First Butt; Mr Brown


 
T

Tom A.

TVWBB Member
I did my first butt a few weeks back and just getting around to posting the results.

I picked up a bone out 2 pack from Costco 15# total. One was at least a pound larger than the other. I trimmed the fat cap off both, I would say about 1/2 # each.

Here is a pic on the WSM.
Before:
P1010033.jpg

After
P1010035.jpg


This is after 2 hours in the foil. No drippings at all. Maybe I over cooked it?
P1010036.jpg


The bark was very tasty but I felt the meat was a bit on the dry side. A healthy dose of #5 sauce helped in that area.

The guests claimed they loved it, but what are they going to say when they are eating BBQ and drinking homebrew on tap?

I think next time I'm going to place the fat cap (or a portion) inside the butt before tying it up with the butcher twine. Maybe this will help keep the butt moist.
 
Good looking bark. I wouldn't go thru that extra step with the fat cap. Of course you want to try to avoid overcooking ( which is hard to do on PP) but the easiest solution is to add in flavor and moisture when you pull it. There are dozens of flavorful liquids you could use to accomplish this.

I try to avoid going straight for a BBQ sauce to add moisture. I instead go for a thinner vinegar , apple juice or stock addition, as this doesn't throw off the flavor profile as much, and it doesn't make the PP look like its already sauced. Then people have the choice on their own to add sauce to it.
 
I'm curious if you were cooking them to a Temperature or based solely on time?? I didn't see any meat thermometers so that would be my first thing.
As people have mentioned, butts will finish at a widely varied times so it's best to watch internal temps.

I wouldn't worry about adding any excess fat from the cap to the outside. Moisture on the inside won't be effected as there is probably FAR more fat inside then we want to think about.

Finally, always know that your taste buds won't be 100% after smoking. I find that the day after i'm always amazed at how much better my Q tastes.
 
Just wondering how long your cook was, and if you can hazard a guess at avg cooker temp and internal finish temp. Did it pull easily? It's nice and dark and looks like it was well cooked, but if it didn't pull well it's also possible it was somewhat undercooked for pulling.

Not removing the fat cap in the first place will also help the moisture level. You could try cooking it fat cap down, then rest in foil fat cap up.

Lastly, to increase end product moisture you could try foiling the butt to finish ... some time after 160ºF internal as a guideline. I don't foil mine to finish but some do.
 
The color and bark look fine to me. For reference I always do bone in. I always rub then tie. I see no value in injecting although others may disagree. I pull at 190 deg. Into a cooler in towels until temp drops at least to 160 deg or 140 deg if I am stretching for time. They have have never been dry. Pull and apply a finishing sauce of your choice or none for that matter. I have never had a dry butt. I have always cooked at 250 deg or within 25 deg + or -. I have always cooked butts over lump. No need to baste, flip or touch at all during the cook. No salt in the rub, salt just before you rub. What I actually do is rub, wrap in plastic and set overnight. Others may say this is not necessary, and it's probably true. I take out of the plastic and rub again. I then place on the prepared WSM. I do not care if they reach room temp, actually I prefer that they don't since that improves the ring.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Scooter B:
Finally, always know that your taste buds won't be 100% after smoking. I find that the day after i'm always amazed at how much better my Q tastes. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Great observation! I hadn't thought about it too much before, but after a long day in the smoke, once it comes down to sitting down to a big dinner, I'm not that interested. To me, the most pleasure is in the first couple of morsels of whatever the meat is, just to see if I got it right.

I'm having leftovers tonight from yesterday's action, so I'll see if it seems better to me today.
 
Both butts were cooked to 190 internal. In the morning (10 hrs in) the small butt was already reading 180.

Lid temps held steady 225-250 all night and day. It is a WSM after all!
icon_biggrin.gif


The butts were certainly cooked through. It pulled away easy except some of the over done pieces closer to the bark.

I may have thought is was overcooked due to the fact that I covered the pulled pork (1 butt) with foil and kept it war in a 200 oven while I was pulling the second. I'll probably go with To Chips advice on the addition of moisture.

Thanks,
Tom
 
Tom A, Butts look great, Congrats.
icon_cool.gif
Leave the fat cap on the next time, I never trim it off. For a finishing sauce I use a 1-1-1 ratio of Butter, BBQ sauce and Chicken stock. I use 1/3 cup as my 1's and this makes enough and then some for one butt. HTH
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top