Sous Vide then smoked pork butt

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baseballguy99

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jan 1, 2017
109
55
Red Bud, IL
Roaming through the grocery store this morning, I found a nice little 4lb butt and thought I would give it a go. I have read about smoke then Sous Vide, but I like some bark so I figured I would try reverse.

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Here is my birthday presents. SoVida sleeve and a hinged lid to fit my Rubbermaid 12qt tub.


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Rubbed down with mustard and Butt The Kitchen Sink rub.

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Vacuum sealed. Double sealed, double bagged.

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In the water bath @165* for 21hrs. Then 275* smoke to form a little bark.

Will update tomorrow.
 
Looks like you’re on the right track. Suggestion for a future try would be to pre-smoke, sous vide, then reverse smoke or sear after. It’s triple work but oh so worth it!!! Looking forward to your result from this cook !!
 
Sounds like a plan, but I'm with troutman.
When I make pastrami I smoke first, then SV.
You get more of a smoke flavor, and if you like bark, then I would just stick to smoking the butt & don't foil it!
Forget the SV part.
Al
 
I just like to experiment!!

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It came out of the 21hr 165* bath and was falling apart. It smelled amazing. I dried it off, added a little more rub, and put it in the smoker with hickory/corn cob pellets in the AMNPS. I let it go for 2hrs.

Although it was not a fail, I prefer the traditional method of cooking in the smoker the whole time. It had good flavor, just a hint of smoke, but it just didn’t seem “right”.
 
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Looks Good From Here!!:)
Nothing wrong with experimenting!!
95% of my Smoking & SV is Experimenting.
Like.

Bear
 
We are all new to this SV thing.
So we are all experimenting.
At least it tasted good & was nice & tender.
Al
 
The last pastrami I did I put it in the S/V first (150F for 36 Hr.), then cooled it down and added the dry rub and let it rest in the refer for a day. Set the smoker to 220 and smoked to ~125 IT. I thought it came out well and, most importantly, the S/V skeptical wife agreed.
 
The previous two cooks I did in the SV made my wife a believer.

I did 2 filet mignon for V-Day, she said it was hands down the best steak she has ever had.

Also did a beef “roast” that was preseasoned with fajita seasoning. Then seared it with some peppers and onions. It made awesome steak fajitas!
 
I've done sous vide + smoker pork butts quite a few times with pretty good results. For sous vide, I go 18-20 hours at 175F. At the 18 hour mark, I check it for its texture, and if needed, I continue for another 1-2 hours. I then dry it well, and smoke it at 275F for 1-2 hours to build the bark. I then chop/shred it and mix in the juices that accumulated in the sous vide bag along with a finishing sauce I prepare. Comes out well every time.
 
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This was in no way a fail. My wife tried it last night and she said it was good but my others that I have smoked were better.
 
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