Tying boneless butts...or not?


 
R

Rita Y

TVWBB Emerald Member
The boneless butts I get from Costco seem to be pretty well mutilated. I was thinking of sprinkling the interior cut parts with rub, then rolling them up and tying them into somewhat uniform rolls of meat before I smoke them. The last time I did this the meat was so ragged that I must have used 4 pounds of twine before I got all the loose ends tucked in, even with nice, neat butcher's knots. But the final results couldn't have been better.

But would the results be as good if I didn't tie the meat? I'd expect the cook to be shorter, but would untied meat cook out drier?

What's the consensus here? Tie or not to tie?

Rita
 
When I get boneless pork butt I always tie it up. I put some rub into the interior and then just use enough twine to get it into a reasonable shape. I find that after they cook for a while they hold together pretty well.
 
Rita,

I tie'em up but leave the rub for the outside only. The stuff on the inside turns into a kind of greyish mush.
I would imagine that cooking un-tied would resut in more bark and probably some areas that are pretty dried out as well.

Try one each way and let us know.

How's the sauce parade coming ????

Al
 
If you put rub inside it just gets mushy-pasty like Al says. If you rub and leave them untied you'll get bark where the rub is exposed to the heat. More surfaces with more exposure = more bark; particularly nice for sliced pork, imo.
 
Rita -

I also get mine from Costco, and like yours, they come pretty cut up. Not a very precise surgical procedure they have going on over there.

I've tried both (tying and not tying) and I like tying them up, in my opinion. However, I don't fret over getting the whole thing tied up tightly like I would a nice roast. I just use a few pieces of butchers twine to get the mass to generally stick together.

The reason I like to tie the butts is that I have found it cooks more consistently. Without tying them, I find that there is just too much variance in width, with little pieces hanging around and drying out while the rest is cooking. Maybe this is just because Costco does such a bad job of deboning. Not sure. While I have found some success in just positioning the meat into a single mass on the grate, I think it works even better to just do a minor tying job - I just want the main pieces to hold together fairly well so I don't get the whole thing flopping all around.

If you do tie it, here's an idea I've started to use to get more flavor: instead of putting rub on the inside when it is tied up (which gets mushy, like others noticed), I have started to lightly salt and pepper the inside parts. Then I rub the outside liberally like usual. That way you get some added flavor enhancers in the meat, while not making it mushy or gray.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by adamclyde:
I have started to lightly salt and pepper the inside parts. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Superb idea.
 
Morning, everyone! Thanks for all the great input. It is very helpful indeed and I'm glad I asked.

Adam, your idea of salting and peppering is so on the money. Why didn't we think of that before now?

I'll try one of the four untied. I'd expect the untied roast would be done before the tied ones, so I'll have to monitor it carefully.

You're all the best!
Rita
 
Rita,

We know
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Al
 
Chortle, chortle.....does anyone chortle anymore? My Mom was fond of saying, "Don't break your arm, patting yourself on the back!" Even if it IS true!
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Al, I just finished putting your sauce ingredients into the crock-pot since it has a really long simmer. I scaled it back to use one 66-ounce bottle of ketchup. Now I'll begin the others.

Thanks again!
Rita
 
I also get my butts from Costco well chopped, but have quit bothering to tie them up. I rub the insides as well for maximum possible bark formation. Any "moist" rub in the middle gets well mixed in after everything is pulled, so I notice no downside. I haven't noticed them finishing any sooner particularly.

-Matt
 
My bad. I forgot to leave one of the 4 untied but will do so on the next cook.

For the untied group: Can you fit 2 or 3 untied butts on the bottom grate? I might need to cook 6 instead of 4 the next time. -- Rita
 
you can fit 3 untied on the bottom - they may touch a little, depending on their size, but it won't be too bad. Plus, they end up shrinking just a bit. Not like beef, but they do tighten a bit. Just make sure they aren't so huge that airflow is limited. But I can't imagine that being the case. Sometimes I put them on their sides so it provides more airflow.

When I do them untied, I kind of bunch them together so they are in one general mass, so they aren't too much bigger than a tied one.

How did your tied ones turn out?
 
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