Rubbed Boston Butt

The first weekend of Alabama football simply has to start with a little Saturday morning meat rubbing, so this week's food adventure is a dry rubbed pork Boston butt.

Everybody has their own take on what should go in a rub, but for us, it mostly depends on the mood and the meat.  We wanted our pork to have a little bit of a barbecue-y type flavor and heat while still tasting like pork, so we put it in a pan and sprinkled generous amounts of oregano, garlic, rosemary, cayenne, black pepper, onion powder, garlic salt, cumin, thyme, and *Shannon dash on it, massaged it into the meat, flipped and repeated until all sides were covered.  Then, we stuck it in the refrigerator to sit until its time to cook.

When the time comes to cook the meat, preheat the grill to high, put the meat on the top rack, fat side up, turn the temperature down, and close the grill.  Grill on low for an hour per pound or until the inside temperature is 160 degrees.  Carve and serve as meat plate or on sandwiches.

Notes:

* Publix seems to have pork shoulder and Boston butt on sale often.  I grab them when I see them even if it is just to stick it in the freezer.  And, this is just one of the ways they're good.
*  Shannon dash is a specialty item a friend makes and sends me.  You won't find it in any grocery store.  Suffice it to say, it's hot, and you really have to like things hot to enjoy it.  We love it, and it goes great on pork.
*  We forgot to turn the heat on the grill down when we first put the meat on, and rushed out a few minutes later to find it engulfed in flames.  The outside was seared, but the inside was still cold.  We adjusted the cooking time a little, but left it on the grill over low heat.  The seasonings turned into a crunchy outer crust on the meat, and the insides were incredibly juicy.

Sandy's rating:  5 stars
I love grilled pork, and I loved the crunchy, flavorful pieces that got seared.  This was the most tender and juicy pork roast I have had from a grill.  And, we won the game, so it was the perfect victory meal.

Tony's rating:   4.5  stars
I don't know how I could have made it better. The meat was juicy and cooked to perfection. Never dry. The spice was bang on and it is about the easiest thing in the world to make. Can't wait to have the left overs.

Cost:

3.91 lb. pork shoulder boston butt - $7.78 (on sale $1.99 lb.)