To trim or not to trim...

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What do you do?

  • Trim

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Dont Trim

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Partial Trim.

    Votes: 1 100.0%

  • Total voters
    1
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bmudd14474

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that is the question for Pork Butts.

Now I have always trimmed the skin off of shoulders but on butts I would just score the fat on butts. A while ago @3montes mentioned that he trims almost all of the fat off of the butts. So recently I have done alot of butts for several events. After the first one I noticed all of the rub soaked non-editable fat that was thrown away. My first thought was "what a waste of rub. So the next event I did 80lbs of butts and I decided to trim them. Now this took a crap load of time. Once we were ready to pull them I noticed how fast and easy it was without the fat in the way. I also noticed the bark was soooooo much nicer and the flavor was WAY better.

So fast forward a few events to this past weekend I only had to do 4 this time. Due to poor planning on my part I was low on rub and didn't have what I needed to make more. Well I remember that I am using less rub(but getting better flavor because I am not wasting it on fat) on the trimmed pork than on untrimmed so low and behold I had enough rub. Cooked them up and again the pulling was amazing.

So long story short I think I am a converted man. Spend the time prepping for a WAY better product and use less rub. One note is that since you have way less fat remember to add a decent amount of liquid if you foil or you can make some jerky real quick.

I would love to hear what you all think and or do.
 
I leave the fat on. l remove liquid rendered fat from the dripping before mixing in but any remaining cap fat has the texture of soft butter and gets mixed in. l shred pretty fine so no visible fatty pieces. Always fun to try something new be pleasantly surprised...JJ
 
I trim the majority of it off & what is left just turns into bark.

I also put the trimmed fat on a rack above the butt, so it self bastes while it cooks.


Al
 
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Morning Brian.. It's been  a while..

I'm a trimmer myself but I don't spend all day to remove every bit of fat. I do carve off the majority of it but I like to leave enough to render down. The butts I get at the pork shop come with the skin on so I have to spend more time on those but the ones I get from the grocery store are usually very well trimmed already.
 
Another vote or trimming. I'm still new to this compared to most here but I realized I was discarding a lot of the best part (bark) that I had worked so long to get. I'm the camp that wants no fat lumps on my sandwich,even if they are fat bark. Although Al's trick looks like a killer idea. No drying out issues here,  but I've stuck to long lower temp cooks since I started trimming.

Another thing I have figured out is leave the "bear claws" in a drawer. If the IT is over 200 and a long rest in foil, one needs only to push down on the butt to start separating whole muscles. As the muscles come out whole, it is so easy and fast to scrape them with the back of a knife to remove the connective tissue in larger pieces that it becomes worthwhile to me. I realize that material wouldn't bother most people but for me it makes a better product without it. If I go at a butt with the claws then it either becomes more trouble than it's worth or very time consuming to pick out all the tiny torn pieces that I could live with but would prefer let my Border Collie mix enjoy.
 
Back when I was teaching in a high school, our PTSA did an annual BBQ fundraiser.  We cooked nearly 9 tons of pork butts, so needless to say, trimming was not an option.  At the other end of the process were three Buffalo Choppers, so the fat got mixed in with the meat and worked to keep it moist during reheating.  

Now that I'm cooking only a couple of butts at a time and hand-pulling them, I do trim a lot of the fat cap off before hitting the smoker.  Like @damascusmaker, I also pull a lot of the intramuscular fat out.  

BD
 
I trim the fat cap off..cover in kosher salt over night ( not super heavy)


Smoke em! ( i used to finish with some juice/braise but nowadays just smoke on Black Betty!)


and Pull! (keep warm in crocpot with a little bit of vinegar and apple juice)


these pics are a few years old but it shows my process!

I guess i will have to do a PP thread soon. I am going to do a butt for the eclipse!

Happy Smoking,

phatbac (Aaron)
 
Of course I would be the exception. I don't trim, anything unless it silverskin or ragged feral meats.

I do round off and try to level off a brisket, even trimming some if any thin flat meat. The more consistant the length, width & height of the brisket the more uniform the cooking.

To me the butt fat after a long smoke is the ambrosia of the gods. I know its bad for you but how often can you get it? I get bark on pretty basically three of the 4 sides.

BTW usually I am a minimalistic kinda guy, Salt & Pepper. Let the meat talk for itself.

Also, when ya got store bought teeth, bark ain't as good as it used to be.

Fat cracklie on top and gelatinous in the center..... OMG! Good stuff Maynard!

You would seriously throw away that beautiful ambrosia for crusted dry bark? 

 
Quote: 

Fat cracklie on top and gelatinous in the center..... OMG! Good stuff Maynard!

You would seriously throw away that beautiful ambrosia for crusted dry bark? 

Amen Brother! Forgive them for they know not what they do...
51.gif
...JJ
biggrin.gif
 
  I am a partial trimmer, Depending on the pork we get the majority of the surface fat comes off. If we have skin on then its scored and left on. Low and slow with a nice rub and off to the dinner table we go.
 
I trim the fat cap for several reasons:

- there is plenty of internal fat in a Butt to keep it moist (if your worried about moisture you could put the removed fat cap on a rack above the button drip down as it cooks)

- More bark coverage with no fatcap

- For competition prep you can set up your butt to optimize the cook on the Money Muscle 

- i save the fatcaps to make lard in my crockpot later on :)
 
I don't trim, but I score all the way to the muscle.  I use the fat cap as a heat buffer in my WSM, turning the butt fat cap down toward the heat when smoked. 

I no longer wrap either, but I do put a pan below the butt to catch the rendered fat and drippings.  If there's any gelatin left I add it back to the meat.  I save the fat and use it for gravies, biscuits, etc, using it like bacon grease, but it is so much better.       
 
Definitely a partial trimmer too. Like dougmays said, the amount of internal fat is more than enough to keep the meat moist if you're careful about the temp and I always have water in for shoulders. Leaving a small amount allows that initial melting but just enough to allow the rub to settle on the exterior and still create a descent bark all over. It also helps take more smoke and rub flavor further into the meat as it melts in, moistens and holds the surface "open" longer. I've never had the inclination to trim all of the fat though for fear the smoke and rub penetration would diminish as the meat would close up faster without the help of the fat, I'm always careful with the temp so drying out isn't a problem.

Also, bmudd14474... who you callin' pork butt!!!!
icon_biggrin.gif
 
I gotta go with a partial trim, Brian.

I leave some on, because I hate the slimy disgusting interior fat in a Butt, and I get rid of it when I pull the Butt.

So any fat in my Pulled Pork is from the Fat Cap that I left on the outside, and that fat isn't disgusting like the snotty interior fat.

Bear
 
I cooked off 2 8lb butts yesterday. Came from the store still in the processors vac-pac. Opened to see a 3/8" fat cap on each. I scored a one inch grid and added a good amount of rub. The butts were panned. They came out swimming in 3 cups of liquid fat but the cap was almost completely rendered with 1" squares of a rub covered magical treat that was slightly crispy like perfectly cooked bacon! My wife kept stealing squares every time she passed and l ate 4 pieces. The remaing squares brok up and mixed in like bark. The little bit of remaining cap fat was clear and the texture of soft butter. It completely disappeared when l started shredding the meat. Unless l get butts with more than 1/2" cap, l will stick with scoring and let it ride...JJ
 
I don't have near the experience a lot of these guys/ gals have so take this with a grain of salt. And of course opinions will vary but, I trim as much of the fat cap as I can. I go even as far as trimming as much of the internal fat too. The marbling is where the flavor comes from.When I'm done trimming I cover the meat with the rub and most of the time I need to use twine to pull everything together to get a uniform size.

Works like a champ every time!

Again, YMMV.
 
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