Favorite Pork Butt Recipe?


 
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David Munson

TVWBB Super Fan
Got the family coming over for the weekend. What is better: The Renowned Mr. Brown, Slathered With Mustard & Rub or something else?
 
Hey David,

I smoked a couple of butts this past weekend. I just sprinkled some Rendevous rub on them and smoked them over oak chunks. No mustard. They were great! Oh, and I did something I've been reading about here on the forum for quite some time: I filled my water pan with pebbles instead of water. I'll never go back to H2O! My WSM performed perfectly, even better than with water, I thought. It had always run a little cool due to a slightly out-of-round condition, but it held just right with the pebbles. And the clean up was a cinch, as I covered the pebbles with aluminum foil. I wonder what most of the rest of you are using in your pans these days: water, sand, pebbles, stones? Hmmm...sounds like a poll question.

Regards,

Jim
 
I would use the rub you like, mustard if you like but if you aren't try injecting, you won't be sorry. Take it to 195? pull off the cooker and wrap and hold for an hour or so.
Jim
 
Adding my experience to Mr. Minion's (guess who has more?? HINT: it's not me!!), YOU MUST resist the temptation to pull it off any sooner than 195? internal!! It's hard sometimes, like when you've been cooking since 4am and it's now 8pm and you want to have your fill of pulled pork (I'm describing me last night....) It's worth it though.

My recipe: whatever rub you have bought or concocted yourself (mine is 5 parts brown sugar, 3 parts kosher salt, 2 parts paprika, 1 part made up of chili pwdr, garlic pwdr, onion pwdr, black pepper), and run the temp between 230-250? until it's done (see above.) Let it rest wrapped in foil for an hour or two, then pull apart and eat (careful, probably will still be pretty hot in the middle.)

Hmmm, I think I'll have some PP leftovers for dinner now that you have me thinking about it!

Rich G.
 
Hi David,
My favorite "Q" is the pork butt. I think about any rub discussed here sounds great. The Southern Sop described in Smoke and Spice, for me, is a must. I add a half cup of Wild Turkey to the sob- makes it better. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif I like hot stuff. If you don't, watch the heat of the cayenne. Also, I would lean towards having it done sooner than later. Wrap it in foil, close down the cooker, and let it sit until you're ready to pull it.

Have Fun!
Larry
Oh, a nice cigar works well too.
 
I think pork butt is my fave to cook as well. I use a thin layer of mustard on all the stuff I que, it gives the rub something to stick to and I think it gives better bark. Injecting is something I haven't messed with but I just got an injector and I'm looking forward to trying it. What kind of concoction should I try? I'm spraying at flip times with apple juice or sometimes apple juice with a splash of Jack. How 'bout injecting chicken thighs, a friend of mine swears by it but there again what to use? How much to use is gonna be trial and error but I'm looking forward to the test samples!
Dave
 
Anyone: Also, how much time per pound should I expect? From the recipes Chris has, I would expect 1-1/2 hours per pound per butt for an internal temperature of 195 plus an hour or so resting time. Is it worthwhile to split a larger butt for more surface area I.E. chewy bits and to reduce the smoking time?

I have been wanting to try the mustard/rub technique to see what the flavor of mustard turns out to be after smoking.

Jim Minion: I have never considered injecting pork. Now a turkey or chicken: yes. Enough butter to get the honey in the injector and fill her up until you can not get more in. What would you inject a pork butt with? You got me - r e a l l y - interested. /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

Thanks Rich G & Larry Evers. The wife insisted that I mellow out a bit on exotic rubs. Just because of the time last year when I over did it with Worcestershire powder and that other time I mistakenly used habanero /infopop/emoticons/icon_redface.gif instead of cayenne. My usual base for a pork rub consists of equal parts sugar and salt followed by paprika and followed by enough garlic and onion powder to make a difference. For a mop I have some nice home made hard cider. . .
 
What does injecting do for a fatty cut like a pork butt? I have always thought of injecting as something done to fairly dense cuts of meat, like a pork loin or a turkey breast? /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif What would you use to inject?
 
A simple injection would be Zesty Italian dressing run through a sceen to remove the chunks, to that add some of your rub and apple juice would be good. Inject till the butt won't hold anymore and cook as you would normally.
At 195? internal the pork will be very moist and you will find very little fat left in that butt.
Vinegar cuts fat and it leaves a very clean flavor.
Jim
 
You can run the temp at the top of the dome between 225 and 275 and for pork butts 275 works just fine you get done in less time and it does not lessen the quality of the product.
 
Dave,

The last pork butt I did was the 'Mr. Brown' slathered with mustard and mopped with the Southern Sop. It was, without a doubt, the best yet...very flavorful. I've also done butts with a rub from Corky's BBQ but that doesn't compare to Mr. Brown.

One rub that should at least get a laugh (especially out of the kids) is the Slap Yo Mama Butt Rub. I haven't tried it but the name alone makes it worth a look.
--------------------------
Mark WAR EAGLE!!
 
Head over to the recipe section and do a search on "marinade". You will get a lot of hits. I posted several rib marinades that I and others have used in contests. Most of these can be used as injections as well.

The purpose of the injection is to add flavor, NOT to tenderize...the low and slow cooking process does that. You will also notice that many of these contain some form of sweetner. In contest cooking...sweetness wins.

I will link directly to that post...but do the search and you will discover lots of great recipes.

Rib Marinades

OK, OK, too much work. I will post a great pork injection here..I have posted this in the past but did not see it over at the recipe section.

Pork Injection Marinade

1 cup Apple juice or cider
1/4 cup Cider vinegar
1/4 cup Water
2 tablespoon(s) Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) Pork rub
2 tablespoon(s) Corn syrup

PREPARATION:
Powderize the rub using a mortar and pestle.
Inject into pork butts. This will make enough to inject 1, 8lb. pork butt.
 
All this talk of injecting meat with marinades, etc has me intrigued. When you inject meat, do you cut back on the amount of rub/mop/sauce that you use in order to balance flavors or does everyone feel that more flavor is better and the injection doesn't mask the flavor of the other components, including the meat? /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

I guess the best way to figure this out is to experiment and decide what I like, but any guidance would be greatly appreciated. /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif Thanks.

Tim
 
With pork you will find that most injections include vinegar as part of the ingredients and you will find that vinegar cuts the fat and brightens the flavor of the pork.
Your injection has to go with the rub you are appling just as a sauce or glaze would.
Jim
 
Tim...

As Jim said...they must all go together. That is why you will see in all the recipes I posted that both the rub and the sauce is used in the injection/marinades.
 
When would you start the injection?

That is how much time before cooking. I plan on rub (and/or) painting mustard tonight for a morning start cook.


- Dave
 
I had a nice cook today. The WSM held 250 degrees for a bit over eleven hours for the entire cook to 190 degrees. I ran with the three bottom vents only open 10% or 20%. I knew it would be an all day event so I filled the charcoal ring 90% full. I wanted it to run low so I only started about a dozen coals in the chimney.

It has been off the grill about a half hour now. I have it wrapped in foil. I had to look a bit ago and it was still steaming. I had a nice cook today. The WSM held 250 degrees for a bit over eleven hours for the entire cook to 190 degrees. I ran with the three bottom vents only open 10% or 20%. I knew it would be an all day event so I filled the charcoal ring 90% full. I wanted it to run low so I only started about a dozen coals in the chimney.

It has been off the grill about a half hour now. I have it wrapped in foil. I had to look a bit ago and it was still steaming. The smell was wonderful.
 
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