My first EVER Pork Butt Smoke on WSM 22.5" with QMaster Lite ATC and Apple wood


 
it just hit 171 at 18:12.. I have increased grill temp to 275 to get things moving. I will lower it back to 250 when I hit 185 depending on the time.
 
The slight disparity between the Maverick and the Qmaster is bugging me so I have swapped the crocodile style clip on the Qmaster probe to the same one as the Maverick is using.. the Maverick is now reading 271 for the grill temp and the Qmaster 275. I may calibrate the Qmaster at a later date.

19:02 - meat 176.. making some bread and coleslaw to stop me temp watching..

basic white bread mix for roles, 500gm flour, yeast, salt, sugar, tablespoon of melted butter and 300ml water - knead until silky and place towel on top - put in warm place until doubled in size.





Coleslaw

Chopped white cabbage, grated onion, grated carrott and Mayonaise. Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.


 
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19:59 meat @ 187

Bread just about doubled in size, "broke it back" and made into 8 rolls.. now need to let them double again before baking.



 
20:32 @ 195!!! letting it rest for 30 minutes whilst the oven comes to temp for the bread and the bread cooks.



bread rolls doubled in size again - in the oven they go.
 
Gary, are you in a food coma? :D How did it turn out? It looks delicious from the outside.
 
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JPowers said:
Gary, are you in a food coma? :D How did it turn out? It looks delicious from the outside.
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It pulled just fine but personally I was dissapointed, not much flavour and it was dry - I also didn't think much of the crunchy bark. The rest of my family said it was delicious but after seeing me labour all day what else would they have said. I am an advocate of getting the best quality meat you can afford and this was the cheapest so in that respect I am maybe set myself up for dissapointment...

It was nice enough after I covered it with BBQ sauce and coleslaw but I had hoped the flavour of the meat would be enough.

Next time I will buy better meat, I think I will foil wrap and put some extra fluid in the wrap - hell I may even brine it. For the leftovers I will certainly be adding some stock during the heating process.. maybe chicken?





 
Sorry that it didn't turn out as good as expected, but that's how you learn. I wouldn't brine a pork butt because it will turn "hammy" on you, rather I would inject the night before cooking. Good luck with future cooks and don't let this one discourage you.
 
JPowers said:
Sorry that it didn't turn out as good as expected, but that's how you learn. I wouldn't brine a pork butt because it will turn "hammy" on you, rather I would inject the night before cooking. Good luck with future cooks and don't let this one discourage you.
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oh it won't discourage me! I am buying another two pork butts tonight. Thanks for the info on injecting.. wasn't sure which way to go.. I am also going to wrap it as the crunchy bark didn't do it for me. Also... I cut of all the fat cap on the pork.. is this a bad idea?

I plan on doing brisket as some stage also.. is this ok to brine? or is injecting the best bet for this? brisket is a good bit more expensive so I want to go all out.
 
I trim down to about 1/8" and cook fat cap down on the WSM. Definitely remove any hard fat on the butt because that will never render off. I never brine anything except poultry. Don't usually inject brisket either, but many people do inject.

Most people enjoy the crisp bark, but you should definitely cook what you enjoy. Experiment with pork butts because they're much cheaper (here in the states it's around $1.50 (US)/pound for bone-in. Cheaper on sale.)

I still consider myself a beginner. They're plenty of more qualified people on this board. The next time you start a cook thread that is picture intensive, put it under the photo gallery section (I'm surprised this wasn't moved there yet). You'll get a lot more response.
 
I've never had to tie a butt up. It should be all one muscle. Also don't get to hung up on temp. Tender is more important. Once you hit 190-195ish, start probing the meat for doneness. IT should feel like a hot knife...blah,blah,blah. You want very little resistance.
However, some butts are just dry. Finishing sauce if your friend at that point.
I agree with JPowers, I think you may have trimmed to much fat.
 
JPowers said:
I trim down to about 1/8" and cook fat cap down on the WSM. Definitely remove any hard fat on the butt because that will never render off. I never brine anything except poultry. Don't usually inject brisket either, but many people do inject.

Most people enjoy the crisp bark, but you should definitely cook what you enjoy. Experiment with pork butts because they're much cheaper (here in the states it's around $1.50 (US)/pound for bone-in. Cheaper on sale.)

I still consider myself a beginner. They're plenty of more qualified people on this board. The next time you start a cook thread that is picture intensive, put it under the photo gallery section (I'm surprised this wasn't moved there yet). You'll get a lot more response.
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I will ask a mod to move it! appreciate the advise.
 
Andrew F said:
I've never had to tie a butt up. It should be all one muscle. Also don't get to hung up on temp. Tender is more important. Once you hit 190-195ish, start probing the meat for doneness. IT should feel like a hot knife...blah,blah,blah. You want very little resistance.
However, some butts are just dry. Finishing sauce if your friend at that point.
I agree with JPowers, I think you may have trimmed to much fat.
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Yes - I was definitely caught up on the temp... I think maybe it should have come off sooner and yes more fat next time.
We don't typical buy actual "pork butts" in the UK - I guess its the ham. This one opened up and would have gone quite flat... cheap supermarket crap. I am going to costco tonight - they usually have good meat in the UK.
 
+1 on injecting pork. You're pork looks great. Good job.
It's hard to get a lot of flavor into that thick piece of meat. Also, when you pull, you may try adding a little more rub, salt and pepper, or whatever to taste.
 
Gary F said:
Yes - I was definitely caught up on the temp... I think maybe it should have come off sooner and yes more fat next time.
We don't typical buy actual "pork butts" in the UK - I guess its the ham. This one opened up and would have gone quite flat... cheap supermarket crap. I am going to costco tonight - they usually have good meat in the UK.
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Ahh, I bet it was a boneless butt. Actually "pork butt" is sometimes called "Boston butt" here in the states. OR it could be called "Boston shoulder roast, Boston roast, Shoulder butt, Shoulder blade roast," or any weird combo of them. I think the UK term is "pork shoulder on the bone." Best is to find a good actual butcher.
 
Yes it was boneless.. I do normally get my meat from a good butcher so will do in future.. was just worried about temp etc for first cook. I should be able to get bone in shoulder joint! Good idea. On another note costco didn't have any shoulder so I got 4 slabs of pork loin ribs so will try them out at the weekend.

Costco did have a rolled brisket joint.. it didn't look like it would be very thick when unrolled though.

Butcher for everything from now on as my temp control is solid.

I may also try lump for fuel..
 
they didn't have pork shoulder/butt so I picked up 4 slabs of baby backs (pork loin ribs here in the uk) - will be trying them at the weekend using something like 2-1-1...
 
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