My first attempt at Pork Butt, or any pork for that matter w/lots of pics

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motown-n00b

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jun 26, 2013
46
11
SE Michigan
So far I only have 5 chuckies (2 then 3) and a brisket flat under my belt. I'm learning quite a bit here at SMF. I recently stumbled onto a buy one get one free deal at my local grocery store. The entire thing was a bit confusing as no price or size was listed. It simply said buy one get one free. The only pork butt in stock was a "family pack" containing two pork butt roasts, with bone in, listed at $2.99/lb. My wife went in and picked them up for me. We ended up buying a 14.5 lb twin pack at 2.99/lb and got a 12.5 lb twin pack for free. End result, 4 pork butt roasts for about $1.59/lb. I wanted a ton of pulled pork I could use for dinners and for lunches I could take to work. So, that was my goal for all four. I figured I'd smoke them all at once rather than freeze some to do later.

I did not brine or marinade them. I rubbed them in olive oil, then a homemade rub which is approximately equal parts, kosher salt, pepper, onion power, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder along with slightly more than equal part brown sugar, and about half a part of cumin. I tried to keep temp around 240, which was measured at the middle of the bottom rack. I removed each them when IT of each one reached 200. Here's the pics/details.

Twin Family packs of "Pork Butt Roasts"


The bigger one we actually paid for

The smaller one we got free with purchase of the other

The opposite side with fat caps showing

All trimmed up, possibly not in the same order

Two destined for the bottom rack all rubbed up

Two destined and sitting on the top rack before it went into my not so U-DS.


They went in at 1:45PM Saturday. I rotated them top to bottom once and kept the ET-732 probes on the bottom rack and in the smallest cut on that rack. I wasn't really sure of the best method given the lack of 5 total probes. So I figured this was the best option.

One of the bottom two ready to come off

I believe the removal from smoker times were Sunday 1:30 AM, 3:00 AM, 5:15 AM, and 7:00 AM. All were wrapped in foil when removed, then in towels, and put into the same cooler.

Largest one, removed last

Pulled

2nd to last removed

Same one, just opened up

A little more

And pulled,

The last one removed from the smoker was a bit dry but I mixed it with the others that were plenty juicy. If it was the only one I did, then some kind of sauce would be mandatory. Flavor is fantastic. The first meal I ate, I sauced with one of my favorite commercial brands and it was good. The next time I went sauce free and it tasted even better. The sauce hides the amazing flavor of that bark. I need to find/develop a "finishing sauce" that is thinner and not so overpowering. Plus, and recommendations on a better method for temp monitoring when doing multiple cuts of meat are more than welcome.
 
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Nice job looks like you got some excellent bark on those butts!! 
biggrin.gif


Here's a thread with an excellent finishing sauce that I've used before and it got rave reviews. It adds a great flavor, but doesn't cover up the excellent smoky flavor of the meat/bark.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/49892/finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork
 
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 Great looking pork! And a nice bark too!  Good idea to do them all at once since PP freezes and reheats well.

   Mike
 
I use the juices in the bottom of the foil pan for a "sauce" of sorts.  Has the smokey taste and is yummm

Kat
 
Great looking pork! First time? Looks like a pro.. and man. I want some of the bear claws.. they work pretty good?
Thanks! I got the bear claws free when I ordered my ET-732. They were thrown in for the same price ($59) as other FleaBay vendors, so I went with it. They do work well, especially on a hard surface. First time I tried them on a chucky in an aluminum pan but it worked better on that large platter.
 
 
Nice job looks like you got some excellent bark on those butts!! 
biggrin.gif


Here's a thread with an excellent finishing sauce that I've used before and it got rave reviews. It adds a great flavor, but doesn't cover up the excellent smoky flavor of the meat/bark.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/49892/finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork
SoFlaQuer's recipie looks good. I'm not familiar with "Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning", would most any cajun seasoning also work?

If so, I might make some up and use when I reheat some of this PP.
 
 
I use the juices in the bottom of the foil pan for a "sauce" of sorts.  Has the smokey taste and is yummm

Kat
I kind of did this with the chuckies I smoked. But, I didn't foil or pan these pork butts, nor did I have a drip pan. My UDS has two racks. The bottom one is 24" from the bottom of the charcoal basket, which I've read is the required distance to prevent direct heat/cooking. But I have no diffuser or drip/water pan setup. I considered a diffuser rack with a pizza stone or perforated pizza pan but deicded to give it a whirl without. So many folks have posted that the drippings hitting the coals provides extra flavor in the smoke. If I had seen uneven cooking on that bottom rack I might have been more motivated to go with a diffuser. So far so good without it.
 
Great looking pork! First time? Looks like a pro.. and man. I want some of the bear claws.. they work pretty good?
Thanks! I got the bear claws free when I ordered my ET-732. They were thrown in for the same price ($59) as other FleaBay vendors, so I went with it. They do work well, especially on a hard surface. First time I tried them on a chucky in an aluminum pan but it worked better on that large platter.
What a great deal. $60 for both the mav and the claws.. nice!

I have used SoFlas finishing sauce with normal cajun season too.. tony c's just is just a better taste IMHO but youll be fine with regular. Its a difference maker if you never tried it..
 
 
SoFlaQuer's recipie looks good. I'm not familiar with "Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning", would most any cajun seasoning also work?

If so, I might make some up and use when I reheat some of this PP.
I had never heard of Tony C's seasoning either, but found some online. (Amazon I think) I haven't tried it with any other Cajun seasoning but I bet it would be fine. And you've got lots of great leftovers to experiment with!
 
Found Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning at wally-world for $1.50 or so.  Will be making a batch or two of SoFlaQuer's finising sauce tonight. We have a couple friends coming over and we're reheating some PP for dinner.
 
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