Smoked my first butt this weekend...


 
B

Brandon Risko

TVWBB Member
I picked up my 18.5" WSM a couple weeks ago and Sunday was the first time I fired it up. This was also the first time I had smoked any meat aside from a rack of ribs once on my 18.5" kettle. The meat of choice was a ~5lb Boston Butt. I was smoking over Kingsford charcoal w/ an equal mix of Pecan and Apple wood. The lighting was a Minion method w/ 30 lit coals in the chimney as it was a little cold out yesterday morning. The butt was rubbed w/ mustard and a rub that my friend had given me (I still need to check on the ingredients) and I injected it w/ Chris Lilly's injection the night before. I had figured it could take as long as 8-10 hrs to complete and it actually took about 9.5 hrs. I think this was in part due to running the smoker right around 225*. After about 7 hrs in, I got back from running errands around town and apparently didn't fill the charcoal ring to the brim as I was literally running on fumes. I fired up 1/4 of a chimney and added in some more unlit coals. This allowed me to finish off at 250* w/ all the vents wide open. After pulling it off when IT reached 195, I let it rest in a cooler wrapped in foil for about an hour. Finally, we couldn't take it anymore and went to pulling. I only pulled some large chunks for dinner and went back and pulled the rest into smaller pieces for freezing once it had cooled down a bit more.

Here are a few thoughts:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE> <LI>I had purchased a Maverick ET-732, but could not get the units to sync so I returned it (tried swapping batteries, order of turning units on, re-sync, etc). I finally resorted to using the built-in lid thermometer and a slow meat thermometer that my wife had in the kitchen. Both worked just fine for a beginner, but I think I could appreciate the convenience a 732 (functioning of course) would offer...
<LI>Next time I will tone down the salt in the injection...it was just a tad too salty for our tastes.
<LI>After the first smoke, a nice layer of gunk has started to form inside and seems to be doing a good job of sealing things up.
[/list]
Overall we were thrilled and I can't wait to try out some new rubs/sauces and smoke some more meat!

Set-up:
CameraZOOM-20120226062921215.jpg


Rubbed down and about to start the smoke:
CameraZOOM-20120226064332716.jpg


Done!!!:
CameraZOOM-20120226173217397.jpg


Mid-pull:
CameraZOOM-20120226181441368.jpg


Dinner is served:
CameraZOOM-20120226181911550.jpg
 
Nice looking meat, I have only had mine for 3 weeks now and have done BB ribs and a beer can chicken. Both came out very well, I hope to do a pork butt this weekend and I hope it looks similar to yours. I just got a maverick as well and used it yesterday for the first time with no trouble at all.I hope you get one that works for ya as it is a nice tool.
 
That looks real good. Nice job.

Did you probe the meat for tenderness or just pull on internal temperature?
 
Thanks guys...I spot checked the meat in a few locations and the thermometer always slid in with ease. The average was around 195*, but I had 1 location at 189*. I also grabbed the bone with a pair of tongs and it seemed to want to slide right out, so I had a feeling at that point everything was a go.
 
The butt looks great. If you want to add flavour to your pork, and don't want to go through the hassle of injecting, add some of your rub to it when you pull it. I find it works better than injection.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bob Sample:
The butt looks great. If you want to add flavour to your pork, and don't want to go through the hassle of injecting, add some of your rub to it when you pull it. I find it works better than injection. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks, I hadn't thought of that! Will definitely give it a try next time.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Overall we were thrilled </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
and hopefully FULL! Looks like a winning dinner plate Brandon!

your first two photos seem alien to me... haven't seen a CLEAN WSM in quite a while...
 
Looks like you did just fine - congrats. As Bob says it's easier to add flavor while you are pulling and also more convenient. You can add rub as he suggests but you can also add a finishing sauce of your liking as well as a little BBQ sauce if you wish. Lots of ways to flavor it up if you prefer.

Search on finishing sauce on the forums/recipes section and you will find lots of good examples.
 
So how much meat did you get from this cook? I'm planning on doing my first butt cook this weekend and the bone in butts at Publix looked to be in the 4.5-5lb range? There are only 2 of us, but i'd like some leftovers.
 
We got 2 plate portions as shown in the pictures, had baked potatoes w/ leftover pork on top for dinner tonight and have 2-3 servings frozen right now for egg rolls, etc. Not a ton of meat, but enough for a few meals depending on portion size. Hope that helps!
 
For bone in Boston butt figure 50% yield in weight or maybe just a little more as rule of thumb.

Normal serving figure 4 oz minimum This makes a nice loaded sammie or plate serving size.
 
Your butt looks great!

A word of advice to help you on clean-up. If you're not using the middle cooking grate, remove it and save yourself the hassle of cleaning it.
 
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