Pork Butt Sliced?

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Got all my grills and smokers cleaned up. The only time I hate having so many! I have not used the WSM in a long time. Now that it cleaned I going to use it and put a pan under to catch drippings. I am thinking of doing sliced instead of pulled? Wondering if I can take it close to pull temp than just rest until next day to slice? Thinking it will stay juicier this way for left overs and maybe do a spicy gravy.

 

[JLeonard]

Now that sounds good!! Tell me more of the spicy gravy.
And you changed you avatar pic. I like it.

jim

 

[mike243]

I would shoot for 180-185 should still be tender enough to chew a bite without it falling apart

 

[chopsaw]

When I do pork shoulder cuts for slicing I shoot for 185 . Anything from 180 to 190 should work .
Here's a thread on a pork cushion I did if you're interested . Comes from the shoulder around the picnic .

Smoke Roasted Pork cushion

I started buying pork cushions at GFS when they were cheaper that pork butts . They come from the area of the picnic on the animal , and make a great ham . I found a couple in the freezer and thought I would do some roast pork . 185 to 195 is a sliceable temp for this cut . I mixed up a...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[thirdeye]

I am thinking of doing sliced instead of pulled? Wondering if I can take it close to pull temp than just rest until next day to slice?

When I was a little boy, sliced or chopped shoulder were as popular as pulled pork, and properly cooked.... sliced shoulder is highly under rated. Your plan of holding (even chilling) before slicing is a good option. All the intermuscular fat which has broken down during cooking will firm back up and allow you to make good slices.

This diagram will give you an idea of all the muscle groups, and help you with the direction of slicing.

Calling the 'blade bone' end of a Boston butt the 'bottom', the 'top' 1/3 of the butt contains the Coppa, tube and money muscles in the photo. The best slices come from this area and look like this.

The muscles in the center 1/3, called 'loin' in the photo, are leaner... and the muscles around the blade bone are the second best meat, they might be soft enough to cube or pull into larger chunks.

In order to determine slicing direction, locate the money muscle end of the butt shown at the bottom of the photo below. The direction of slicing is from the money muscle toward the blade bone, and not left-to-right. The distinct 'tiger stripes' of fat in the money muscle show you the slicing direction.
If it's easier for you, cross-cut the blade bone end off (right at the end of the bone) and work with it separately.

Your internal temps will be in the 190°'s but trust the feel of the meat when probing.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Now that sounds good!! Tell me more of the spicy gravy.
And you changed you avatar pic. I like it.

jim

This is the recipe. I usually half it:

Spicy Brown Gravy Sauce

1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup warm water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ketchup
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 quart of smoked brisket drippings
1 tbsp cayenne pepper, start with 1/2 Tbsp
Salt and black pepper to taste

Add ingredients to the smoked brisket drippings while warm and whisk briskly over simmering heat.

 

[thirdeye]

That sounds good. I don't have meat drippings, but when I make sausage I smoke the blade bones (or smoke several pounds of pork neck bones) and use those to make smoked broth that I use in my pork injection. I bet that would be an okay substitute.

 

[Cody_Mack]

Yep, sliced is awesome! Took some to family Thanksgiving and everyone was impressed and also surprised when I told them what it was.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Well I planned on leaving bone in than pulling it out after cook but butcher had all ready removed it. Never bought one like that before. Injected with Butcher BBQ Pork. Could not find my twine so just used a few skewers. Put some of Jeff's sweet heat rub on it. Going to use the Inkbirk Controller on the WSM. This only second time using and had to re-set up wifi. Honestly I like the Guru better but since I got to leave to go to our Brewery 10 Year anniversary for a little while the wifi be nice.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Yep, sliced is awesome! Took some to family Thanksgiving and everyone was impressed and also surprised when I told them what it was.

What temp you take to?

 

[Cody_Mack]

What temp you take to?

Gosh that was years ago....probably before my days of using good thermometers....you knew when you knew....LOL

 

[thirdeye]

Well I planned on leaving bone in than pulling it out after cook but butcher had all ready removed it.

That's actually better when slicing. Looking at your top photo (with the glove) it appears that the money muscle is on the left, so if that's correct... you will slice toward the pocket where the bone was.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Man this Inkbird a pain to get going! The Guru just turn it on and walk away. Note to self: Next time get smoker to temp before letting Inkbird take it!

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I am not a fan of this Inkbird controller. It is either 100% or 0 fan. The problem I think is it starts with the fan at 0. By the time it comes up the smoker cold and it ends up at 100 to catch up. I guess it does control temp within +- 5 degress. I really think if you could start auto with fan at 50 it would work great. The Guru works much better and I will be sticking with it in the future.

 

[Cody_Mack]

When I was a little boy, sliced or chopped shoulder were as popular as pulled pork, and properly cooked.... sliced shoulder is highly under rated. Your plan of holding (even chilling) before slicing is a good option. All the intermuscular fat which has broken down during cooking will firm back up and allow you to make good slices.
View attachment 665280
This diagram will give you an idea of all the muscle groups, and help you with the direction of slicing.
View attachment 665281
Calling the 'blade bone' end of a Boston butt the 'bottom', the 'top' 1/3 of the butt contains the Coppa, tube and money muscles in the photo. The best slices come from this area and look like this.
View attachment 665282
View attachment 665283
The muscles in the center 1/3, called 'loin' in the photo, are leaner... and the muscles around the blade bone are the second best meat, they might be soft enough to cube or pull into larger chunks.

In order to determine slicing direction, locate the money muscle end of the butt shown at the bottom of the photo below. The direction of slicing is from the money muscle toward the blade bone, and not left-to-right. The distinct 'tiger stripes' of fat in the money muscle show you the slicing direction.
If it's easier for you, cross-cut the blade bone end off (right at the end of the bone) and work with it separately.
View attachment 665284
Your internal temps will be in the 190°'s but trust the feel of the meat when probing.

Great post, thirdeye , thank you. I always knew that it can be so much more than pulled pork! The slices in your first photo appear to be cured somewhat…if not, how do you compare this same method when also using a cure?

And the steaks in the third from last photo…those look amazing! Did you divide the Butt before smoking?….looks the money end.

 

[thirdeye]

Great post, thirdeye , thank you. I always knew that it can be so much more than pulled pork! The slices in your first photo appear to be cured somewhat…if not, how do you compare this same method when also using a cure?

And the steaks in the third from last photo…those look amazing! Did you divide the Butt before smoking?….looks the money end.

No curing involved in those photos, but those slices were from a sectioned butt, generally the upper 1/2 to 1/3 where the money muscle is. They come out the same when you cook the whole butt, however I get more bark by breaking the butt down into smaller roasts because there is more surface area. Either way is good.

And here is what you can expect when cooking a full butt for slicing. You get some of everything.

Now, if you do cure the top end of a pork shoulder butt, (or the whole butt) using the daveomak injectable cure technique, which I recommend highly, here is what you will get.

Same muscle groups... that never changes.

And the slices will put a smile on your face. The distinct pinkish color tips you off that the meat has been cured.

The comparison you asked about is about the same. On any given day, one is better than the other. Then the next day, the other one rises to the top.

 

[Cody_Mack]

Very nice, thanks thirdeye