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Labor Day Pork Butt

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bottlerocket

bottlerocket

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 29, 2014
4
10
So I just did my first ever smoke - 2 pork butts totally just over 13 lbs. My rub was dijon and a basic mix of spices. Wood consisted of apple and cherry. I put them in at about 9:40 this morning and pulled it around 7:20pm right at 205. Being my first time, I wanted to keep it easy so no spray (my buddy swears by apple cider vinegar, which I will definitely do next time).  I could probably salt the pork a little more as well after tasting the end result.

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For my first time it tastes pretty good. I wish the crust would have come out a little more black, based on some of the other ones I've seen in this forum. Any tips on that?  

It's a pulled pork for Labor Day tomorrow, and so I have another question. We've already shredded the meat intending to re-heat it before heading to the picnic. Does anybody have a good temp/length for re-heating it in the oven?
 
bottlerocket said:
 
So I just did my first ever smoke - 2 pork butts totally just over 13 lbs. My rub was dijon and a basic mix of spices. Wood consisted of apple and cherry. I put them in at about 9:40 this morning and pulled it around 7:20pm right at 205. Being my first time, I wanted to keep it easy so no spray (my buddy swears by apple cider vinegar, which I will definitely do next time).  I could probably salt the pork a little more as well after tasting the end result.

IMAG0708.jpg

IMAG0708.jpg


IMAG0706.jpg

IMAG0706.jpg


IMAG0710.jpg

IMAG0710.jpg


IMAG0711.jpg

IMAG0711.jpg


IMAG0714.jpg

IMAG0714.jpg


For my first time it tastes pretty good. I wish the crust would have come out a little more black, based on some of the other ones I've seen in this forum. Any tips on that?  

It's a pulled pork for Labor Day tomorrow, and so I have another question. We've already shredded the meat intending to re-heat it before heading to the picnic. Does anybody have a good temp/length for re-heating it in the oven?
Click to expand...
It looks good. I am not a spray guy. Every time you open the door your slowing it down. For darker bark your going to have to add more smoke. I would suggest a AMNPS. It will make your life much simpler. To reheat I prefer to vacuum seal it then heat the bag in hot water. It is just as good as when it was just cooked. You can cover it in foil then use the oven. It will dry out a little. Look around for a good finishing sauce. I prefer to use the pan drippings. I put it in the fridge to cool. Then remove the grease from the top.

Happy smoken.

David
 
I saw this cooking show once where they were showcasing how a BBQ restaurant was preparing Boston butts. The cook just poured salt over the top of the butts after they were placed on the grate. A LOT of salt, he just coated it. The show's host questioned the amount of salt he used, but the cook just said; "Trust me." When it was done, the host raved about how good it was. Then the cook told him he usually cooked between 60-70 butts a day for his restaurant. If you are selling that much pulled pork each day it must be good. 

I did my next butt like that, and he was right. It was great.

As for bark, did you keep water in your pan for the whole smoke? If you seasoned it good with a pulled pork rub, too much water/humidity in the smoker can prevent a good, black bark from forming. I never use water for butts.
 
Nice , bottlerocket...   have you tried no foil
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Just saying .  .

Have fun and . . .
 
To get the nice bark that I have fallen in love with I do not use foil any longer. Brown sugar in your rub will also help the bark. No foil may add several hours to your time. Yesterday I had a 8.76 lb butt take 24 hrs. The bark was well worth it.
 
themule69 - I've seen AMNPS referenced several times. I'll start learning more about it, thanks. And yes, I did save the dripping and will make a sauce out of that!

Grillmonkey - Yes, there was water in the pan. I'll make a note to try little to no water next time.

oldschoolbbq - I wasn't using any foil during the smoke. I've seen some other posts about foiling half way through, which I would be willing to try just to see the effect. I'm taking notes on all my smokes so that I can learn better.

Davidhef88 - Nope, there wasn't any brown sugar in my rub. That will be the first thing I change on the next one.

Thanks for all the replies!
 
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