Trimming Butts


 
J

Jeff Boudman

TVWBB Wizard
I've read numerous posts where people are trimming 1 - 3 lbs. of weight off of 7 - 11 lb. butts. What exactly are you trimming?
 
Some trim, others don't. Don't worry about it. If you want to trim, it's the white fat usually on one side of a bone-in butt. If you don't trim, you can always scrape away the uncooked fat when you are done. A very sharp knife is a must.
 
Don't bother trimming what doesn't render you can remove while pulling the pork apart after the cook.
 
I was just curious. I do trim but it's usually just a few ounces of fat. I'm pretty picky when buying butts. I'm always surprised when I see people picking up butts, ribs, etc. that are on top of the pile without even looking at them.
 
I never trim, fat cap down and let it cook, always turns out great. Since I'm doing it on the Performer with fire bricks and minion method mine usually runs between 250 to 275. I usually eat a whole meal while "taste testing", It's always best when it first comes off the grill.
 
Jeff Boudman said:
I've read numerous posts where people are trimming 1 - 3 lbs. of weight off of 7 - 11 lb. butts. What exactly are you trimming?
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Good question. I've become a fan of trimming, but my experience so far is mainly with IBP and Excel pork butts. Last weeks butts were Swift, and came trimmed even more, but I don't know how folks are trimming off a pound or more of fat without getting into meat. I'm not buying it if the fat cap is THAT thick. Anyhow, if it's trimmed down nice and thin it'll render nicely and you can mix some in with the pork. Yum. ;)
 
I trim fairly lean on the surface only because a good pork butt will have 20-25% fat in content anyhow. I like to lay the rub on to build the bark. My arteries are getting on so I would like to keep them as clear as possible. Trim out a butt, pull it, vacuum seal it, freeze it and take it out in a few days. Feel the inside of the bag! There's plenty of fat there, that's the nature of pork with this cut of meat, and even more so with a shoulder.
 
I don't trim my butts at all and they come out great. I'm pretty sure they're IBP boneless. Any large pockets of fat or undesirable content are easy to dispose of upon pulling if they don't render during cooking.
 
I trim because it means less to do when pulling the butt. I am all about easy at the end. I trim everything I can get to without destroying the butt.
 
I don't trim at all. When I foil for the rest, I make sure to put fat side down. When it comes time to pull, I just start digging in and pull until I reach the fat cap. The fat cap also seems to stick to the foil bottom so I really never even have to mess with it
 
I can't say that I've ever really trimmed a Butt, other than the occasional stray hunk of fat that doesn't look real appealing. Most of them I just rinse, apply some rub and then cook em.
 
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