Pork Butt: smoking money muscle separately

[Mark R (LR)]

I've seen a lot of competitors cut the money muscle so that it is almost completely separated and understand that rules of most if not all competitions require that the meat stay in one piece. Those rules don't apply in my backyard, so I decided to cook the money muscle separately. I separated the money muscle, tied it up about like a tenderloin, and smoked the money muscle to 185F and the rest of the butt until probe tender at around 197F. I didn't think to take pictures until after I took it off the smoker. Here is the mm after smoking but before slicing:

And here is a slice:

I was doing an overnight cook and had no idea on timing. Unfortunately, the money muscle was ready to take off at 4:30AM (after about 6 hours). The rest of the butt came off the smoker at around noon after about 14 hours. I liked the extra bark and the ability to slice the money muscle without it falling apart. I'll have to figure out how to handle timing better.

Do any of you separate the money muscle before smoking at home, and if so, do you have any tips or suggestions on how to handle timing or just other things you've learned from experience on the topic? Thanks!

 

[Enrico Brandizzi]

Great looking MM.
I'll keep an eye to this thread. It sounds interesting

 

[Dwain Pannell]

That's my favorite cut, too. I grind the rest of the butt into sausage. Nicely done.

I simply monitor and remove it at 180-190*F. Here's the last one I did as roasted pork: http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?56176-Cuban-Sandwich

 

[JRAiona]

I've never heard that term. What is the money muscle?

 

[Mark R (LR)]

I think the name came from competitions, in the context that, to win the money, you want to make a good presentation with slices from that part of the butt. I'm no expert, but it's an almost cylindrical part of the butt on the far end from the bone that has better marbling. It's usually pretty easy to spot because of the distinctive 4 or so lines that run parallel to one another and fairly parallel to the length of the butt. If you'll search it on YouTube, there a several videos that show it.

Dwain, I get the impression that you can "cheat" a little and increase the size of it a bit by maybe incorporating a bit more of the butt as you separate it. When you separate it, how do you go about deciding how much to cut as you separate it? Thanks!

 

[Dwain Pannell]

I've never heard that term. What is the money muscle?

It's the COPA muscle. See Step 2: http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?22669-Breaking-Down-a-Pork-Butt-(buckboard-bacon-update) Many (including me) think it is the most tender portion of the Boston Butt. You also make Capicola from it. I cure it for Buckboard Bacon.

 

[Charles H.]

^^^ great link

 

[Mark R (LR)]

Agreed! Glad you pointed that out. I thought Dwain was just showing what a money muscle looked like, so I hadn't checked it before. I'll have to try to break down a pork butt like that some time. Never heard of frying a mm. May have to try that too, maybe even have to try to do it like smoked/fried chicken.

 

[Dave from Denver]

Mark, your separated money muscle looks great!

I did this recently with 2 butts, I separated the money muscle from each, rubbed and smoked about 4 hours over apple and KBB, then I bagged and sous vide for 24 hours at 150.

They came out really awesome yet firm, and super tender. I would do this again. The only complaint is that there is a lot of fat in there that doesnt render out like when hot smoked the whole time.

However when the meat is heated up the fat is so soft as to not be noticable.