catching and reusing pork butt drippings


 
D

Dave Elton

New member
Hey guys, I'm relatively new to smoking and wanted to try something new for my next pork butt. I've never foiled during cooking, and have read foiling during the stall can help retain moisture, but can reduce the quality/texture of the bark. So, I'm wondering if I can somehow get the best of both worlds. I was thinking about not foiling during cooking, but trying to catch the drippings in a pan and then apply it back to the pork after pulling. I also plan to foil the butt at around 195 and place it in a cooler for about an hour, and my understanding is I will also have some juices from that. As far as catching the drippings goes though... should I just use an empty pan, or would the drippings get too hot and cook away? If I should add water, roughly how much should I add so that the drippings aren't too diluted? I should clarify that I do *not* intend to use the water pan, which I do plan on filling completely with water, but rather some other pan sitting on the grate below the butt.

I'm not dead set on this approach either... I'm all ears :)
 
If you're using water in the WSM pan than any drip pan will work for capturing drippings on the lower grate. The temps are not that hot that you need to worry about scorching, but you could add some stock or a brew instead of water..:wsm:
I love using de-fatted juices in my PP

Tim
 
Ohhh I really like that idea of using beer... only problem is now I'd have to decide whether to put it back onto the pulled pork or just drink it straight up :)
 
I think you might end up with a substantial amount of liquid smoke in the pan, but I've never tried it. I will tell you this, though. In my experience, mixing pork drippings back in or with a sauce is a bit over-rated. You can cut the salt with water and AJ or something similar if you do, though. Skimming the fat isn't a bad idea, either.

Foiling isn't a bad idea, but you mentioned a trade off. You also will dilute the smoke flavor somewhat when foiling. In terms of moisture, I've had "naked" butts end up as good as any foiled butt I've ever done. However, as you know, naked butts take a lot longer to get done and can require an overnight cook or getting up before the chickens, at least if cooking more than one rack's worth. One thing about foiling, though. If you do decide to go that route, try skipping the water in the pan so you'll get much quicker bark formation. I don't miss the heat sink properties of the water when I foil because I usually do those cooks during the day and are cooking a little faster, anyway.
 
I cook my pork butts on the grate for 6 hours. I then put em in a foil pan with AJ and cover with foil and cook until 200 internal. After that I pull from the pan and put back on grate to firm the bark back up. I save the au jus for when I pull it. I do usually rest the butt in foil, towel, cooler for at least 30 minutes. Gives the au jus a chance to cool and let fat form at top so I can scoop it out before heating the AJ/Au jus up and tossing pulled pork in it....
 
I put a small wire rack across an aluminum pan on the top rack of the WSM. The butt sits on top of the wire rack, fully exposed to heat and smoke but up and out of the juices. I put enough water in the aluminum pan to cover the bottom about 1/8" deep...it keeps the drippings from burning away. I'll sometimes add some apple juice to the pan as well. When it comes time to foil, I foil the whole thing as is. When the drippings cool, skim the fat off and you're good to go!

On another note.... GO CARDS!!!!
Sorry - had to say that - I was born in St. Louis....;)
 
I have always done my pork shoulder,hams and boneless butts in a disposable tinfoil pan. They seem to get plenty of smoke and you end up with all that nice juice in the pan , which you can de fat and use as you like...:cool:
 
Mike Willis said:
On another note.... GO CARDS!!!!
Sorry - had to say that - I was born in St. Louis....;)
Click to expand...

Oh sure rub it in, right when the Chiefs are awful again and the Royals continue to be ever since the day I was born :)

I may borrow your or Frank's idea of catching the drippings on the same grate next time. The butt turned out great, but I only caught some of the juices because about halfway through I had to replace the drip pan with a bean pan. Gettin' hungry again...
 
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