lets talk about butt bark

flanntastic · May 28, 2012

no fart talk though...sorry

i see allot of your pork butts come out with a black bark, my bark is always more brown. Is it because you guys have more sugar in the rub?

TIA

s2k9k · May 28, 2012

Do you foil?

rdknb · May 28, 2012

I get the darker bark from not foiling. There is not much Sugar in my rub.

flanntastic · May 28, 2012

i don't foil,

s2k9k · May 28, 2012

Hmmm I get a really dark bark and my rub doesn't have any sugar in it, usually just use Tony C's. The last ones I did I didn't foil and noticed a much darker crispier bark. What kind of smoker do you use and what temps do you smoke at? Not really sure why you wouldn't get a dark bark without foiling.

jp61 · May 28, 2012

I'm thinking that there are many variables that effect "bark" on a Butt. Type of smoker, chamber temp., type and amount of rub, liquid in pan or not, type of fuel being used, foil or not, what IT one foils, etc. I've only smoked Butts in an electric smoker between 225°- 235°, brown sugar in rub, apple or white grape juice in the water pan, foiled at 165° and all of them turned out a dark brown color. Soon I will find out what effect charcoal has on "bark" if any.

southernsausage · May 28, 2012

JP61...Let me know how u like the charcoal butt! Add a stick or two of oak or hickory or ur fave wood flavor.

jp61 · May 28, 2012

southernsausage said:
JP61...Let me know how u like the charcoal butt! Add a stick or two of oak or hickory or ur fave wood flavor.

I sure will southernsausage! Maybe next weekend I'll be breaking in the WSM and will start a thread.

flanntastic · May 28, 2012

well it did darken up on me during its rest time, but the fat cap side was browner than the bottom. I am using a charcoal cooker now but in the past used a MES30

225 is my target temp, not using a water pan though

jp61 · May 28, 2012

Also, some pics are deceiving..... the actual Butt isn't as black as some appear to be.

oldschoolbbq · May 28, 2012

Flantastic , all I do is rub just before putting my Butts in the Smoker, I have a rub i make on my own and have Turbinato Sugar in it... I then close the Lid ( with a Smoker temp. average of 225*f) and 'Leave" it closed until my target temp has been attained , remove and rest...

The color is a nice Mahogany and the Bark is nice and tastey, the TBS helps a lot...

and this is my results...

Have fun and...

southernsausage · May 28, 2012

Nice looking pork! I used to think foiling was Sacreligious because it is not a common practice around our area. Ive tried it a few times and found that it made my ribs "slick" as well as other cuts. I prefer a little more bite but thats just a personal preference thing. Experiment and do what feels and tastes best to you!

smokinhusker · May 29, 2012

Great advice from all. I foiled the first two I ever did and haven't foiled since. My next endeavor is no foil ribs. When you did them on the MES 30, was the smoker's temps checked for accuracy? I can set mine for 225* and in actuality the cabinet temp is approximately 200*

flanntastic · May 29, 2012

my MES was off worse than that, i had mine set @275 for a 230 degree from my Maverick. but i had a tile installed to push the heat to the middle.

the one thing I do not do that some of you do is pre-rub my butt, i don't rub till its going on, I guess i will pre-rub next time

zimq · Jun 9, 2012

Try spritzing.
With a WSM or even MES 30, temps come back rather quickly.

Try using half vinegar half apple juice in a spray bottle ($1 a Wallyworld). Some say to spritz every 15 mins... I usually do every 45 mins or so.

A trick I found was to spray through the top vent.. I do this with my MES30 and Weber Kettle. Works lie a charm.

The notion is that the sugar from the juice will help with the bark (&flavor) and the vinegar will tenderize.

With ribs or butts I always get a better prettier looking result with spritzing.

jzampier · Jun 9, 2012

ZimQ said:
Try spritzing.
A trick I found was to spray through the top vent.. I do this with my MES30 and Weber Kettle. Works lie a charm.

I thought of this yesterday too. Why couldn't you, just to retain heat and not be "Messing" with the smoker. I think I might spritz it now although my butt is kinda low in the MES right now. Might be a little harder to get a mist going and don't want to disturb any rub. 8hrs in is the time. I love sitting at my kitchen table and looking out at TBS coming out of my smoker. Good Idea on the vent hole spritzing.

flanntastic · Jun 11, 2012

here were ribs from yesterday, i like this color

alexhortdog95 · Jun 12, 2012

I never foil any of my meat until I pull it to let it rest. I mop with apple juice and rub with a KC style rub, along with using either a cherry or apple wood.

smokinhusker · Jun 12, 2012

Flanntastic said:
my MES was off worse than that, i had mine set @275 for a 230 degree from my Maverick. but i had a tile installed to push the heat to the middle.

the one thing I do not do that some of you do is pre-rub my butt, i don't rub till its going on, I guess i will pre-rub next time

I'm going to get a tile to see if that helps. The higher cabinet temp I want the more the difference in temps on mine as well. The most mine has been off is around 30*. I rub my pork butts about 1-1.5 hrs before I put it on. Spritzing through the vent is a good idea, I can't because my smoker is in a cabinet. I do spritz my pork butts a few times about an hour apart.

ybfm · Jun 12, 2012

Flann......I just had to say that when I read the title of your thread...........I cracked up!!! Funny as hell!

Rich

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