Author Topic: Another good pork butt cook!  (Read 1277 times)

lcdearman

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Another good pork butt cook!
« on: May 29, 2021, 11:10:21 AM »
I smoked 2 pork butts, about 7.6 lbs each. The store only had boneless, so they wanted to separate some when I put them on the racks. I didn't have any string, so I just tucked them in best I could. I injected them with Super Dave's pork injection. I rubbed one with the pork butt rub from this forum and the other with Bad Byron's Butt Rub. I removed the fat cap from one and scored the fat cap on the other. The cook temps were a little weird, but I have learned to trust the Lazy-Q method. I used 3.5 oz of maple and two 2 oz chunks of cherry, one of which was soaked in water to delay the onset of smoke. I think it helped keep smoke going longer. They both hit 186* in 3 hours, which seemed awful quick to me. A big storm came through with lots of wind, and at 6 hours they had actually dropped to 181*. I went on to bed without worry, planning to check them again at 12 hours. At 12 hours (4:00 AM) I tried to check the temp on my phone but couldn't connect to my ThermoPro. I went outside and it had shut off. I turned it on and they were both at 203*. I wrapped them in foil and just put them in a cold oven since I planned to pull them about 8:30.

Scoring the fat cap is the way to go! The meat was moister and the scoring allowed me to get rub down in the crevices. I will always do that in the future. Also, if you know a cook will take at least 12 hours, don't worry about the temperatures along the way. Trust the Lazy-Q method!

Clay from Taylor, TX
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PulledPorkSandwich

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Re: Another good pork butt cook!
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2021, 01:05:55 PM »
I smoked 2 pork butts, about 7.6 lbs each. The store only had boneless, so they wanted to separate some when I put them on the racks. I didn't have any string, so I just tucked them in best I could. I injected them with Super Dave's pork injection. I rubbed one with the pork butt rub from this forum and the other with Bad Byron's Butt Rub. I removed the fat cap from one and scored the fat cap on the other. The cook temps were a little weird, but I have learned to trust the Lazy-Q method. I used 3.5 oz of maple and two 2 oz chunks of cherry, one of which was soaked in water to delay the onset of smoke. I think it helped keep smoke going longer. They both hit 186* in 3 hours, which seemed awful quick to me. A big storm came through with lots of wind, and at 6 hours they had actually dropped to 181*. I went on to bed without worry, planning to check them again at 12 hours. At 12 hours (4:00 AM) I tried to check the temp on my phone but couldn't connect to my ThermoPro. I went outside and it had shut off. I turned it on and they were both at 203*. I wrapped them in foil and just put them in a cold oven since I planned to pull them about 8:30.

Scoring the fat cap is the way to go! The meat was moister and the scoring allowed me to get rub down in the crevices. I will always do that in the future. Also, if you know a cook will take at least 12 hours, don't worry about the temperatures along the way. Trust the Lazy-Q method!

Thanks for posting your method.  Seems like you had a great result.  Did you dry brine?  I always do that and it seems to work well.

I plan to put a pork shoulder on tomorrow and plan to eat it Monday afternoon.  I score the fat as well, and had a good result last time.  I cook at 225 and aim for IT of 203 as you did, but I consistently find that it takes at least 24 hours, sometimes longer, in my Model 2 analog to hit that IT.  I just checked my Maverick thermometer and it's spot on accurate.

I'll put mine in the smoker at around noon tomorrow and will wrap it and put it in a cooler if it hits 203 early.
Ed in North Texas

OldeSmoker

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Re: Another good pork butt cook!
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2021, 02:36:18 PM »
Great looking pork. I also scored the fat cap on my last pork butt and agree it produces a more moist and flavorful end result.
« Last Edit: May 29, 2021, 02:39:57 PM by OldeSmoker »
Paul from Southwest Missouri
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