Another Pork Butt Question

[Darin Hearn]

Ok one more question about cooking pork butt. Normally when I cook pork butt I smoke it until it reaches 165 degrees. Then I foil it and put it back on the smoker until the pork butt reaches 190 – 200 degrees. I use the foiling as a chance to add more flavors. Do most of you foil your pork butts? If not why? Do you get better bark if you do not foil? Is the meat still moist if you do not put it in foil?

 

[K Kruger]

I see no reason to foil butts unless the desire is to speed up the cook or unless one is cooking at high temps. (I don't ever have a need to speed the cook and I cook in the high 200s tops--no foil required.)
Butts contain enough internal fat/connective tissue to make foiling unnecessary.

If you choose to foil, however, and your bark texture is not quite what you're looking for you can restore crispness/dryness to it by unfoiling toward the end of the cook.

 

[Paul H]

Kevin, here is a related question. If you followed the procedure you outlined could you throw some more smoking wood on at the point you unfoiled? Seems like all the p.b. I've tasted that has been cooked high and fast doesn't have much of a smoke taste or aroma.

 

[David Lohrentz]

I have never foiled a pork butt, and I have never had a problem with them being dry, even though the "white meat" is a little less moist than the dark meat.

 

[Joe McManus]

Darin,

Let me start by saying that when I cook for home consumption, I almost never, no I'd say never use foil. That's cooking on a WSM or an FE100. I do believe that not foiling can POTENTIALLY lead to some stronger flavors on the bark, smokiness from wood or fat. This can also lead to some less desirable flavors building up on them too if you're too agressive with wood/fat/sugar. I have recently been playing with foil when cooking butts with competition product in mind. Thats mostly to be able to generate the same product on a consisent basis. I think using foil has compromised some of my favorite flavors on the bark.

 

[K Kruger]

Paul--Yes, you could.

Joey--Good points. I think the question of foiling a butt (especially if foiling because one wants to cook at high temps) necessitates careful experimentation. High temps can affect various rub ingredients differently but this, of course, depends on the ingredients in your rub. Sugar can develop overcooked or burnt notes but other ingredients can change as well--not necessarily in a negative way--but it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that altering the rub is both an option and a possible necessity depending on the desired finish.