2 Boston butt questions

[jag reddog]

Hello everyone,Saturday is our family reunion.They always cater out the family size bbq-chicken-hush puppies ect.Ive been taking a smoked butt as our covered dish part.The PP gets gone first then they get the other chopped bbq.(not bragging just got lucky).So this year im taking on a big one-3 - 8ish lb butts that hopefully will give me 18 -20 lbs give or take of good PP.Im in the over-think mode again but heres my method.

Wash-dry off butt.Inject with apple juice - apply the mustard -then the rub.Wrap up overnite.Camp Chef pellet smoker at 225.Goto 160 IT.Foil up until 190 IT.Remove foil go to 205 IT.Let rest for 1 hr then pull it and enjoy.

I said all that to ask this.(1)For the people that do inject-Is it better to inject the day before?Ive read some people apply the rub overnight then inject right before the cook starts.(2)Would it help after i apply the rub the day before to not cover the butt in the frig?Most times I saran wrap it after the rub.Wondering if open air drying would benefit the butts and help it penetrate the meat.

Thanks from the over thinker.Trying to wow the family with PP.

 

[SmokyMose]

Sounds like a project, Jag! I don't inject. Too many crevices for the stuff to squirt out ( both times I did I got squirted in the face, much to the Mrs' amusement). Just put a bit of the Apple juice in the foil when it's time for that. I would also leave it in the foil 'til it's done and transfer to a cooler to rest. Also, if you're doing the rub the night before, you really don't need mustard or whatever. The moisture of the meat will stick it. I don't use any "binder" at all, and I rub just before the cook. I wouldn't worry about wrapping overnight, just cover.( All this is just my opinion, you'll see a variety here, and they all work :-)
Your temperature plans look fine.
My concern is that you allow plenty of time for it to get done. You're looking at 10 to 12 hrs for that much meat to cook, and that can grow with that much meat at once. Most folks cook PP the day before so they don't get in time trouble...

Good Luck and Happy Smoking!

Dan

 

[forluvofsmoke]

You'll lose 55-60% of your precooked weight of butts for PP, just so you know. Yeah, it's a lot, but I've weighed on both ends and my last big PP smoke was a 41% yield.

Eric

 

[dirtsailor2003]

You'll lose 55-60% of your precooked weight of butts for PP, just so you know. Yeah, it's a lot, but I've weighed on both ends and my last big PP smoke was a 41% yield.


Eric

Yep that. Sounds like you'll have other food. Typically I figure 1/3 pound of finished pork per person when serving sides.

As for injecting, apple juice isn't going to add a ton of flavor. Are you mixing spices into the injection too?

I don't inject pork butts unless I'm looking for a different flavor profile. I rub my butts right before going on the smoker. No mustard or anything else, the rub will stick to the meat just from the moisture in the meat.

I smoke straight through without foil as we like bark. Typically pulling the butt at 200-205. I allow the butt to rest loosley covered with foil for at least 1 hour then I pull.

I do all this a day or two in advance and reheat the day of the event.

You mention washing the meat. The USDA does not recommend rinsing or washing the meat prior to cooking.

 

[dockman]

I inject and rub night before. Cook at 225-250, foil around 166, remove at 190, let rest in cooler or wrapped for 2-4 hours, pull and serve. Always juicy and great flavor. Most of the time I do butts it's 8-14 at a time and total cooking time is 7-9 hours.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sauced]

I don't inject.....just apply mustard and rub, cover and refrigerate overnight. Like stated earlier, add some apple juice at the wrap stage. 

Also...don't forget some finishing sauce along with the juices from the wrap!!

 

[radioguy]

I don't inject. Mustard and rub, saran wrap night before. I don't wrap either. I do spritz with 2/3 natural Apple juice (no added sugar) and 1/3 Capt Morgan spiced rum. Not too often, maybe 2-4 times during the cook. Foil with some of the rum mixture, towel wrap and into cooler for a long rest.

I do used a little of JJs finishing sauce when pulling. Awesome taste.

Best of luck,

RG

 

[jag reddog]

Thanks for all the help everyone.Looks like im skipping the injection this time.When I said washing I should have said rinsing off with water only and patting dry.Follow up? Has anyone ever applied the rub and just left uncovered in the frig?Kinda like a dry brine on a ribeye?It really works well on beef.But that was only salt.This time it would be Jeffs rub.

Thanks once again.

 

[SmokyMose]

See what I mean about a variety of methods? Why are you rinsing? Just be sure you give yourself ample time.
I've had 9# butts done in 7 hrs and also 10 hrs. I smoke at +- 250. They're all different. Better to have them done a little sooner with extra rest than have hungry folks standing around waiting...

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Ha-ha!!! Dan, I'd be happy to get a 9lb butt finished in 18 hours!!! Mine have run upwards of 24hrs, but I smoke my PP subjects @ 225*, sometimes dropping down to 210-215*, and to top it off, I'm @ 5K ft elevation which translates as the equivalence of cutting chamber temps by another 8-10* compared to sea-level. I will say they render out a ton of fat and melt the collagen nicely at lower chamber temps, but it will test your patience by the end of the next day if you're not accustomed to marathon low & slow smokes.

Eric

 

[SmokyMose]

Ha-ha!!! Dan, I'd be happy to get a 9lb butt finished in 18 hours!!! Mine have run upwards of 24hrs, but I smoke my PP subjects @ 225*, sometimes dropping down to 210-215*, and to top it off, I'm @ 5K ft elevation which translates as the equivalence of cutting chamber temps by another 8-10* compared to sea-level. I will say they render out a ton of fat and melt the collagen nicely at lower chamber temps, but it will test your patience by the end of the next day if you're not accustomed to marathon low & slow smokes.


Eric

Wow, Eric! If it took me that long to cook a shoulder I'm afraid I would never have PP! We're at a little over 700 ft. Your outside temps and humidity are different too, I'm sure. It just goes to show how much ambient conditions can affect a cook. With my offset just a sunny day or cloudy day can make a huge difference, not to mention rain. How long to do a rack of SL ribs?
Dan

 

[forluvofsmoke]

 

Ha-ha!!! Dan, I'd be happy to get a 9lb butt finished in 18 hours!!! Mine have run upwards of 24hrs, but I smoke my PP subjects @ 225*, sometimes dropping down to 210-215*, and to top it off, I'm @ 5K ft elevation which translates as the equivalence of cutting chamber temps by another 8-10* compared to sea-level. I will say they render out a ton of fat and melt the collagen nicely at lower chamber temps, but it will test your patience by the end of the next day if you're not accustomed to marathon low & slow smokes.


Eric

Wow, Eric! If it took me that long to cook a shoulder I'm afraid I would never have PP! We're at a little over 700 ft. Your outside temps and humidity are different too, I'm sure. It just goes to show how much ambient conditions can affect a cook. With my offset just a sunny day or cloudy day can make a huge difference, not to mention rain. How long to do a rack of SL ribs?
Dan

Oh, 700ft, yeah, there's no need to adjust for thermometer calibrations or cooking times...I think that would be 1.3* decrease in boiling water temp, if I'm not mistaken...not worth worrying about. For me, it's roughly a 9* drop, or 203* water-boil temp, the barometer is not effected by weather, of course, as barometric pressure is what really effects water-boil temp.

Ah, let's see...been so long since I've smoked SLRs...well I did a couple slabs in a friend's propane smoker a month or so ago, but that was over 250 miles away from my location, as the crow flies, and lower elevation. Seems like a 4-1-0.5 @ 230* for those. The last untrimmed Spares I did at home @ 225* I'm thinking 7, sometimes close to 8hrs, and BBRs run 5.75-6hrs. Of course, that somewhat depends on the finished texture I'm dialing in for that day and what methods I incorporate to achieve that texture.

Yeah, humidity is a non-issue here, unless it's about to, or already did rain. A couple days ago it was 24% RH with temps around 80*. Usually in summer during the heat of the day it's around 17-18% with temps around 80-90*...even less if temps touch triple digits...overnight it might climb to 40-50%. Late summer we start seeing morning dew with overnight lows in the 40's, sometimes in the lower 50's. Probably helps me with the makings for some of the ultimate killer bark on pork shoulder when RH is so low...bark so hard you don't even think about cutting through it...not even with a serrated knife. To break it apart when pulling the meat requires more than a little bit of effort. Crispy, crunchy bark, and succulent, tender, juicy pork...such varied textures, and...oh, no, did I just go there? NUTS!!! My wife gabbed a butt that's in the freezer and I can't smoke an all-nighter until next Wednesday night after work. Picnic shoulders are my favorite for PP subjects, but...I might have to get that into a fridge to thaw and fire up the WSM next days off, 'cuz now I'm cravin' that PP and wicked bark I know so well!!! And, since I haven't tested my theory on my Wild Hawg Rub (for ribs) being too mild for shoulder, this could just be the smoke I've been waiting for.

Eric

 

[thesmokist]

I don't inject or wrap any more. I just hit mine with mustard and rub and let sit for an hour or so in the fridge and smoke with hickory at 275 and it comes out great.

 

[smokesontuesday]

Cooked weight on butts is typically 40-50% of raw. If I wanted 18-20 pounds of finished product I'd start with 40-50 pounds of raw pork butt.

As for the process there's nothing wrong with what you've got lined out. I don't inject butts but plenty of people do with great success. You really can't go wrong with a pork butt as long as you get it up to temp.

I prefer to cook butts hotter (~275) because they're just as good and get done much faster.