Cherry Hickory Romano Rub

[NDKoze]

I am trying out a new rub tonight.

It is from my favorite seasoning company Excalibur and is called "Cherry Hickory Romano Rub". It definitely has a heavy smell of Cherry that I picked up as I was applying the rub and smells absolutely fantastic!

I brined this using Tony's brine that is posted earlier in this Pork section. My only modification to the brine is that I used Johnny Seasoning Garlic Spread seasoning instead of the Garlic Powder.

Here it is as I made it:

• 2 Quarts Water
• ½ Cup Kosher Salt
• ½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar
• ¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar (with The Mother)
• ½ TSP Instacure #1
• 1.5 TSP Johnny Seasoning Garlic Spread Seasoning
• 1.5 TSP Onion Powder
• 1 TSP Cayenne Pepper
• 1 TSP Ground Black Pepper

I brined the 8.1lb Boston Butt for about 14 hours, rinsed, patted dry, applied Yellow Mustard, applied the Cherry Hickory Romano Rub, and then let it set in the fridge for an hour to get happy happy happy.

I just put it in the cold #3 with 5.6 ounces of Cherry wood at 140 where I'll run it for 45 minutes. After the 45 minute ramp-up I'll crank it up to 225 and go to bed and wait for the goodness tomorrow.

I didn't notice that I didn't do a very good job of applying the rub to the sides until I looked at the pictures, but I'm not going to mess with it now. I am sure it'll be OK.

Hopefully, if I remember I'll take some more pictures tomorrow of the finished product. My two boys and I will have a meal of this tomorrow. But the rest is going to be vacuum sealed to be used on our upcoming week-long camping trip next week.

 

[DivotMaker]

Oh my, Gregg!  Can't wait to hear the review on this one!  Looks like a tasty rub!

 

[NDKoze]

The Cherry Hickory Romano Rubbed Boston Butt turned out really well.

I don't know if it will replace my tried/true Smokehouse Seasoning, but it was very good and I will use again. It had a nice mix of sweet cherry flavor, deep hickory, and some heat from some red pepper flakes.

My kids devoured it. I vacuum packaged up 2/3 of the butt in 1/3 packages for upcoming camping trips and we ate the other third. I was hoping to have a few morsels to take into work for my manager to test because he just ordered a #2. But my kids ate it all up and there wasn't anything left.

 

[DivotMaker]

That's beautiful, Gregg!  It even has a cherry color!

 

[Smokster]

Very nice even and consistent colour.  The butt looks really juicy, did you foil wrap and let it sit?

 

[NDKoze]

Yeah, it turned out really well. I didn't realize that it did have the nice Cherry color too.

To answer your question Tony, yes, I did double-foil wrap and rested in a cooler under towels for 2 hours.

You can kind of see in the pick that it actually fell apart (broke in half) when I moved it from the foil to the pulling pan. But I stuck it back together for the picture 

 

[Pork Belly]

Looks Great! What was the total cook time and the internal temp when you pulled it? Pulled or sliced?

 

[NDKoze]

Total cook time was about 17 hours. It was a 8.1lb butt, so was a little over two hours per pound which is about normal for me based on my previous smokes.

I smoked at 135 for the first hour and then 225 for the remainder of the time.

Pulled at 201, foiled/rested for 2 hours, and then pulled.

I haven't done a sliced butt yet, but I plan to some time. From what I have seen here, most people that slice cook to 175 or so. But, for you guys that slice, do you let it cool before you slice or do you slice it when it is warm? I would think a cooled butt would slice a lot nicer depending on how thin you want the slices.

 

[Pork Belly]

I sliced last nights butt. The main course was going to be ribs but I started the butt early then pulled everything at once when the ribs were done. The butt was 177 at that point, I have pulled them at 150 on up if I know it is going to be sliced. I foiled it tight and covered it with one towel. I hand sliced it about 40 minutes after I foiled it. There was still plenty of warmth in it. I could have let it totally cool to get a thinner slice but I wanted to put a little out on the table. Sometimes I prefer sliced over pulled because we use it for different types of meals.

 

[NDKoze]

I would like to try slicing for my next one.

I would probably slice enough for the current meal and then cool the rest and slice later for packaging up what I want to package.

Does the bone come out as easily at 150+ as it does when you cook closer to 200?

 

[DivotMaker]

Gregg, I cook to 170-175 for slicing.  The bone doesn't slide out clean, like pulled pork doneness, but it's not that hard to cut out.  I find the above temp works well to render the fat and make the sliced butt nice and tender & juicy.

 

[Smokster]

Now I have a craving for sliced pork with a sweet Russian mustard, sliced tomatoes, cheese and a few slices of bacon for good measure.

 

[DivotMaker]

Now I have a craving for sliced pork with a sweet Russian mustard, sliced tomatoes, cheese and a few slices of bacon for good measure.

Sliced pork & bacon??  Tony, you're a genius!!  Not sure what Russian mustard is - but going to check!!

 

[Pork Belly]

The bone will NOT come out easy at 150 but it is cooked all the way to the bone. I also have not heard of Russian Mustard but make Russian Dressing Often. I will post the recipe in side dishes. We use it on sandwiches. as a spread on charcuterie platters. It is easy to make and full of flavor.

 

[Smokster]

For the record I never heard of Russian style mustard either until my wife bought it a few months ago.  The consistency was a bit thicker than an apple butter, but sweet like a honey mustard and it was delicious.  That being said, I find that in Canada we have products that are not always available in the US, but you also have a lot more products that we don't have up here.  I posted a pic below of the actual product.

We also have Katchup flavored potatoe chips which our American relatives in Ohio never heard of.

 

[DivotMaker]

For the record I never heard of Russian style mustard either until my wife bought it a few months ago.  The consistency was a bit thicker than an apple butter, but sweet like a honey mustard and it was delicious.  That being said, I find that in Canada we have products that are not always available in the US, but you also have a lot more products that we don't have up here.  I posted a pic below of the actual product.

We also have Katchup flavored potatoe chips which our American relatives in Ohio never heard of.

I did a little quick research on the Russian mustard, and I notice you didn't mention the heat level of the "Russian-style" mustard you pictured.  Maybe "Russian style" just refers to the taste and consistency?  From what I've read, the real Russian mustard is hands-down, rip your lips off, HOT!  Seems to be the general consensus that it borders somewhere between molten lava and a full-blown nuclear reaction.  I'd be interested to hear what folks here, who have had the "real deal" have to say about it.  Oh, and "Katchup??"  lol.  You crack me up! ;D

 

[DivotMaker]

The bone will NOT come out easy at 150 but it is cooked all the way to the bone. I also have not heard of Russian Mustard but make Russian Dressing Often. I will post the recipe in side dishes. We use it on sandwiches. as a spread on charcuterie platters. It is easy to make and full of flavor.

No doubt that it's fully-cooked at 150; I was only referring to my preference of 170, based on experience.  I find the extra 20° makes it more tender, without sacrificing moisture.  I smoke pork loins to 155, which is perfect for my taste, so that's probably why I prefer 170 for a high-fat content Boston butt.  150 just doesn't cook the fat enough - at least for me.