Brined Pork Butt for Pulled Pork

[DivotMaker]

DM-


You manage to fit an entire 9lb butt wrapped in foil into a vacuum seal bag? I'm not sure I could make that happen based on the size (without cutting it down).

No problem in the large Foodsaver bags (I use the roll, not the pre-cut bags).  A 9 lb butt cooks down to about 6 lbs finished.

[Carp210]

 With over 6,000 views and growing I just had to do my first brined butt.  Only change I made was a layer of turbinado sugar before it went into the smoker.  In all honesty the butt was a little bit of a dissapointment when I unwraped it.  90% of the fat cap had been removed. Next time I'll use Sams Club for buttts.  After a 16 hour smoke and 2 1/2 hour rest in foil IT was still 168.  There was no liquid in the foil after the rest, none. No fat to remove when I pulled it either.  Still it was very moist and good flavor and nice bark. I cant wait to do another butt with a big fat cap.  Thanks Tony. 

[DivotMaker]

Dave, that butt looks fantastic!  Funny how ALL the juice soaks back into the butt during the rest!  Glad you liked it.

[NDKoze]

Nice job Dave. You can't go wrong with the Sam's Club butts. I have found that they are superior to any others that I have tried. I don't even bother going anywhere else for them anymore.

[RG]

Alright, I've read ALL 11 pages of this and here's my take.

I have done 1 and ONLY 1 smoke in my #3 so far and it was a tiny little 6.5 butt that I gave to friends. I brined it using DM's recipe on the first page, minus the instacure. It was very moist, loved it!

Here's where I differ from the rest of you. I have always smoked butts and briskets fat side down. The reason is two fold. The first being that both cuts are loaded with fat so no need to put fat on top to "baste" the meat as it cooks. It simply isn't needed. This also will make your rub "wash" off during the cook. Case in point, look at this picture I took of smoking a butt and a brisket on the Keg. The butt on top rendered down to the brisket and "washed" off the rub/bark from the top of the brisket.



The second reason I do fat cap down is a built in heat shield from the heat that is radiating upwards. Being that electric smokers do not have a true diffuser, this becomes even more critical.

I don't claim to be a know it all about electric smokers as this is the first one I've ever owned/used and I've literally only cooked on it once. What I do know is how to cook and have cooked God only knows how many animals in my life, lol. I have been smoking on one type of a smoker or another for many years, fed lots of people and this is just MY opinion. I say do what works best for you!

[NDKoze]

Thanks for your post Jason.

Really, I am not sure how big of a difference this makes at all in the SI smokers. The heat distribution is very even, so IMHO a diffuser or shield really isn't as necessary especially in the #2s and higher depending on how full you load the smoker.

If you use a good mustard binder, your rub will not wash off. I will put my results up against any fat-side down butts and I don't think you will see much of a difference.

Like I started off with, I am not sure one way is really much better than the other way. Do what works for you.

The one thing I will say is that we have seen that smaller butts 5-6 pounders and under have not always turned out the best. Results will usually be better with a 7-9lb or above butt.

BTW, Jason I love your avatar!

"Where's my froggy?" - Hedley Lamarr

[RG]

The 6.5 butt I made was very good so no complaints here! I normally only buy 8-10 pounders but my wife bought the little one on clearance. I actually buy my butts from Restaurant Depot in 2 packs and I have had really good results over the years with them. As far as the #3 goes, she did a fine job on her maiden voyage. I agree with you on using mustard, been doing that for years, I use Gulden's Spicy mustard 95% of the time.

As for the avatar, yeah....it cracks me up too. Harvey was a seriously funny dude, lol!

[DivotMaker]

Good observation about the fat up/down issue, Jason.  I, through lots of smokes, have come to the conclusion it really doesn't matter most of the time.  I do prefer to do briskies fat-side down, but more to protect the lean flat from the heat a little better.  I trim almost all the external fat from my butts (hehe...sounds funny...wish it was that easy! ), so it really doesn't matter what side's up or down. 

Seems to me you're really addressing the amount of drippings on the lower meat, when doing 2 levels?  If that's the case, I'm not sure what the answer is.  I've never really noticed rub "washing off," like you mentioned - guess I need to look better next time. 

[MikeS]

I'm trying this tonight - my pork butt in brining as I type, but I have a question (I'm a super-beginner), what does "stall" refer to when smoking? I read that you wrote, "well into the stall".

Also, how long should the meat rest after cooking?

Thanks for your patience with the new guy!

--Mike

[jcboxlot]

Stall is just the ramp up in meat temp and then it takes WHAT SEEMS LIKE FOREVER to climb to the temp you want.  Just the fat and meat doing its job.

I rest mine 2 hours or so all foiled up laying in a cooler or the oven.

Did you get a boston butt (bone) or picnic (no bone)?   Either will be good, but the boston w bone is the preferred.

Good luck and post pictures.   

PS Don't forget some type of juice in the box sitting next to element.     

[DivotMaker]

I'm trying this tonight - my pork butt in brining as I type, but I have a question (I'm a super-beginner), what does "stall" refer to when smoking? I read that you wrote, "well into the stall".

Also, how long should the meat rest after cooking?

Thanks for your patience with the new guy!

--Mike

Mike, John hit what the "stall" is, in its basics.  Let me add this:  The "stall" happens when the meat cooks enough to bring liquid (rendering fat) to the surface.  What makes the temperature stop climbing, and even reverse a little, is "evaporative cooling."  This is the same thing that happens when we sweat in the wind.  Our bodies cool when the moisture on our skin is evaporated by wind.  Same thing happens to large cuts of meat!  The air moving through the smoker cools the surface of the meat, thus slowing the cooking process.  But, the great thing is that cooking is still happening!  The fat and connective tissue, inside the meat, is rendering down, and being absorbed by the meat.  This is when the real magic happens!

Bottom line:  Embrace the "stall!"  It freaks a lot of folks out, when they first encounter it!  Oh no!  My smoker just stopped working!!  Arghh!!  No, this is NOT the case!  It's the meat.  Once the stall hits, just let it work its way through; it will eventually begin to climb!  The stall can take several hours, after a really fast temperature climb to it.  Don't let that freak you out, either!  You'll watch the internal meat temp climb really fast, at first, but it will NOT continue at that pace!  Expect the 1-2 hours per pound, and watch for the stall!

[bubbabob]

Tony,
I'm trying your brined butt recipe today too, and the 1st thing I need to ask is if all of you experience the huge temp differences between what you set your SI at and what the temp inside the unit really is. I set the unit temp at 225 with about 3 oz. of competition pellets in the wood tray and it climbed up to 275. When it hit 275 I went out and dumped the set temp to 175, so it's on the way down right now, and I'm wondering when it will bottom. How can you guys cook with those kind of swings or variations or whatever you want to call it. Is there some way of calibrating the SI #1 to read more accurately? Again, I'm measuring the inside temp with my Maverick and the probe is clipped onto the bottom side of the smoke hole. I stuck my thermapen into the hole and got the same reading as the Maverick, so I know the temp is accurate. Anyone?
TIA,
BB

[DivotMaker]

Tony,
I'm trying your brined butt recipe today too, and the 1st thing I need to ask is if all of you experience the huge temp differences between what you set your SI at and what the temp inside the unit really is. I set the unit temp at 225 with about 3 oz. of competition pellets in the wood tray and it climbed up to 275. When it hit 275 I went out and dumped the set temp to 175, so it's on the way down right now, and I'm wondering when it will bottom. How can you guys cook with those kind of swings or variations or whatever you want to call it. Is there some way of calibrating the SI #1 to read more accurately? Again, I'm measuring the inside temp with my Maverick and the probe is clipped onto the bottom side of the smoke hole. I stuck my thermapen into the hole and got the same reading as the Maverick, so I know the temp is accurate. Anyone?
TIA,
BB

Bob, I use chunks, not pellets, but sounds to me like you experienced combustion of your wood to get a temp spike like that.  3 oz, also, is about 1/2 the amount needed for a butt.

Don't try to chase temp swings!  Analog controllers, no matter who's smoker its in, can swing as much as 20-30 degrees.  But, the "average" temp is where we set it.  The temperature swings were one of the main reasons I went with the Auber PID controller...1-2° swings.

Also, I use 235 for butts.  Set it to 235, and don't mess with it until the internal temp hits 195.  No need to monitor, or try to chase, box temp.  Set it, and forget it. 

[bubbabob]

Ok Tony. I'll crank her back up. I had to cook it in my egg for the first 5 hours cuz I was doing some baked beans under it and the pan wouldn't fit in the SI 1. That's why only 3 oz of pellets. I had already gotten some smoke in it in the egg, but didn't feel like it was enough. You were right about the pellets combusting. I just changed the set temp back to 225 and there was no smoke at all so they just burned up. Chunks from now on. It's gonna take me years to use up the 40 lb bag of pellets I bought. lol. I think my butt has enough smoke on it now so I'll just let her cook. Seems to be coming out of the stall. 163 and counting. Hoping for dinner around 7 so 2.5 hours to go. The beans turned out great, BTW. Thanks for the quick and timely response. My inside temp is 199 but going up again. I think it's going to work out ok. I made some of So Fla Quers finishing sauce to put on this already delectable meat. Thanks again for posting your recipe.
Cheers,
BB
Cheers,
BB

[DivotMaker]

Good deal, Bubba!  I think folks use pellets with either the chip screen, or wrapped in foil, to avoid burning them up.  Hopefully, some pellet guys will chime in!