First Smoke on the 3D has been completed and the resulting Pork Butt appearance, Bark, and Taste were fantastic. Based on the first run I made a few notes / recommendations for the next time and have a couple questions for the group.
- Two Butt's may be better than one: My adult children ate a lot and one took some left-overs. Seems that the delta in quantity of work for 2-Butt's vs 1 is minimal and I will have a few more left-overs.
- The first smoke was done after Brining, and the only issue is that a 8.84# Butt took over 17 hours at 225F to reach 195F which was a little more than I expected. Next time I will try un-brined and see what happens.
- Less fluid needed in moisture pan: I had no idea how much would evaporate so I filled the pan 3/4 full of Apple Juice and there was a lot left over. Next time I am planning on ~ 3 Cups and later will experiment with Water vs Juice.
- The Smoke finished Saturday evening for Sunday brunch. I pulled the meat after the 2 hour rest and then re-heated the next day. The moisture level was fine but next time I will try keeping it double wrapped, then re-heat while wrapped and pull when it is time to serve. ( Note I smoked it a day early as I was unsure on smoking time and didn't want to wait for the meat or undercut the time wrapped in foil before pulling. Glad I did as the time was longer than expected)
Questions:
1: How much fluid do you add to the bread pan for moisture?
2: Have you noticed a difference in the stall duration between a brined and un-brined Butt? I was thinking that the extra moisture in a brined Butt may extend the stall time?
3: With unpredictable smoke durations, what have you found as the best method to store and re-heat if you plan to serve the next day.
Thank you