Smoke my first pork butt, what a disaster!!!!, Please help

[coronaca92879]

Kevin theirs a butcher shop in chino called hottinger meats. I'm in corona and love that place.

 

[kevin0422]

Yeah, I have been to hottingers many times, I didnt know they sold pork shoulders.  I will give them a call, if not I will call sams club later today. 

 

[bronxbbq]

Trim the fat/skin off the butt. Pork has enough fat in it. 

Once trimmed slather the mustard on. DO NOT wash it off.

Next put rub of choice on

Now after the rub has melted a bit on the butt. Take saran wrap and wrap the butt tight. Place in the fridge over night.

"Some may want to inject" 

Get a ET-73 remote thermomiter. It will save you gref. 

Use the minoin meathod and keep temp between 225-250 

Don't go by time go by temp to tell when its done.

 

[kevin0422]

Does the Minion method produce too much heat?, I have a brinkman vertical smoker.  By putting coal all the way around like the Minion method shows with the wood on top allow for a nice low heat over a good legnth of time.  This past time I would just toss in heated charcoal every hour or so to keep the heat at 250 degrees.  Does pretty much everyone use the minion method?  Thanks

 

[jirodriguez]

The minion method is for longer burn times, heat is controlled with your air intake vents. Idealy you get a minion going then once you are about 20° below your target temp you damp down the air intakes and let it steady out where you want it. After that leave it alone as much as possible, every time you open the door you dump all your heat and it takes 10-15 minutes for your smoker to recover from that, so if you open your door 4x you just added 1 hr to your cook time.

 

[dick foster]

I'm not going to wade thought this entire thread ferreting out everything said but I will address what I think you did wrong item by item.

Rub the meat with mustard (optionable) and apply the rub. Put it in the fridge for over night or a little longer depending on when you're going to start cooking. I always try for at least over night.  No need to take the mustard off as it's only purpose is to help the rub stick to the meat so putting it on then taking it off before you rub does nothing at all. It does however make your grocer happy as he gets to sell you more mustard.

When you start getting the smoker up to temp say and hour or so before you plan to start the cook, take the meat out of the fridge and let it still for the chill to come off. Just always do those two things, take the meat out, start the fire, together and you'll be set.

Put a thermometer probe in the meat and put it in the smoker fat side up. In my view some sort of meat thermometer is almost a must, be it wired or wireless but something that will allow you to monitor the internal temp of the meat with the smoker closed and cooking.

I think opening the smoker every 45 minutes to spritz was probably the worst mistake you made. As soon as the smoker got up to temp you opened it and cooled it off again so it never got a chance for the meat to cook properly. The temp was like a see saw and in a constant state of flux. That's no way to cook anything. Remember "When you're lookin you ain't cookin" Put the meat in the smoker, close it and leave it closed until it's time to take it out. This is one of those cases where less in more so don't fiddle around or mess with it. Learn to relax as smoking requires both patience and time.   

Take the meat out when the thermometer says it's 190 or even 200 if you like, a matter of taste and preference.  Either cover it with a foil hat and let it set for 30 mins or more or wrap in foil and do the cooler gig until it's time to eat is OK. Whatever you do let it rest for at least 30min prior to pulling the meat.

Separate any fat left after the cook as you pull the meat. The fat helps it stay moist and it's easier to separate the fat after it's cooked anyway.

Do that next time and I bet it will turn out OK.

Remember that each piece of meat takes it's own time to cook depending on the amount of collagen fat etc. in it.  

I smoke at 225 but 250 is OK too but just remember that higher temps may tend to dry it out more unless you exercise more care. Like cooking, drying is a matter of time and temperature.    

 

[kevin0422]

Some people say fat side up, fat side down, bone down for an hour then flip.  What do you recommend.  Should I use the minion method as well?

 

[jirodriguez]

For pork butt it doesn't really matter to much on fat side up or down, there is so much fat marbeling the entire piece of meat that it will be juicy either way. As for the minion method - yes! The whole idea is to be able to set up your smoker and have it run for a long time at a steady temp without having to open it or stoke the fire. The length of time you get from a minion depends on how efficient your smoker is.

 

[watlow]

New to site and if you dont have that headach from reading all the good advice and experience I do, but real good stuff. I remember doing two butts for pulled pork and both about the same size so I only checked temp of one and it was good about 190-195.Boy what a surprise when I went to pull them, one fine other, finished in oven. I learned from that experience always make sure of all temps, use good equipment and be patient And the 1.5 hours per # for base time works But temp tells the real story. When I first started smoking was embarresed to tell someone that I had made it but I stuck with it and it all came together.  LOL

 

[dick foster]

Fat side up and for good reason. As the fat melts, it runs down over the pork coating it and that helps keep the meat moist while adding to the bark and flavor. If you put it fat side down all that fat just melts then drips into a drip pan adding nothing but making more mess to clean up and throw away.

If you don't want the fat, then think about doing pork tenderloin instead. It's good too but in a different way and it has a different flavor. It cooks much faster too. When I smoke pork tenderloin I actully add fat to it by wrapping it in bacon first. It;'s YUMMY that way!  The fat cooks off for the most part but it leaves that unmistable flavor behind.

Pulled pork is all about flavor and that flavor is largely due to the fat content of the meat in much the same way a prime steak is about the fat content and the even distribution of it thoughout the meat. That is how prime cuts are graded prime to begin with. It's not about just the lean meat but the fat and the lean in balance.  

With pulled pork, you can have the flavor but you can seperate and not eat the fat after the cooking is done. Some might call it having your cake and eathing it too.  

 

[dick foster]

Actually no. The Minion method has the fire burning though the fuel top down. As heat rises that keeps the temp lower and make the fire last longer.

 

[richard morris]

Hi Kevin, Maybe I can shed some light. My first smoker was a charcoal Brinkman vertical as you have. Very unreliable for a heat source. Every time you open it to mop, you lose all the heat. Even keeping it shut, it has a tendency to cool off quickly. Also suffers from different temps at different levels. Having said that, the best way to really know if a piece of meat is ready, is by temperature. And since getting an accurate read is difficult, especially with bone-in items, then a dual probe thermometer is best. Try to make sure the probes are inserted in a meat , not near the bone. I will also point out, if you really cooked a 6 lb shoulder that length of time at the constant temp of 225, you would easily have reached temp. internal of 195 deg, all you need. Your problem is the smoker, and opening the smoker. When I had my brinkman, I drilled holes at 3 levels, one at the water pan, one at grill level and one on top of the dome. and mounted round dial thermometers, (cheap at Lowes) I would see a 30 degree difference sometimes from middle to top. So I mounted a couple brackets, and lowered a rack to just 2 inches above the water pan.

Now lets talk meat. Butt, Shoulder, Picnic, all can be used for pulled pork, Bone in is preffered IMO, moister end results. Look for a cut with a nice fat cap. Look for one with fat marbeling if possible. Almost ALL pork products in the California area are Smithfield or Farmer John. I have used both, with always great results. Winco, Safeway, Smart and Final, Sams Club, Costco, Food Maxx, Vons, Ralphs, Lucky, Nobb Hills, all buy their pork products from the same master distributors. Period. I know, I was a butcher. Of course, you can get a lousy cut from anybody. It is up to you to check expiration dates and inspect for fat etc. But other than HOW the butcher trimmed it, it came from the same wholesale distributors. Inferior pork products go to commercial users, hot dogs, breakfast sausage, institutions, canners etc. Grocers all use top grade.
Since the Brinkmann has such temp issues, I solved it as I said above, but also realized that in 5 hours of smoking I had imparted enough smoke flavor by fat into my meat. So I would take my meat, wrap in foil and finish it in the oven for 2 or so hours at 250. (remember , it is not the time, it is the internal temp or 195 you need.) This method helps retain some moisture, yet still has plenty of smoke flavor. I hope this all help you, pulled pork is really easy when done correctly, it needs no baby sitting really. The fat cap will baste your beat as it cooks, no need to mop so much either.

Big Rich Morris

 

[desertsubi]

Lol zombie much.. This was from back on 2010 dude

Hi Kevin, Maybe I can shed some light. My first smoker was a charcoal Brinkman vertical as you have. Very unreliable for a heat source. Every time you open it to mop, you lose all the heat. Even keeping it shut, it has a tendency to cool off quickly. Also suffers from different temps at different levels. Having said that, the best way to really know if a piece of meat is ready, is by temperature. And since getting an accurate read is difficult, especially with bone-in items, then a dual probe thermometer is best. Try to make sure the probes are inserted in a meat , not near the bone. I will also point out, if you really cooked a 6 lb shoulder that length of time at the constant temp of 225, you would easily have reached temp. internal of 195 deg, all you need. Your problem is the smoker, and opening the smoker. When I had my brinkman, I drilled holes at 3 levels, one at the water pan, one at grill level and one on top of the dome. and mounted round dial thermometers, (cheap at Lowes) I would see a 30 degree difference sometimes from middle to top. So I mounted a couple brackets, and lowered a rack to just 2 inches above the water pan.


Now lets talk meat. Butt, Shoulder, Picnic, all can be used for pulled pork, Bone in is preffered IMO, moister end results. Look for a cut with a nice fat cap. Look for one with fat marbeling if possible. Almost ALL pork products in the California area are Smithfield or Farmer John. I have used both, with always great results. Winco, Safeway, Smart and Final, Sams Club, Costco, Food Maxx, Vons, Ralphs, Lucky, Nobb Hills, all buy their pork products from the same master distributors. Period. I know, I was a butcher. Of course, you can get a lousy cut from anybody. It is up to you to check expiration dates and inspect for fat etc. But other than HOW the butcher trimmed it, it came from the same wholesale distributors. Inferior pork products go to commercial users, hot dogs, breakfast sausage, institutions, canners etc. Grocers all use top grade.
Since the Brinkmann has such temp issues, I solved it as I said above, but also realized that in 5 hours of smoking I had imparted enough smoke flavor by fat into my meat. So I would take my meat, wrap in foil and finish it in the oven for 2 or so hours at 250. (remember , it is not the time, it is the internal temp or 195 you need.) This method helps retain some moisture, yet still has plenty of smoke flavor. I hope this all help you, pulled pork is really easy when done correctly, it needs no baby sitting really. The fat cap will baste your beat as it cooks, no need to mop so much either.



Big Rich Morris

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[tjdcorona]

I agree- the bone mustve been hit - but I don't understand 9 hrs - and still raw? HEAT issue there.

 

[chorizodahitman]

The first butt I did on my Treager I followed their suggestions for a 9 hour cook time. It was cooked, but was not the pull I had hoped for. Had to do a chopped pork instead. After that I started doing my own thing and smoking my butts for 12-15 hours. With the fat in the pork, you really do not need to mop it that regularly. I will use a turkey baster and wet it down every 2-3 hours. Keep trying and don't get frustrated.

 

[chorizodahitman]

I started off with a Brinkman as well. Miss that thing! The temps are very hard to control on it, so I moded mine out by replacing the charcoal bin with an electric attachment and by placing a welders blanket over it during my smokes. With my Brinkman, I would do 15-18 hours for a butt, depending on the time of year.

 

[tjdcorona]

I still use my Brinkman from time to time, but its in retirement and for camping now.

 

[mike johnson]

I use cash and carry to buy all my meats. I believe they are called smart and final there. All there meat is restraint quality and cheaper then any grocery store.

 

[tjdcorona]

Thanks - I will be heading there next week

 

[tjdcorona]

Yes - I like that place too.