Cut my butt?


 
J

jeff_herrell

New member
When I usually do a butt I do a high heat method. This weekend I would like to try one low and slow. I have a couple butts one around 8 lbs and one around 10 lbs. I won't have the time to spend 14 to 20 hours so I was thinking about cutting them in half and doing the low and slow. Any thoughts? My father-in-law always cuts his in half but he cooks high heat on the BGE. Will I be sacrificing anything by cutting in half and doing low and slow on the WSM?

Jeff
 
Cut it. I always cut my butts in half and the only difference I can tell is you get more bark and it cooks faster. I had noticed when the "samplers" reach in for a taste test after I've chopped it up they always get a piece with bark. That is the reason I tried it and I like it.
 
I don't think you sacrifice anything by cutting it. The pork butts I get from Costco usually go about 5-6 lbs each. After doing the first 3 cooks low and slow, I prefer the high heat method. I don't think it's the most popular method here, but I really like the results.

Give the low & slow a try - you might prefer it to the high heat method. I would halve the 10 lb butt instead of the 8 lb butt, but that's just me. You might get other/better suggestions from other members of the forum.

Good luck and great success for your cook!
 
Interesting, I never even thought about butterflying it, I may have to try that sometime. We always have good results with our high heats, but I thought I would give "traditional" low and slow a shot just to see.
 
Cut 'em in two and take them outta the fridge before you go to bed
icon_wink.gif
... that way they'll be 75* before ya start smokin...saaaaaves a bunch o' time!
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by R. Hanson ("Rondo"):
Cut 'em in two and take them outta the fridge before you go to bed
icon_wink.gif
... that way they'll be 75* before ya start smokin...saaaaaves a bunch o' time!
wsmsmile8gm.gif
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Only problem with that is the meat should not spend more than 4 hours total in the danger zone. You also get less of a smoke ring but that is minor compared to food safety.
 
Not really an issue. It's an issue after cooking, not really before, contrary to ServSafe, et al., that preach this. There is nothing - pathogen-wise - that can grow on raw meat in 4 hours that will not be eliminated during the pasteurization that occurs during cooking to safe internals - or beyond, which is the case for pulled pork, brisket, etc.

This is not the case for cooked food; the science is different post cook.
 
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