Finally got QView working on my first butt smoke!

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peixegato

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Feb 17, 2010
78
17
Berkeley, CA
I'm gonna put a pork butt on the smoker tomorrow and thought I'd pop my SMF QView cherry and put up the post.  I grabbed a 4.5 lb. butt from the supermarket as it will just be the wife and son.  Yesterday around 2pm (pacific), I dropped it into a brine flavored with Maker's Mark, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and molasses.  I'll take it out of the brine this evening and rub it down.

Here are the first photos.  More to follow as the smoke progresses!

http://photobucket.com

http://photobucket.com

Trimmed and ready for the brine.

http://photobucket.com

http://photobucket.com

The baby is in the bath water!

As I said, tonight, I'll pull it out, rub it down and set it in the refrigerator overnight.  My goal is to get 'er on the smoker by 9am and smoke until it reaches 200-205 degrees before pulling it off, wrapping it, and resting it in a cooler for a couple of hours.  Then I'll pull it and simmer it down with a vinegar finishing sauce.  If we are having people over, I'll do the pull the pork a day ahead, then on the day the people come over, put the pork into a cast iron dutch oven and put the oven on the grill so the pork can simmer in the finishing sauce right on the grill.  Not sure if it makes a difference in taste, but the guests love the presentation
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More to follow......
 
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OK, not sure why the photos didn't come in.  Any ideas?  I'm off to a birthday party, so I'll have to deal with it tomorrow
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Looks like you used BBcode for the photos,  I check the links they are good.  Just use the flash popup for images and paste the URL.

Good luck with your pork butt.

I was watching America's kitchen, and they were doing a Mexican version of pulled pork, which is called Carnitas.  They realized that most people are not going to fry their pork in lard in a copper "caso" pot.  So they tested slow cooking a 3 or 4 lb pork butt 3 ways.  First slow cooking on the bbq or grill, slow cooking braising style, finally slow cooking by boiling.  Each method for 2-3 hours, each method effectively broke down the connective tissue, and they were able to make some version of Carnitas.  The point being as long as pork shoulder "butt" is cooked long and slow enough reaches a temp of 180º it is hard to screw it up.
 
The photos are there now.  Just got the charcoal lit.  The butt is on the waiting table!
 
The photos are there because I fixed them. When your using photobucket select the HTML code not the IMG.  That being said I cant wait to see your finished product. PP is so simple but so dang good.
 
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Everything looks good to me so far. But I usually don't trim my butts. But that's me
 
I tried uploading photos by copying the HTML code from the photo bucket page, but still didn't get the photos.  All I got was the code again.  I'm using a Mac if that makes a difference.  Not sure what else to do or if I'm not copying the right thing.

I took the butt out of the refrigerator at about 9am and gave it another light rub.  It went on the smoker at about 9:30am and am keeping the temp at the grate level between 225 and 250.  I need to get another digital thermometer to put at grate level so I can get a more accurate temperature reading.  I have a dial set on the grate, but its hard to get much more accurate than a 25-degree range.  Maybe I just need a bigger dial thermometer.
 
I tried uploading photos by copying the HTML code from the photo bucket page, but still didn't get the photos.  All I got was the code again.  I'm using a Mac if that makes a difference.  Not sure what else to do or if I'm not copying the right thing.

I took the butt out of the refrigerator at about 9am and gave it another light rub.  It went on the smoker at about 9:30am and am keeping the temp at the grate level between 225 and 250.  I need to get another digital thermometer to put at grate level so I can get a more accurate temperature reading.  I have a dial set on the grate, but its hard to get much more accurate than a 25-degree range.  Maybe I just need a bigger dial thermometer.
When you upload hit Preview instead of submit. Then it will populate then you can hit submit. If that doesnt work in the top left of the reply box you will see the word source. Click that then put all of you code in and then submit it.  Here's a Wiki to view.
 
 
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Nice looking butt (pork butt that is)! haha  Nice Qview so far, can't wait for some finishing qview!  Hope you're having a good smoke!
 
I'll figure out the photos later on.  I'm not a techie, so it'll take me a bit longer.  All this talk about codes and IMG vs. HTML is a bit out of my league, lol.

Anyway, by 1pm, the temp was up to 189.  I was pretty excited, thinking maybe I avoided a stall and that my butt would be done earlier than I had planned.  Well, at 2:30, the temp was at 190.  After that, it dipped to 188 and then came back to 190 by 3pm.  I added more charcoal to keep it going longer and at 4pm, the temp was at 200!  I had originally planned to keep it on until 205, but the wife and son are gonna be wantin' to eat before 8pm, so I pulled it off the smoker, gave it one last spray with Marker's Mark/water mix, double wrapped it in heavy duty foil, and put it in the cooler with a bunch of towels  (and an old blanket to fill in the extra space).
 
OK.  I FINALLY got my pics workin' right.  BIG THANKS to bmudd for hookin' me up with that Wiki.  It was a HUGE help.  After a bit of time fiddling around with it, I was able to get the photos in.  I took a lot of photos, so please excuse my indulgence
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Without further ado, TO THE QVIEW!

Time to come out of the brine and get a good rub down.

http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/... July 16-18/?action=view&current=IMG_1760.jpg
 

Wrapped and ready for a night in the refrigerator.

http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/... July 16-18/?action=view&current=IMG_1762.jpg
 

In the morning, waiting to be laid to rest on the smoker.

http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/... July 16-18/?action=view&current=IMG_1763.jpg
 

The beginning of the smoke.
http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/... July 16-18/?action=view&current=IMG_1764.jpg
 

After the butt finally hits 200 degrees, its ready to be wrapped in foil and rest in the cooler.
http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/... July 16-18/?action=view&current=IMG_1766.jpg
 

After 2 hours in the cooler, the bone slides right out.  Now its time to pull!

http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/... July 16-18/?action=view&current=IMG_1768.jpg
 

The pulled pork in the cast iron skillet after a simmer in the finishing sauce.
http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/... July 16-18/?action=view&current=IMG_1774.jpg
 

FINALLY!  Time to eat.  Have the pork served up on a bun with some mustard slaw on the side.  It was the first time I made the slaw.  Next time, I'll cut down on the liquid portion (or add more shredded cabbage).
http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/... July 16-18/?action=view&current=IMG_1777.jpg
 
Well, that was it.  I hope y'all enjoyed viewing as much as I did smoking and eating it.  I was very happy with the results and am excited to go at it again, next time changing up anything and/or everything from the flavoring in the brine to the amount of sugar in my finishing sauce.  Its amazing how different each smoke can be.

Have a good night everybody.
 
Great Job.  Glad you got the pics working.
 
When I spritz BB Ribs (3-2-1) with 1/2 & 1/2 Knob Creek and Apple juice, I can taste it!.

Personally, I prefer Beam white, but my bride likes the Creek (with club soda).   Guess what I buy!
 
     Nice job
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,  my only question is--can you taste the Maker's Mark?  Although I have done it, I hate to waste good sippin' whiskey in a brine or to spritz with. 
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To be honest, it probably doesn't taste all that much different.  But then again, why would you want to spritz your meal with a liquid you don't like the taste of?  I also don't drink much of it, so its just easier to use what I drink for cooking, so I don't have to buy 2 bottles, lol.
 
When I spritz BB Ribs (3-2-1) with 1/2 & 1/2 Knob Creek and Apple juice, I can taste it!.

Personally, I prefer Beam white, but my bride likes the Creek (with club soda).   Guess what I buy!
Small price to pay for keepin' the peace!
 
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