Butts, how do yall put on your rubs ?

I do as you suggested, putting on a thin coat of yellow mustard then covering with my favorite rub. 12 hours is a good time to let the butt & rub sit. Some may go longer. I do like to put my butt in the CS straight from the fridge, i.e., "cold." This gives the butt more time to take in the smoke.

Experiment! That's the fun of smoking. And if it turns out good, let the Forum know.

Have fun Q'n...

Hi Jan, and welcome to the forum!!!

What you have said is pretty much right on the money. The mustard is put on primarily to help the rub stick to the meat. I often start by rubbing the meat with mustard, then applying a generous coating of brown sugar to the meat before applying the rub. The moisture from the mustard causes the brown sugar to form a nice glaze on the meat and it combines with the rub quite nicely. It is quite a messy job, but it is worth it. Referigerate for 12-24 hours. Make sure you cover the bottom of the smoker and the top of the woodbox with foil, otherwise the glaze that drips off of the meat onto the hot metal will burn and make a horrible black mess on top of the woodbox. With the foil you can just throw the mess away with each cook. I don't always use the brown sugar, but the basic method is still the same.

G'day,

Micah

I think you plan is right on. Only thing I'd do is to check it before you put it in the smoker and maybe throw some more rub on at that time.

Well it's always good to get feedback about PB101, sinc that's about 4 years ago, I probably need to work on it too.

A lot of people do use mustard to hold the rub and they swear by it. Others create a slather by mixing rub and mustard and "slathering" in on.

Me, I'm a put some rub and throw it right into the smoker kind of guy.

They all work great.

I'm with Smokin',on not fooling with the mustard.

Doesn't mean a lot of good cooks don't use it.

I've found that after I rinse and blot butts that come out of the cryovac,they are still moist enough to hold plenty of rub.

It will all turn wet -if you leave it overnight- and like Smokin'says,It could use another layer before it goes in the cooker.

I usually prep in the evening and put butts on late at night,so they don't get too long a rest.

quote:

...and put butts on late at night,so they don't get too long a rest.

Hmmmmmmmm. Tom, sorry, I don't quite follow this one. You put the butts on the cooker late at night? Or what. Please elaborate.

And do I remember right that Smokin puts mayo on chickens, and then a rub?

Well now i2,

You should know the convenience of a Cookshack.

As to that mayo,a couple TBSP of rub in a cup of Mayo does a right good job.

Can't even tell it was on there.

I usually cook up butts on the weekend.

I like those two packs that are at least 15 lbs.

At 225� I am somewhere near 2 hrs/lb.

Depending on my next day timing,I may put them on around 200� and bump them up when I awaken early.

Around 11 PM seems to be when they usually get on the cooker.

I usually check them in the 180�s and pull around 195�.

I cook several,so when I plastic,foil and go to the well insulated dry cooler,they will hold several hours-until I am ready to pull and serve.

This gives me the time to throw on some loinbacks,or maybe some yardbirds and sausage.

There is enough internal moisture that I don't worry much about checking them for at least 8 hrs[plenty of sleep ]

Sometimes,I might add a little more wood here and a splash of mop.

great thoughts ya'll. thanks for all the input. Now I think i read somewhere that SmokinOkie mops at around 6 hrs into the smoke with that vinegar mop of his? Maybe this should be a separate topic? I was sorta thinking that there would be enough moisture in the smokette that the mop wouldn't do much or maybe i can't remember correctly. Thanks again for wonderful information. jan

i2,

Mayo on chicken is different than mustard on a butt. Chicken can dry out pretty fast and the oil in the mayo helps keep the chicken moist, at least that's what it appears. Mustard doesn't seem to have quite the same effect on a butt, and after all it has plenty of fat.

jan, about basting/mopping. My opinion, for butts below about 6lbs, it's your preference as to wether to baste or not. For large butts (and thus longer cooks) I find the added moisture keeps the outside from really drying out. Yes, it will add time to the length of the cook, but I'm after perfection, not worried about how long, cause as I always say:

It's done when it's done

I did a beef roast the other day and the night before I oiled it down good with canola oil, then made a rub with 2 tbls. brown sugar and 1 tsp. each of any spice I could find that I like, then moistened the spices with 2 tsp. of red wine vinegar and rubbed the roast down nice and thick and fridged it overnight. Put it in the smokette on 200 with 1 oz. hickory and 1 oz. mesquite until internal meat temp was 130. Brought it in the house to rest for 1 hour then made a glaze with fourth cup muscadine preserves, fourth cup catsup, more of the above spices and brown sugar, melted it all together in the microwave, and poured it on the roast. It was very wonderful. It was a cheap under $5 englishroast and the wife said it tasted just like prime rib! Try it, you'll like it!

SmokinOkie: reading one of your posts I think that you cook your butts at 250* and it seems that many cook at 225*. Do you sorta up/down the temp according the size of the butt. I can understand everyone's problem and frustration trying to be specific to a total lowly rookie when you are all so much the artist, but i do appreciate the time and effort everyone is putting in. jan

Howdy Jan,

Smokin' is probably thinkin' ballgame at this time of Sat.

Butts are very forgiving and will handle higher ,and lower temps.

I might suggest that you just settle on 225� and cook it until it suits you.

Once you are happy with your cooked product,you may adjust temps for schedule,sleep times, hurricanes,tornado,crustiness of bark, tumbled pork,heaviness of smoke, size,boned or not,holding periods,making a batch of homebrew and an OK vs TX game.

Try one thing at a time and take good notes.

He'll say"its done when its done"

thank you Tom. I didn't really expect a response at all and even less on the weekend. I am beginning to get ya'lls smoke drift. jan

Normally, I'm in the forum every day...except on Sooner Game Days. And if the weather is nice and lots of other things, I love to Q, but don't always sit in front of the computer.

Lately, too, it's been real nice having a lot of other experts on the forum out there helping everyone, besides, I've taught everything I know...

The difference between 250 and 225 it pretty minor. I'm like Tom, for simplicity sake, most everything can be done at 225 and it will be perfect. For me, there's just a little less time involved at 250, and since the bigger butts are pretty fatty, they can take a long time and take the higher temp no problem.

But as Tom also said...Keep GOOD notes, you'll learn a lot fast that way.

Smokin'

Oklahoma leaned on the nation's highest-scoring offense until its vaunted defense came around and Antonio Perkins tied a Division I-A record with his seventh career punt return for a touchdown as the top-ranked Sooners beat No. 24 Missouri 34-13 on Saturday night.