pork loin sirloin portion?

[Guest]

Howdy all,

I had the grocer find me a small boston cut pork butt (approx 3.5#) He was able to find one but, when I got home, I realized that the cut of meat had very little fat (fatcap) I looked at the label and it read "pork loin sirloin portion roast". Should I put bacon on top similar to a brisket? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Troy

 

[Doug D]

With pork butt there is enough intramusclar fat that bacon wouldn't be necessary. (Pork butts don't really have a "fat cap" like brisket.)

 

[Chris Allingham]

Well, if you got what the label says, I would think you'd cook it like any other cut of pork loin, a shorter time and to a lower internal temperature than pork butt. This photo from the U.S. Pork Manual shows a boneless sirloin cut, maybe it looks like what you've got. You might look at Pork Loin - Rib Roast for some ideas on cooking.

At my butcher, when they weigh the meat and print the label, the name sometimes comes out wrong, even though I know I got the right cut of meat, so maybe you did get a pork butt. No way to know without a photo.

Most of the butts I get have more fat on one side than the others. This photo from the U.S. Pork Manual illustrates. I tend to trim all of it off, anyway, so the fact you're missing it is not a big deal, assuming you actually have a butt.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Guest]

Thanks everyone,

the cut of meat (sorry, no pictures) looks like a small boston shoulder cut. It seems like a larger (7#) cut which has been cut in half. The bone is still towards the lower center throughout the meat and the muscle tisse is obvious.

I am treating like a small boston cut with an overnight rub in saran wrap and then will smoke for approximately 9-10 hours tomorrow. I hope to have the WSM going by 9:00 AM so dinner will be after the Packers win at roughly 6-7 PM.

We are expecting 0-10 F wind chill and 3-5 inches of snow, so I expect at least 3 hours per pound.

Thanks for the prompt and informed responses,
Troy

We are expecting

 

[Jerry N.]

Troy,
Let us know how the cook goes. Any comments about things you do to combat the cold and wind would be appreciated.

 

[Guest]

I sure feel sorry for those poor football players from Seattle.

The wind chill at 10:30 AM has to be -10 F with snow on the way for most of the day.

I got the smoker fired up Minion style with the port butt on at 9:30 AM. I used as much unlit charcoal as I could fit in the ring and then put at least 25 lit briquets on top. I am using water, but I got the tap water as hot as I could.

I am cooking the butt for approx 9 hours and I will be putting a small rubbed chicken on sometime this afternoon for at least 4 hours.

Within an hour the smoker has risen in temp to 250 F. I had all of the vents full-open during this time, and have now closed the two vents aimed most into the wind with the third vent about half open. The temp is now dropping to my desired 225 F. I could have left the temperature where it was but I want the bird to cook at 225 F.

I cook on my porch which is slightly elevated (about 5') from the ground but is enclosed enough to provide some fairly good protection. I usually aim two of my air vents so they are not directly in the wind but on either side of most gusts. This is not a full-proof method but it seems to work during the summer.

I'll keep updates coming if anything exciting happens.

Troy