No Fat Cap on my Pork Butt

chief osceola

Newbie

Original poster

Feb 3, 2013

17

10

Merritt Island, FL

• Feb 9, 2013

• #1

Doing my first pork butt today and worried about no fat cap on it.  I bought it ay my local butcher shop that has awesome meats and noticed no fat cap on it.  I'm worried it may come out dry with no cap to self-baste it.  Thoughts?  I'll post pics an updates later.

 

smoking b

Smoking Guru

OTBS Member

Sep 20, 2012

5,095

486

Middle of Nowhere, South Central PA

• Feb 9, 2013

• #2

No cap at all? Most butts have enough internal fat to keep it plenty moist. Some people trim most of the fat cap off regardless & either throw it out or save it for sausages. I did one once that hardly had any fat on it & didn't have any problems with it drying out - I'd say you will be fine with yours...

 

bama bbq

Master of the Pit

Sep 24, 2011

2,352

72

Rocket City (Huntsville) AL

• Feb 9, 2013

• #3

I agree.  The butcher just saved you the time and effort of trimming the fat cap off.  There's plenty of fat in a butt.

 

kathrynn

Legendary Pitmaster

OTBS Member

Jun 13, 2012

9,442

121

Madison, AL

• Feb 9, 2013

• #4

Good Luck and show q-views!

Kat

 

chief osceola

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

Feb 3, 2013

17

10

Merritt Island, FL

• Feb 9, 2013

• #5

Thanks for the replies, put me at ease!  Put it in smoker right at 10a.  Will definitely post pics when it's done.  I also plan on making some BDSE to finish it off.

 

s2k9k

AMNPS Test Group

Sep 8, 2011

11,324

182

SEUSA

• Feb 9, 2013

• #6

I always lean trim my butts for pulled pork Ever since I started following this method I have made the best PP I have ever made:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...t-dry-smoke-chamber-q-view-method#post_830635

 

damon555

Smoking Fanatic

Jun 26, 2010

464

35

Middle Tennessee

• Feb 9, 2013

• #7

Smoking B said:

No cap at all? Most butts have enough internal fat to keep it plenty moist. Some people trim most of the fat cap off regardless & either throw it out or save it for sausages. I did one once that hardly had any fat on it & didn't have any problems with it drying out - I'd say you will be fine with yours...

Click to expand...

I'm with Smoking B on this one. I was watching an episode of Good Eats (Alton Brown's cooking show) and he said that the fat cap isn't as responsible for the tenderness of the meat as the internal marbling. It might help a little but the primary source is internal. Now, I'm not sure how true that is but he seems to have a pretty good grasp on some of the science involved in various cooking and food preparation techniques.

 

pgsmoker64

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

Apr 23, 2010

3,402

81

Prince George, Va.

• Feb 9, 2013

• #8

Chief Osceola said:

Thanks for the replies, put me at ease!  Put it in smoker right at 10a.  Will definitely post pics when it's done.  I also plan on making some BDSE to finish it off.

Click to expand...

These folks are steering you in the right direction Chief!  If your butcher has a reputation of supplying good meats then he just saved you the trouble of trimming the fat cap.  I bet if you take a good look at that butt you will find some awesome marbling throughout the meat!

Hey, glad to hear you are going to try out my BDSE sauce, you won't be sorry.  Here is the spice mix I use for the rub portion - I mix up a batch and keep it around until I've exhausted the supply during sauce making.

8 ounces of Paprika

4 ounces of white sugar

2 tablespoons of granulated onion

2 tablespoons of granulated garlic

When I add the rub mix I use a big tablespoon from the silverware drawer and add it by the heaping spoonfuls!

Good Luck and Get Smokin'

Bill