Maple Syrup Pork Butt


 
Matt in Vancouver

Matt in Vancouver

TVWBB Member
After smoking a few cooks of ribs I decided to try a pork butt last weekend and thought why not experiment a little! My Canadian roots got the best of me but it turned out great! :cool: I'm still very much a beginner so any observations or tips are welcomed and appreciated.

This was a 5lb butt rubbed with House of Q "House Rub" the night before. Fat cap was removed:
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Here's my little mini all set to go - 3 chunks of Apple, 2 chunks of Cherry. It was quite windy so the fold out table is being used as a makeshift wind break.
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Brought the smoker up to temp (decided to go with 270°) , lightly re-rubbed and then into the smoke it goes!
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Pulled it off when internal temp hit 185° (+\- 3 hours)
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Foiled with fresh Mango, Pineapple, Maple Syrup, Apple Juice and some bacon fat. For the fellow Canadians out there I used Maple Leaf lazy maple bacon aka 'Lazy Mapes' when I collected the bacon fat... soooo good! Not sure if it did much to the flavour or not - like I said this was a bit of an experiment.
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Once foiled it was returned to the smoker for another 1hr 45min. Finally the foil was removed and it went back in bare until internal temp of 200° was reached.

Here's a shot after it had finished cooking and was allowed to rest for an hour and a half foiled in a cooler.
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And finally a shot as I started pulling the pork. It was nice and tender and came apart very easily.
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So there you have it! You could absolutely taste a hint of the maple syrup but not overpowering at all - there was still nice meat and smoke taste as well. I was so happy with the results I am going to do another larger butt hopefully tomorrow so I can portion and freeze a bunch!

Thanks again to the board for inspiration :wsm:

Matt
 
Great looking maple butt. One thing I would suggest is don't get in the habit of cooking to specific internal temps. After you foil it don't put the temp probe back in just cook till its probe tender. did you save the juices from the foil and mix it in with the pulled pork?
 
Looks good, the Maple Syrup idea sounds like a keeper. I think I would try a little apple cider vinegar with the syrup next time and see if gives you a taste profile you like instead of the AJ. Just a thought.
 
Sounds and looks excellent. Maple syrup instead of brown sugar on my next shoulder for sure! :wsm:
 
Cheers for all the comments!

Bob Sample said:
Great looking maple butt. One thing I would suggest is don't get in the habit of cooking to specific internal temps. After you foil it don't put the temp probe back in just cook till its probe tender. did you save the juices from the foil and mix it in with the pulled pork?
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Thanks Bob, a couple good ideas here. I did not save the juices the first time but certainly will save it today. (just placed another butt on the mini not 10min ago!) and will try the probe after foiling method.

Bill Schultz said:
Looks good, the Maple Syrup idea sounds like a keeper. I think I would try a little apple cider vinegar with the syrup next time and see if gives you a taste profile you like instead of the AJ. Just a thought.
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Thanks Bill, I'll give the cider a shot instead of the AJ next time. Would you suggest actually mixing the cider and syrup or just include both in the foil?
 
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Matt, odd question: why did you wrap your uncooked butt with clear wrap, as opposed to just placing it in a Ziploc or even leaving it unprotected in the fridge or something? I know most people wrap the butts, but have always wondered if there is something more than that it is just a convenient holding method.
 
B Stone said:
Matt, odd question: why did you wrap your uncooked butt with clear wrap, as opposed to just placing it in a Ziploc or even leaving it unprotected in the fridge or something? I know most people wrap the butts, but have always wondered if there is something more than that it is just a convenient holding method.
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While researching all sorts of recipes I found a few that noted to rub the butt and then tightly wrap with clear wrap overnight so that it almost creates a slight glaze that sticks well to the meat. In the morning just before cooking I take it out of the clear wrap and the give it another very light dusting with rub prior to placing it in the smoker. It seems to work nicely and I think it helps to produce a nice consistant bark.
 
Matt I suggested the ACV because vinegars do real well with pork flavor profile wise and they also add a contrast to all the sugar from the Maple Syrup, or brown sugar etc. They actually enhance the the sweetness somehow. I know it works well for me. Usually I will use AJ and ACV as my liquids in the foil.
The other reason is after you pull from the foil you will have a lot of Au Jus in there. That is why Bob asked you before if you kept your juices. It is fantastic after you pull your pork to use that Au Jus on it for flavor and moisture or to add as a side dish to ladle on a sandwhich.
I usually de-fat mine in a separator first. When that ACV in your Au Jus it is amazing.
Also there is nothing wrong with using the plastic a lot do, but it is just as easy to spread some Worcestershire Sauce on it rubbing it in with your hand then put your rub on, then just cover in the fridge.
 
Update: I made another maple pork butt on friday and it was even better then the first! (Thanks for the tips Bob and Bill!)

The key differences was the apple cider vinegar in with the OJ, and I cooked to probe tender rather than relying soley on the probe temp. Results were extremely moist meat, excellent flavor and a great looking smoke ring!

I did try saving the juice this time but did not catch the note about using a seperator so upon testing it was very oily/fatty and was not used (or needed IMHO!). I am so happy with this recipe as-is I dont think I'll even try tinkering much more to be honest!

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Happy smokin' :wsm:
 
Good job Matt, looks perfect. Yea I don't use the Au Jus without separating, is is to fatty when it cools. I highly recommend you try it next time, use the separator and keep it on the side and try it. At least you will know for yourself what many of us have found out.
 
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