Pulled pork

[nbmartin]

Having trouble handling whole Pork butts. Can I cut the (bone in butt) in half at the Money Muscle and cook both pieces together? Don’t want to cut bone out. Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[SmokinEdge]

If you cut it in half you will get more surface area for smoke and bark, plus it will reduce the cook time a little. Nothing wrong with halving them. I even butterfly them sometimes.

 

[912smoker]

^^^^^^^This. You could also isolate the money muscle for a delicious treat !

Keith

 

[thirdeye]

If you make a cut, roughly the upper 1/3 of the butt, you will get a money muscle roast (aka Coppa roast) that will have the money muscle and the tubes.

I prefer these roasts sliced (which is still fork tender), but you can take them to pullable.

If you go much farther than 1/3 you will have some of the center-butt meat, which is the least desirable muscle, then as you go approach the bottom you get into the muscles around the blade bone which are very good. This cross section will give you a good idea where to make your cut, just follow the natural seam between the areas I have labeled Coppa and Loin

 

[jcam222]

I'm curious as to what trouble you have with the whole butts?

 

[nbmartin]

I'm curious as to what trouble you have with the whole butts?

I know it sounds odd but I’m a post polio survivor and my arms are pretty weak. Wrestling a7-8lb butt is extremely hard. Have to have wife pick up and put in smoker. If I could figure out a way to reduce the weight of each piece without losing flavor I could handle it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[nbmartin]

If you make a cut, roughly the upper 1/3 of the butt, you will get a money muscle roast (aka Coppa roast) that will have the money muscle and the tubes.
View attachment 688895
I prefer these roasts sliced (which is still fork tender), but you can take them to pullable.
View attachment 688896
If you go much farther than 1/3 you will have some of the center-butt meat, which is the least desirable muscle, then as you go approach the bottom you get into the muscles around the blade bone which are very good. This cross section will give you a good idea where to make your cut, just follow the natural seam between the areas I have labeled Coppa and Loin
View attachment 688897

Thank you very much. Wow, what a great help. Have a good recipe for smoking the pieces at the same time?

 

[thirdeye]

Thank you very much. Wow, what a great help. Have a good recipe for smoking the pieces at the same time?

Usually when I remove and smoke the money muscle roasts, I use the remainder of the butt for grinding and making sausage. But my standard drill for butts is to use some type of injection, either a commercial product, or a mix of pork broth with either apple juice or Coca-Cola as the sweet component. Pork broth made with smoked neck bones is an added flavor bump. I do mist pork a few times during the cook. And my pit temp is 240° to 270°.

I pull from the smoker on color, then wrap with some liquid and cook until it probes tender. I'm at 5400' elevation so while a wrapped step is not mandatory, it helps me keep my meats moister because I use very little sauce. This is a good color for me, and usually the internal temp is around 160°.

I tied these MM roasts because the money muscle itself was very small in diameter.

 

[jcam222]

I know it sounds odd but I’m a post polio survivor and my arms are pretty weak. Wrestling a7-8lb butt is extremely hard. Have to have wife pick up and put in smoker. If I could figure out a way to reduce the weight of each piece without losing flavor I could handle it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

Makes perfect sense , I was just curious if it were something else we could help with. The guys have you well covered with advice on how to cut it. You could always grab boneless butts too, far easier to cut at least for me. That's what I do when making buckboard bacon and slicing the butt in two. I hate trying to cut around the bone in the raw meat.

 

[nbmartin]

If you cut it in half you will get more surface area for smoke and bark, plus it will reduce the cook time a little. Nothing wrong with halving them. I even butterfly them sometimes.

Thanks for you reply, I really appreciate it. Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. When I cook the butt in two pieces do I wrap each piece separately when it’s time to wrap? I assume they will be at different temperatures because of the size of the pieces. Any advice you can give will be very much appreciated. Thank you .

 

[SmokinEdge]

Thanks for you reply, I really appreciate it. Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. When I cook the butt in two pieces do I wrap each piece separately when it’s time to wrap? I assume they will be at different temperatures because of the size of the pieces. Any advice you can give will be very much appreciated. Thank you .

Yes, treat them separately. Are you cooking boneless or bone in? The bone in will definitely act differently. For pull pork I often just butterfly keeping the whole piece (boneless) at around 2-3” thick. I get way more surface area for rub and smoke, and they usually cook in about 6 hours.

The one on top is boneless and butterflied, the two on bottom are whole.