Boston Butt Cure

[Laftpig]

My first Boston Butt cure. The butt weighs 2721 grams, with bone-in. I used diggingdogfarms caculator to determine the cure #1 to be used, which was 6.79 grams. I chose to use 2.75% salt and the 1% sugar and a few other flavoring spices. The butt is just at 4 1/2 inches at its thickest point. Using Bearcarvers formula for curing bacon I came up with 9 days of cure plus 2 days for a total of 11 days. I’m not making bacon however. I want to smoke it after curing then finish the cook in the oven like a ham. I was going to smoke it for about 3 hours.

My question is it ok what I’m doing? Is the curing time frame ok? Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks

 

[SmokinAl]

I think you would be better off using a wet brine solution, that way you can inject the brine into the meat. Anything thicker than 2" should be injected to make sure the cure gets to the center. Pay special attention around the bone, if your going to leave the bone in. Here is a link to his brine recipe.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pops6927s-wet-curing-brine.110799/
Al

 

[Laftpig]

Thanks Al I did read about wet cure brining but I think there were some posts recently about dry cures for ham I just haven’t found them yet. I can’t see why a dry cure wouldn’t work given enough time, 41/2 inches isn’t that thick for a dry cure I think but I’ve been wrong many times before. If I don’t find it I’ll go the brine cure route. Thanks again for the response.

 

[chopsaw]

If you look at Bear's step by step the bone has been removed , and the pieces are smaller . I have done the pulled cured butt . It comes out awesome . Like pulled ham .

 

[SmokinAl]

Every butt I do I use Pops brine on. Inject it with all the butt will hold & put the rest in the brine. I use 2 heaping TBS of cure#1 per gallon & only need to brine it for 24 hours. Nobody can figure out what I do with my PP, but they all say it's the best they ever had. 24 hours isn't long enough to turn it into a ham, but it does change the flavor profile considerably. Honestly I haven't smoked a butt in years without Pops brine first.
Al

 

[Laftpig]

Chop Saw I realize bacon isn’t that thick and has no bone. So I’m probably off on the cure time but there is plenty of time to cure when using cure#1. I’m going to give it a try with more cure time. For the first one I’ll cut it in half to check to see if it cured. Should be interesting.

Al your way will be my next project sounds much faster. Good to compare the taste of the two different methods. I just need from refrigerator space

 

[chopsaw]

The last loin I did was about 3 1/2 " thick . Rubbed with TQ , in fridge 14 days . No bone . Just a reference if you want it .

Al , happy you posted that . I just pumped an 8 lb chicken using your method above . Gonna be in the 50's this weekend ( was 1* on Tuesday ) Wanted something to throw on the Weber for Sunday .

 

[Laftpig]

Chopsaw that is a big help. Mine’s only 1 inch thicker. I was thinking maybe 20 days for mine.

 

[gulf shucker]

Every butt I do I use Pops brine on. Inject it with all the butt will hold & put the rest in the brine. I use 2 heaping TBS of cure#1 per gallon & only need to brine it for 24 hours. Nobody can figure out what I do with my PP, but they all say it's the best they ever had. 24 hours isn't long enough to turn it into a ham, but it does change the flavor profile considerably. Honestly I haven't smoked a butt in years without Pops brine first.
Al

I really want to try this.

 

[gulf shucker]

Every butt I do I use Pops brine on. Inject it with all the butt will hold & put the rest in the brine. I use 2 heaping TBS of cure#1 per gallon & only need to brine it for 24 hours. Nobody can figure out what I do with my PP, but they all say it's the best they ever had. 24 hours isn't long enough to turn it into a ham, but it does change the flavor profile considerably. Honestly I haven't smoked a butt in years without Pops brine first.
Al

Do you continue just as if it was a regular BB after taking it out of the brine? Rinse/dry/mustard and rub for example? S
F finishing sauce after pulling.