I simply drilled a 1/2 inch hole (per the instructions on the thermometer) and bolted it in.

The Cure
 I like my pork smoked with a dry rub only with no sauce.  This cure can be massaged into the meat as little as just before smoking, or for a deeper flavor can be done the night before.  If doing a long cure, make certain to leave a little extra cure to add just before cooking as juices from the meat will render the older rub more like syrup.  A little fresh rub just before hitting the grill will create a nice bark and bring out the full flavor of the spices.

Most classic cure begins with a mixture of salt and sugar, and mine is no different.  The ratio of salt to sugar is 1:3 (1 part salt, 3 parts sugar) and I use kosher salt and light brown sugar.  This cure is about 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup salt.

Now to the spices.  There are many adjuncts to boost the flavor of the cure: turmeric, paprika, onion power, garlic powder, celery salt to name a few.  I keep it simple with only four:  cayenne pepper, thyme (dried), rosemary (dried and crushed) and black pepper.

ratios are simply eyeballed, but think that in this rub each addition equated to about one tablespoon.

Our two pieces of meat after an overnight cure:

 And with a little extra rub just prior to hitting the smoker:

The Smoker Setup

To get the smoker going I simply pour into the bottom and start one small bag of charcoal with the lid off.  I wait until the coals are ashed over and spread.  Now for the smoke.  We use HICKORY or OAK for our smoking medium, in either chunks or chips.  We do not bother to soak.

Getting the smoking material into the can while the grate is in place is a little dicey, especially after the preheating of the charcoal.  We simply place a few handfuls of chunks down either side of the grate where they will make contact with the charcoal.  They may begin to flame initially, but once the meat is on and the cover is closed, limited oxygen will change this flame to a slow char.

Then we add the meat:

And replace the cover:

...and monitor the heat.  The temperature will  drop quickly.  adjust the baffles, and potentially even leave the lid slightly ajar, until you dial in (on the thermometer) the proper range of 250-275.

Because this is smoking rather than grilling, you will not need to turn the meat.  Your singular focus, then, is to confirm that there is enough smoking material in the bucket to keep the smoke flowing, and to keep the temperature constant.

 Blah Blah Blah and then five hours later we have serious smoke integration and the famous pork bark.

But these babies ain't done.

Five hours in the dry, white smoke is not long enough to fully cook this butt.  But(t) these cuts, in my opinion, have absorbed enough smoke.  Now on to the oven, where temperature is more evening controlled and we can add a little liquid (water) to finish the cut.

Lay these (now smaller) cuts out onto a sheet pan or deep 9 x 13 dish, throw in a cup of water, and cover with foil.  Oven to 275.  The plan here is to contain some moisture in the envelope which will slow cook the meat the rest of the way, and keep it moist.

3 MORE HOURS

Oh yeah. I forgot to say,  if your fire is not burning in the smoker by 10am, you are going to be eating late.

See the vid of some of our silliness here:



 Jeff.