Smoking Boston Butts


 
Rusty James

Rusty James

TVWBB Emerald Member
I'll be smoking two of these real soon, and I was hoping for some last minute advice including a rub recipe. In addition, does anyone here have a recipe for a vinegar-based BBQ sauce? Ketchup-based sauce is OK, but I'm a bit concerned about ingesting too much sugar (diabetes). None of the BBQ restaurants around serve vinegar-based sauce (you have to travel close to Lexington and beyond to find that).
 
Hey Rusty. Here is a pretty basic recipe from the BBQ Pit Boys website. I often use a version of this rub, you might like it, add to it, take away, make it your way. Good luck with your cook!

Sugar – ¼ cup
Brown Sugar – ¼ cup
Paprika – ¼ cup
Coarse Salt – 3 Tbs
Black Pepper – 1 Tbs
Garlic Powder – 1 Tbs
Onion Powder – 1 Tbs
Chili Powder – 1 Tbs Optional
Cayenne Pepper – 1 Tbs Optional

Edit: Didn't see the diabetic reference, I have a more savory rub w/o sugar I enjoy very much, it's very close to a recipe on this forum in 'Rubs/Marinades etc.' Sticky thread called 'A butt rub for Jane' You can reduce or even omit the sugar, I do and it's still very good! I often mix it with the above recipe and enjoy the best of both worlds.
 
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Here's one more..

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon (packed) brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
 
Rusty James said:
I was hoping for some last minute advice including a rub recipe {snip} I'm a bit concerned about ingesting too much sugar (diabetes)
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The Southwest Dry Rub is my go to, but here's a few that you can try

Asian Blend

3 tablespoons Chinese Five-Spice Powder
3 tablespoons hot paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Chili Rub

5 tablespoons mild pure chili powder
2 teaspoons crushed dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Creole Dry Marinade

2 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon crushed dried oregano
1 tablespoon crushed dried thyme

Mediterranean Rub

4 tablespoons crushed dried basil
4 tablespoons crushed dried tarragon
3 tablespoons crushed dried thyme
1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 small bay leaf, finely crushed

Moroccan Rub

3 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Mustard-Garlic Rub

2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons crushed dried thyme
1 small bay leaves, finely crumbled
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Southwest Dry Rub

2 tablespoons good-quality chili powder
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon crushed dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tex-Mex Blend

2 tablespoons crushed dried oregano
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

Garlic and Parsley Blend

9 tablespoons parsley flakes
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

Quattro Pepper Blend

3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons finely ground white pepper
3 tablespoons finely ground pink peppercorns
4 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper

Thai Spice Blend

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 tablespoon dried lemon peel
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
 
Wow, thanks, y'all!

Not much I can do at the present till the hurricane moves away. Not a lot of wind, but windy enough. Flood warnings are up all over the state. Looks like South Carolina will get the worst of it though.
 
Yes. I can't recall for sure but I think I got it from the BBQ Pit Boys website. After trying #5 last weekend I am totally sold on it, it's an awesome sauce! I highly recommend trying it!
 
Steven Paul said:
Yes. I can't recall for sure but I think I got it from the BBQ Pit Boys website. After trying #5 last weekend I am totally sold on it, it's an awesome sauce! I highly recommend trying it!
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I'm trying your rub recipe from post #2 on a couple of butts now, Steve. They've been smoking since 7 pm using the Minion method along with hickory and apple chunks in the pit. Currently, all vents are open and the temp has risen above 275. I just closed the vents about 50%, so I will keep tabs on the temps until I retire. Hope the coals hold out. I filled the ring full.
 
It's 1:00 am, and the internal temp on the largest butt is 160 degrees. The smaller butt is on the lower rack, but I have no wired probes to check the temps with (maybe Santa will fill my stocking :)). I removed the whole assembly to stoke the fire and add some used charcoal from a previous cook out. Also added a half-gallon of heated water before reassembling the stack.

The smoker is running around 230 degrees now, and if it holds that for another six hours, I'll be happy.
 
Eric S. said:
No. 5 sauce is the go to sauce at my home.

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?13616-No-5-Sauce
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Eric, i tried No.5 over the weekend based on your post and its now a favorite in my house. I made a batch for a butt and ribs Sunday and the whole batch of sauce went that day.

We have another sauce in the house that is very well liked but when i used the non no.5 sauce for left overs yesterdays there was a near mutiny!

Looks like i will need to start making number 5 in larger batches to keep in the fridge. thanks again for posting.
 
Rusty James said:
It's 1:00 am, and the internal temp on the largest butt is 160 degrees. The smaller butt is on the lower rack, but I have no wired probes to check the temps with (maybe Santa will fill my stocking :)). I removed the whole assembly to stoke the fire and add some used charcoal from a previous cook out. Also added a half-gallon of heated water before reassembling the stack.

The smoker is running around 230 degrees now, and if it holds that for another six hours, I'll be happy.
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Temperature dropped to 195 degrees at 3 am. After getting a reading of 180 on the top butt, I removed the stack to gain full access to the coals and stirred them up. The temperature rose to around 250 degrees minutes later, but began to drop two hours later (in spite of leaving the bottom vents open at 100%). It was past my bedtime, so I pulled the butts and put them (unwrapped) in a 300 degree oven until the internal temperature reached 195 (took about 40 minutes).

I turned the oven off and vented the excess heat, but I left the butts in the oven with the door closed until my wife separated the meat around 12 noon. All total, we got about seven pounds of juicy meat.

Looking back, I'm a bit disappointed that the temps started dropping at the eight-hour mark, even after adding some half-burnt coals at 1:00 am. For the record, the smoker did double-duty smoking sausages on the top grill the first 1 1/2 hours of operation. The temp was running around 230 or so, then, but removing the lid caused the heat to eventually rise to 280. It was then that I closed the lower vents by 50%, and kept them that way until removing the stack at 3 am to stir the coals again.
 
Hey Rusty! Rubs I got info on, pit temps, not so much as I have been cooking on a heavily insulated smoker for the last 15 years. My last 8# butt started with one chimney of unlit and one half Chimney lit. It was an 11 hour cook and at about 8 hours I added a 1/2 chimney lit, so I am definitely not the best source regarding this. I would be curious to know how you liked the rub though?
 
For butts I've started reloading my WSM with full ring of fresh coals in addition to what is left at that time.
 
Steven Paul said:
Hey Rusty! Rubs I got info on, pit temps, not so much as I have been cooking on a heavily insulated smoker for the last 15 years. My last 8# butt started with one chimney of unlit and one half Chimney lit. It was an 11 hour cook and at about 8 hours I added a 1/2 chimney lit, so I am definitely not the best source regarding this. I would be curious to know how you liked the rub though?
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Truthfully, at first, I did not like the flavor of the meat compared to a picnic I recently smoked on my 18" kettle grill. In fact, the day I purchased the butts, I was looking for picnics, and the butcher said they did not sell them (Sam's Club). The butcher also went on to say that he did not like the flavor of Boston Butts compared to picnics, but the butts were priced at only 1.69 per pound, so I purchased a double-pack for smoking.

With that said, after the meat was separated and stored in the fridge, I then proceeded to make a batch of something called Johnny's Piedmont Sauce. After making the sauce, I tried it on the smoked pork butt, and it tasted sensational. Today, I made a chef salad and topped it with the same pork, and it was one of the best salads I have ever ate. It was then I noticed the flavor of the pork rub coming through. I'm assuming the aging process in the fridge must has penetrated the butts somewhat? Just guessing.

I would like to try this rub on another picnic and see if tastes any different that the butts. I don't know if the many BBQ joints in this area rub their pork or not before smoking them. Much of the pork around here is probably just smoked, as is (I could be wrong about this, though), and has a pronounced woodsy smell in the meat. I'll ask around and see.

I'll definitely hang on to this rub recipe.

I need to fine-tune my smoking procedure, though, and get an earlier start.
 
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Eric S. said:
For butts I've started reloading my WSM with full ring of fresh coals in addition to what is left at that time.
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Eric, are you using the Minion Method here?

There was a lot of ash in the bottom of the smoker, and I was wondering if that had contributed to diminished heat. Makes one wonder if Weber should have added a one-touch ash cleaning feature to their smokers. I guess one could add some U-bolts to the grate making it a snap to remove the excess ash before reloading with new coals, although I dislike removing the assembled stack to get to the coal bed.

One other note, I used water in the pan for what it's worth because of the long smoke time.
 
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More or less. I put a coffee can in the center to start out, surround it with a load of coals with some wood buried, pull the coffee can, and dump 20 lit coals in the divot. After the fire coals begin to die I remove the center section, give it a stir to settle the ash, scoot the hot to one side, and load the rest with fresh coals. My last cook I had to reload twice, and a little ash was falling out of the vents, but my temps held. This was using KBB and the ash pan was full once I was done.
 
Eric S. said:
More or less. I put a coffee can in the center to start out, surround it with a load of coals with some wood buried, pull the coffee can, and dump 20 lit coals in the divot. After the fire coals begin to die I remove the center section, give it a stir to settle the ash, scoot the hot to one side, and load the rest with fresh coals. My last cook I had to reload twice, and a little ash was falling out of the vents, but my temps held. This was using KBB and the ash pan was full once I was done.
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You mean you removed the stack/center assembly to get to the coal bed?

I had a little ash coming out the vents too. Not sure, but I think I used about six pounds of charcoal total - not including the half-burnt load I savaged off my cold grill near the six hour mark.
 
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