Pork butt Cut In Half


 
J

Jerry S.

TVWBB Member
Any cut their pork butts in half prior to smoking to get more rub on the surfaces, more smoke flavor and more bark?
 
I don't cut it in half. But I carve out the large seam near the bone end. I got it this trim from Chef Tom . The crease goes deep enough that there's not much joining the two halfves.

Vid should start where he goes to work on the crevice .

 
Jerry, I just rub and throw on the grill as is because, well, I'm lazy (or, in resume speak, efficient.) :)

Both ways will result in pulled pork. Try different methods and figure out what gives you the result you want with a time/effort investment you like (not that cutting a butt in half is much effort!) :)

Good luck!

R
 
I'm in the efficient camp with Rich. I really enjoy bark but I'm satisfied with what I get from the whole shoulder. The wonderful thing about what we do is having so many ways to do it without being wrong; we can make tweaks that satisfies our individual preferences.
 
Lynn Dollar said:
I don't cut it in half. But I carve out the large seam near the bone end. I got it this trim from Chef Tom . The crease goes deep enough that there's not much joining the two halfves.

Vid should start where he goes to work on the crevice .

Click to expand...
Great video Lynn, thanks for sharing. I may try that method next time, looks interesting.

Cool thing about pork butts, pretty much anything that you do to them is going to get great results. :)
 
Jerry S. said:
Any cut their pork butts in half prior to smoking to get more rub on the surfaces, more smoke flavor and more bark?
Click to expand...
Well, not intentionally...at least, not for that reason.

Since it's just my wife and I, when we have a pig butchered we have the butts cut in half (and wrapped separately) just to manage the amount of meat we need to cook at any one time. After doing it this way for a couple of years, we've both noticed a more pronounced smoke flavor in the meat.
 
I almost always butterfly pork butts and briskets. Cooks even, cooks fast, more bark.

Not much different from cutting into two pieces.

Especially if you are starting with a boneless butt (like you get at Costco) it is super simple to butterfly or cut into pieces.

Chris' video discusses in more detail.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Pork Butt Split In Half - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Pork butt split in half before cooking maximizes dark outside bark & shortens cooking time. This article shows how to do it for best results.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
 
I could see one cut in half for folks where it’s just they and their spouse. One butt is a large amount of meat to chew on for two people.

Other than that, no I’ve never. No shortness of bark.
 
Cutting a larger but (8 lbs our bigger) in my opinion is a good idea, unless you really have all day to smoke it. I did one today just like that, and was really happy with it.
 
Almost always. 60/40 cut due to bone. Sometimes I tie them up for balance. No issue. No magic lost when cutting. Feel free to try
Oops I posted this early but did not press post reply hard enough so here it is hours later
 
I've cut butt in quarters hoping for additional bark. Turned out the bark was more, but not as good. Good > Quantity, cook your butt intact
 
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