first butts


 
T

t wright

TVWBB Member
Hello from the south y'all. I'm going to be smoking my first butts this saturday. I've had 3 succesful chicken/fattie cooks as well as baked beans. I have yet to cook true low and slow. Here's my plan so far and I'm looking for some advice to help me round out my plan.

I've got 2 bone in butts from the local butcher shop. They are total of 16 lbs together. One is a tad bigger than the other. I have not settled on a rub yet. I've looked at the Mr. Brown, but will have some people that don't like spicy stuff. Also haven't decided if I want to rub with mustard yet or not.

I'm planning on using the clay pot mod over a foiled standard water pan.

I don't have any probes to stick in there. I will be using a meat thermo. that I have checked in boiling water.

First question, will sticking this thing in the meat drain some of the juice out of it? I don't want this to happen?

Second? What's a good place to start with rubs?

Third? What can I plan on as far as time (I know it's done when it's done.) Do I base the time upon 8 lbs or 16 lbs.

Last? All I have for wood is Pecan and Hickory chunks as well as apple chips. I don't want to overpower the flavor with bitter smoke taste. Should I use one or the other - or a combination.

Thanks so much, I know it's a lengthy post, but I appreciate any responses!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> First question, will sticking this thing in the meat drain some of the juice out of it? I don't want this to happen?
</div></BLOCKQUOTE> I don't check temperature until well into the cook, I check the temp, and then pull the thermo back out until next time that I check

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Third? What can I plan on as far as time (I know it's done when it's done.) Do I base the time upon 8 lbs or 16 lbs.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE> I would base the time on 8 lbs x 2 hrs for 16 hrs total
 
T, i like this recipe very much. Not a mr. brown fan myself. This is very good on butts, ribs. Good luck on your first butt cook.

Bob Gibson recipe

Here is the recipe:
The meat
2 pork butts

The rub
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/3 cup garlic salt
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
mix ingredients together and apply liberally to the butts.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Smoke at about 225f to 250f until internal temperature reaches 195f. Let rest for 15 minutes. Pull, and have fun. Put some meat in a bun with a little of your favorite BBQ sauce. Add a little coleslaw if you wish and enjoy.
Have a great 4th of July.
 
T,

Where in South Carolina? I am from Charleston but now live in Northern Virginia.

As far as the wood goes if I was going to use a mixture of the wood you have on hand it would be either the pecan and apple or the hickory and apple. Just my two cents but I think the pecan is similar to the hickory just not as strong. I often just use hicory or pecan with butts. That said, I don't think the mixture of wood, at least with wood you have on hand, is going to cause bitterness (or a numb tongue). Bitterness is caused by a build up of creosote on your meat which can be caused by restricting the air flow in your WSM. This can happen by not allowing enough of the smoke to escape through the top vent which will result in the deposit of creosote on your food. There are lots of posts on the forum about this but basically keep your top vent open all the way all the time and control your temperature through the bottom three vents and do not place an excessive amount of wood chunks on the fire to start with.

I just realized that you have apple chips instead of apple chunks. I am hesitant to use chips directly on the charcoal in the WSM and usually reserve their use for the grill. If you must use the chips I would pack them in a heavy duty foil pouch, poke holes in the pouch, and then put the pouch on the charcoal.

Hope this helps.

Sean
 
i live in columbia (blythewood) which is right off i-77. i spent 4 years in school in charleston and still go there a ton.

thanks for the advice...

i may try that rub if i can get everything together.
 
I am a CofC grad myself. I was in Charleston about a month ago and found a new BBQ restaurant (well new to me that is) in West Ashley that was excellent. It is called Home Team Barbecue and it was by far one of the best Q restaurants that I have been to in and around Charleston. Definately worth a try if you have not already been. Good luck with your smoke.

Sean
 
well i've got the butts rubbed up and will put them on at midnight...
i'll do the minion method with about 10 lit kingsford...think this will be enough?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by t wright:
i'll do the minion method with about 10 lit kingsford...think this will be enough? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, 10-12 lit will be fine. Good luck with your Butt cook.
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
thanks bryan...you've been a big help to me since i started reading on here a few months ago...you've seem to got it going on.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by t wright:
thanks bryan...you've been a big help to me since i started reading on here a few months ago...you've seem to got it going on. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well Thanks, for the kind words. Being this is your first low and slow cook and using the saucer I'll remind you to start closing the vents early so you don't over shoot your target temp. If you are measuring the temps through the top vent and want to be in the 240-260 lid vent temp range, then start closing your bottom vents at 200 degrees. Keep us posted and take somee pics.
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alright...here is what i ended up using for the rub. I got it out of a book at Books a Million but I can't remember the name. The name of the rub is Big Time BBQ Rub.

1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup turb sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 table spoon of garlic and onion powder each
2 table paprika
2 table ground pepper
2 tea cayenne
1 table dried thyme
1 table cumin
1 tea nutmeg

I also made up my own vinegar sauce. It was from Smoke and Spice called Vaunted Vinegar. Looks and smells great but haven't tasted it yet.

I put the butts on at midnight with about 12 lit using minion method. After 30 min it was up to 200 so I cut the bottom 3 vents to about 25%.

Here are the pics. I've never uploaded pics before, so I may have to try again. (please let me know if I am doing this incorrectly.)

IMG_3067.jpg

IMG_3068.jpg
 
i'm going to do the baked beans that are in the cooking topic section...it's quick and easy...i want to focus on the butts and not get too stressed out the first time...

i did a test run earlier this week and got them suited to my taste...i changed it a good bit by just adding stuff here and there to taste and it seemed to work out well.

Do you think it would work to add some of the pork once it's cooked to mix in with the beans?
 
also, i'm measuring at the lid temp...it seems to have settled almost exactly at 250 and i can't be more pleased than that right? going to sleep for a couple hours then wake up and check it...don't want to screw it up!
 
Well,
I need some help now. 9 hours later the smaller butt is done and the larger one will probably be done in the next hour or two.

It's 9 am now and dinner is not until 6. I'm thinking I'll let them rest for an hour or so in tin foil and then pull it. And then refridgerate until the crowd gets here.

I don't have a food saver, but was just planning on putting the pulled pork in ziploc bags. What would be the best way for me to reheat a large amount?
 
T, Are you sure they are done? What temp did you get from them and did you check a few places? Wiggle the bone? I usually cook butts from 7 to 9 lbs and it almost always takes at least 14 hours to cook and usually longer at 230 to 260. Did your fire spike at some point during the cook?

If they are truely done, then do what you said and rest them in foil and pull them. Then let them cool in small batches and put them in ziplocks and in to the fridge. (Im sure you have read all the great info here regarding food safety.) Since you don't have foodsaver bags you cant really use boiling water to re-heat them, I would just put the meat in a shallow pan, cover with foil, maybe spritz with apple juice or your vinegar sauce, and reheat in the oven at 200 or 250 degrees.

BTW, I like the sound of that rub, I think I will try it on one of my next butts. Let us know how it turns out and good luck.
 
I have never had to reheat a large quantity, so this is not from my personal experience. If you search on "reheat" here in this forum, you'll find a lot of information. Reheating in a microwave is mentioned several times, and the common theme is do it slowly, on low power. It's easy to overdo it with a microwave, and if you do, you can end up with a bunch of dry pork that's had all the moisture cooked out of it. Another method (easiest when the pork has been vacuum sealed) is to reheat it inside the bag, in boiling water. This has much less risk of overcooking it. But I don't think Ziplock bags can be boiled (I may be wrong). Or, you could do it in a low oven (maybe 200 degrees) like Scott suggested while I was typing this long-winded reply
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. However you do it, keep an eye on the meat so you don't dry it out.
 
thanks scott and larry,

I am sure they are done...they would hardly stay together when I was taking them off the WSM. I woke up every 2 hours to check on things during the night. The highest it got was to about 280. But it couldn't have stayed there for more than 2 hours, but that could've been enough to get it going. I've also been fighting some wind and that could have added to the quicker cook time. I'm not sure. I was afraid to close the vents too much with this being my first time. I didn't want to wake up and have a fire going at 150 instead of 225 or 250. Next time I will close the vents more than I did.

Also, I seem to have trouble with my rubbing process. I have the same problem when doing chickens. I rinse them off first, then pat them dry and let them air dry. Then I apply the rub. With the butts, I rubbed on yellow mustard first then the rub. After this I put them in the fridge. It seems that I always come back to a pan full of juice from the meats and it kinda screws up the rub. I know this is elementary BBQ science, but I can't seem to get it right.

You can see in my final pictures how the rub missed some places. I don't know how, but I was bummed.
IMG_3070.jpg

I also didn't have much of a smoke ring at all. The meat I have tasted doesn't have as much as a smoke flavor as I'd like. I didn't want to overdo it.

I'm still incredibly pleased for first time. It will make for a great dinner. The homemade vinegar sauce is awesome.


I may lean towards doing these in the oven at 200. How long should I do this for? Just keep checking it to see?

Sorry for so many questions! Thanks for all the help.
 
The butts look great. I usually dont rub mine until maybe an hour or two before they go on the smoker. If you rub them earlier, you can always hit them again just before they go on. That would ensure plenty of rub. You were smart to error on the side of less smoke the first time. Just add more smoke wood next time until you find what you like. Some will say that taking the butts directly from the fridge to the smoker will increase your smoke ring as well. Not sure how long to reheat the meat. Just be careful not to overcook it and dry it out. I definitely would spritz with apple juice or even better your vinegar sauce to help keep it moist. Good luck.
 
Your butts look beautiful, T
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I don't think you messed up on the rub. i think the fat cap shrunk during the cook and that is why you see areas without rub. Double check the thermometer you were using to monitor the WSM temp. It's possible that it is off and you were cooking hotter than you thought.

As far as reheating, you can put the butts on a rack in a roasting pan and then add some liquid in the bottom of the pan (apple juice, other juice, water with rub or sauce mixed in) and cover the whole thing with foil and then reheat in the oven. If you do it at 200 it will take a while. With the liquid in the pan you can go higher in temp to shorten the process.
 
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