The butts are on


 
Chris W.

Chris W.

TVWBB Pro
Just finished putting my butts on the smoker about ten minutes ago. I've got two ~5 pounders. I'm just waiting for the smoker to come up to temp. This is my first attempt with a butt, so I hope it comes out good! The wife is at work until around 4 or 5, so I've got a nice, long day of smoking, drinking and video games planned.
 
I'm thinking it will be. The temp outside is going up, which is nice. It was about 20* F when I put the butts on, but it's rose to 45* now. All in all, I think I'm in for a very fun day.
 
I envy you Chris! Just after we almost got rid of all the snow, we got another 3-4 last night and every thing is covered again. My wife is going to be gone all day too, but I will be home with the 3 boys. I'm thinking about dragging them out to get some meat with me so I can fire up the WSM for an overnighter tonight. I'm sure some videogames will be in store for the day, I found a game that my 7 y/o cant school me on, Rock Band 2
icon_smile.gif
 
Brandon, if you're on PS3 and ever need a drummer, let me know.

Chris, keep us updated. I've never done butts either but have been thinking about it. I guess being from Texas, I think cow first.
 
We finished dinner about an hour ago. It was a hit with everyone. The in-laws loved it, but I think it could have been much better.

I knew I was having company over, so I felt rushed to complete it, and in the end ended up doing a high-heat finish in the WSM. And I was having all sorts of problems keeping the temp up in the WSM, even after adding 3/4 a chimney of lit K.

I think the butts needed another 2-3 hours on the WSM, but given my time constraints today that wasn't possible. Temp wise, they were done, but I think they would have benefited from more time on the cooker.

In the end, the pork was pretty good. I just think I could have done alot better had I not had the in-laws coming over. I think I can do much better next time. But, all in all, not bad for my first attempt at a butt. I was impressed.
 
I hate it when the "heat" is on Chris. Why do you think it needed more time? Hard to pull? Greasy (unrendered fat)? Those are the no. 1 indicaters of undercooked butts. Wrapping in foil will save you in those "got to be done sooner" situations. You will loose bark consistancy but the butt will be easy to pull and the fat will fully render sooner. Next time your in a real pinch throw them suckers in the foil. Hope your next cook is more relaxing!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chris W.:
We finished dinner about an hour ago. It was a hit with everyone. The in-laws loved it, but I think it could have been much better.

I knew I was having company over, so I felt rushed to complete it, and in the end ended up doing a high-heat finish in the WSM. And I was having all sorts of problems keeping the temp up in the WSM, even after adding 3/4 a chimney of lit K.

I think the butts needed another 2-3 hours on the WSM, but given my time constraints today that wasn't possible. Temp wise, they were done, but I think they would have benefited from more time on the cooker.

In the end, the pork was pretty good. I just think I could have done alot better had I not had the in-laws coming over. I think I can do much better next time. But, all in all, not bad for my first attempt at a butt. I was impressed. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
We're usually our toughest critics. My bet is that, even thiugh you felt it could've been better, it was better than what most of the chain BBQ joints around the country seved today.

Maybe next time ask the missus work a few hours of overtime to take some of the pressure off of you. If you would've had 14-16 hours to work with instead of 8 it probably would've been more to your liking.
icon_wink.gif
 
I put on 40 pounds of pork shoulder last night at 11pm. I've been enjoying the fantastic smell all day long. To bad I have to give it to my friends. I'm doing this for them for a baby shower. I don't think they will miss a pound or so.
 
Brandon - it was greasy, and hard to pull. As I said, the temp indicated it was done, but I really didn't think it was. I should have thrown them in foil, but it honestly didn't occur to me until you mentioned it. Ah well. I'll know for the next butt cook. I'm also hoping my next cook is more relaxing. It should be; I'm planning on doing ribs next Saturday. I've done these a few times and they've always came out well.

Tom - thanks for the vote of confidence. I am pretty critical of my own cooking. I guess I'm critical of pretty much everything I do, but that's human nature. I'm just looking forward to learning better how to work the WSM, and how to get the temps inside stabilized. That's something I've not yet figured out after three cooks in it.
 
Vic for quality control and food safety concerns I think you would be doing them a grave disservice if you didn't keep a lb or two.
 
To tell the truth Chris the last two butts I did came out the same way. I was so concerned with the chuck roll I was cooking at the same time that I pulled the butts off too early. Beef came out great, but the pork was greasy and hard to pull. I was not happy with the pork and dumped it all in the trash. Someone suggested afterword that I should have foiled them and put them in the oven to finish. Hindsight is 20/20, it only takes once to learn a lesson like that! I'm willing to bet your next butts will be fantastic
icon_smile.gif
Good luck on the ribs next Sat!
 
Thanks, Brandon. I've done ribs twice before, and had excellent results both time, so I'm not too worried. Both times before I used store-bought rub, but this time I'll be using the BRITU recipe on the main site, so Im anxious to try it and see how they turn out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top