help me with my giant butt: UPDATE - butt is on the smoker


 

TroyRedington

TVWBB All-Star
haha, that was fun to type.

i'm going to attempt my 2nd butt this weekend.
My first attempt was with two really small butts.

This butt is 11 pounds though.

I don't own a wsm, i have a smoker joe and a performer.

The challenge - it's currently -2 degrees and windy. Supposed to be even windier tonight and tomorrow i think.

As much as i'd LOVE to finish this whole butt in the smoker, I'm starting to lean towards giving it 6 or 8 hours of smoke and finishing it in the oven (or even in the kettle)

I also need to make some rub.

UPDATE:*************
I just put the butt on the mini smoker joe.
I spent the day making a charcoal basket out of a 5qt stainless doggie bowl. What a pain...

I made a rub out of salt, sugar, sage, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. I skipped the paprika and chili powder - trying for something different i guess.

it's 5 degrees outside right now, but supposedly getting down to -10 tonight.

I'm going to 'not care' about temps as much as i can. I figure i'll take 2 hour incremental naps on the couch.

I have the smoker wall set up in my performer as a backup. I can get it smoking in about 20 minutes.

I'm using royal oak lump, as always.
 
Troy check out thisthread for low and slow on the kettle. As for rub I keep mine simple.
Course ground black pepper,garlic and onion,on pork I like to add some sweetness with maple sugar but you probably don't have that so use some brown sugar and for heat I throw on some cayenne or red pepper flakes.Salt the shoulder first if you like and then add rub.
 
Troy,

You certainly can get enough smoke in a few hours (you can always toss on a few more chunks than normal during that time ), then finish the butt in the oven. 6-8 hours is more than enough to pick up a good smoke flavor. I'd recommend cutting the butt into several pieces before starting. You're going to pull it anyway, right? Pick a rub from the 'Rubs, Marinades...' section or 1 that Chris has posted in the pork cooking section and smoke away. Cutting the butt up before smoking will create more bark which I find essential in good pulled pork and should speed up your cook as well.

Paul
 
I agree with Paul. If you cut it in half, it should fit on your smoker joe. You would know better than I, but from what I've read, you guys get a pretty long burn from the smoker joe. I could only get around 2 hours tops on my kettle. Get it up to 145 or so and if you finish in the oven, you should be just fine.
 
I don't think i want to cut it in half. I like more bark, but for this one I really want it to stay one big butt.
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I haven't mastered holding temps with my smoker yet.

I think what I'll do it do the first several hours in the smoker and try to keep the temps going as long as i can. If/when the smoker is at a stage of 'start over' I'll have the performer set up to smoke and do it there for another couple of hours. Sounds like a hassle of moving the meat around, but I'm cool with that.

I won't be able to keep my performer at 225, it'll run at 275-300 for about 6 hours though

If i have it in the smoker for 5 hours at 250,
and then in the performer for 6 hours at 275, how many hours would it take to finish in the oven (or in the smoker)?
 
Big Butts take a long time to be ready
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I'd cut in half , my favorite size is 6-7 lbs.
The 11 lb butt will take a long time to cook, 14+ hours @ low temp won't have as much bark, & the smokey outside will have to mix with a lot of interior meat.
If this was a summer time cook maybe keep whole but in the cold , cut in 1/2 smoke 6 hrs then pan/foil & finish in the oven.
 
This is what I'd do: Smoke fat down on the kettle (in a pan or not) at 250-300 til the IT passed 150, or 160 if you have the time. Remove, pan and foil tightly to put in a 350* oven and cook til tender. Take the foil off to allow the bark to finish, and you're done.
 
regarding the bark, my family is not accustomed to it.

they're filipino, and not huge bbq fans

I enjoy it, and my wife enjoys it, but the kids, and the MIL avoid it
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I haven't decided if i'm going to tackle this cook tonight or tomorrow night. I'm leaning towards tomorrow night.
 
I just put the butt on the mini smoker joe.
I spent the day making a charcoal basket out of a 5qt stainless doggie bowl. What a pain...

I made a rub out of salt, sugar, sage, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. I skipped the paprika and chili powder - trying for something different i guess.

it's 5 degrees outside right now, but supposedly getting down to -10 tonight.

I'm going to 'not care' about temps as much as i can. I figure i'll take 2 hour incremental naps on the couch.

I have the smoker wall set up in my performer as a backup. I can get it smoking in about 20 minutes.

I'm using royal oak lump, as always.
 
so much for 'not caring' about temps.

i left the house to pick up the kids (and get some taco bell)

i came home and the mini smoker joe was at 550 degrees!!!!
the bottom three daisy vents were already MOSTLY closed, so i pulled the smoker top (tamale steamer) off to check the coals. EVERY chunk of charcoal was red hot. My mini minion method didn't quite work. It seems lump burns hotter, and longer than K.
 
maybe.

i think i need to fix the vents on my smoker.
with all 3 bottom vents completely closed, the pit temp will still ride at 225-275.

Even though the butt was most likely ruined by the blast of 550, I kept going through the night as practice.

I managed to hold 225 until about 7am, when i hit the snooze button on my 2 hour alarm. The temp dropped to below 100.

I pulled the butt off the smoker about an hour ago. The bark is...black. The bone is not loose, and the internal temp was 200. It's resting now, but I'm almost positive it's going to be dry.

Live, learn, and bbq.
 

 

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