Is a bigger butt, better?

Hi Outtahere,welcome back.IMHO if I'm going to spend the time to get it right,I might as well cook enough to really enjoy it.You are looking for bone in butts.8 lbs. is about as big as you will find,unless you find some kind of monster.After shrinkage,pulling out the bone,and discarding the fat you will be lucky to net 50% good pulled pork.I have better results cooking larger butts and the time is not terribly longer.You will often see two butts together in cryovac that weigh around 14lbs. and that is my usual choice.

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Good Q 2 Ya,Tom.

Ahhhh! The Perfect Butt...

I believe there are two cuts you will find possibly labeled as the butt. But, I think Smokin Okie reminded me, the upper part of the shoulder is the butt, the lower part is the picnic. When shrink wrapped by the butcher, the butt looks a bit more squared off, while the picnic looks a bit more triangular. IMHO, the butt is the way to go. More fat between the muscles... a better result. Should weigh in at about 8 lbs. I would take it to 190 internal... could take anywhere from 6 or 7 to 10 hours, even more... try a dry rub first then a nice yellow mustard slathered all over, the night before. OOOOOOOOwww-wwwwwweeeeee! The vinegar in the mustard will marinate it nicely, and will be totally gone once cooked.

Hiya outahere!

Woodburner is correct....go with the BUTT. Most every butcher will recognize that cut of meat. The other difference will be the taste..the picnic has a slight ham taste.

I think you may find the more "normal" size will be 4-6 lbs. After 5 years of cooking these, a 6 lb.er is as big as I have gotten. Again, all the major stores here in IN carry these in their meat cases...usually a butcher is not needed.

Prep these guys the same way you do a rib. In competition we strive to build a good "bark" and to do that we try to layer the rub on. Start with a traditional rubbing then after the 2nd hour, mop and apply another layer of rub and do that about 3 times.

As to the mustard.....several of us have done some pretty extensive testing on this subject and we all agree...no effect from the mustard. Scientific studies have proven that various coatings and marinades only penetrate to a maximum of 5mm..that ain't much! So the tenderizing effect is minimal at best. And everybody agrees that the mustard taste disappears..so...why do it. Others claim that you need the moisture to keep the rub adhered to the meat...also false.....I've never met a cut of meat that the rub fell off of!

I also inject and find that those results are subject to challenge as well.

Having said that......this is Q!!! Do what the heck ya want!! LOL

I always take mine to 205�....I have done a ton of these and 190� seems to be the absolute lowest point that it will pull easily. Now, if you want to slice, keep it around 185-190�.

Plan on 2 hours per pound at 225� in the pit. Fortunately, the butt is the most forgiving piece of bbq meat.....almost impossible to overcook. Be prepared to sit at a plateau temp of between 160-170� for several hours! That is one drawback of using these darn thermo's...you keep thinking they are broken!! LOL

One last thing....as I have mentioned before, I cook on a WSM so my cooking times may vary. I hope to shed some light on the various techniques.

Anyway, hope this helps!

BTW, are you anywhere around Indy??? I live up in Ft. Wayne and am in Indy every week sometimes 2. Never looked into Indy Q joints but wouldn't mind catching up with you....I always carry some jerky around..just in case I get stranded over night!

Stogie

Hey Stogie thanks for your reply. I live in Northwest Indiana so that makes me a "Region Rat". In fact I can see downtown Chicago from the upstairs window. Forget about trying to find any type of BBQ at this end of the state. Chicago has a few places that are worth trying, but they all tend to be located on the Northside. A few years back, I lived in Houston (great brisket and links), New Orleans (everything is good to eat there), Boston (found a great BBQ Lamb), Saint Louis (what can I say, but Ribs) now I'm back home in N.W. Indiana land of Polish Sausage and Kraut. I've only had my Smokette for about 2 weeks and everything so far has been great. Got me a big old 9.5 lb butt sitting in the cooler just waiting to be rubbed starting tommorow. So wish me luck on my first attempt at a Butt.

i'm outtahere

Outtahere? what are you thinking? First you're wanting to cook Monster Briskets and now Monster Pork Butts.

Next thing it's Bronto Spares like Fred Flintstone, and thus we'll change your email to Fred Flintstone.

Good Questions though.

my opinion (and with $3.29 will get you a small cup of coffee at Starbucks).

big is not better. Every single thing I've cooked that's "larger" than average -- butts, briskets and spares, are all tougher. Like I stated for brisket, I think it comes from livestock that's taken longer to get big. The meat markets know this and they'll put the really big stuff on sale just to get rid of it.

For butts, the 14lb packs with 2 7 pounders, work great. Want more? Cook more.

Try an experiment with ribs. Cook some 3& down ribs and some 3& up ribs and see which comes out better. You may have more meat on the larger ribs, but it'll be tougher.

Just my 2 cents.



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Smokin Okie
It's done when it's done
Cookshack BBQ Guide Page

On the subject of MONSTER cuts of meat... I have not tried this in the Smokette yet, but on the Weber kettle, I take a MONSTER 15-lb entire rib roast... 7 ribs with the bone out... I get it at Sam's Club. Take that sucker and put on a simple rub of kosher salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Then fire up the Weber to a dome temp of 350, indirect coals on the side (you will have to replenish about 6 coals per side every hour). Then squeeze that roast on the grill... it will just fit in the middle, without hanging over the coals. Then shove the Poulder in the middle and cook to an internal of 135 (nice and med-rare). Amazingly, it will take almost precisely 12 min per lb, or about 3 hours for the 15-lber. It will be absolutely amazing -- I guarantee it! You can either slice monster prime rib cuts off it, or cut thin slices, like serving roast beef. It will serve 8-10 big fat guys like me. It will scare the daylights out of any normal (read: under 250-lb) humans who see it come off the grill. Anyone try this on the Smokette? Since you can only go to a temp of 250, don't know if it will work... it aint really a low and slow cook. But I am sure it will just fit in there nicely. Middle rack, all by itself...

I put that question to my wife, and she just sneered at me. Go figure

A guy I used to work with ...he's a homeboy ya know....He swears that Big Butts are better. LOL LOL LOL

I would like to give you my opinion about smoking pork butts. I've owned my Smokette for a little over a year & even though I've had really good results doing all sorts of meat I think my pulled pork is my best. First as for the size of the butts I always go with smaller ones. The cooking times in your smoker is based on the largest piece of meat you are smoking (at least that is what I was told by Cookshack before I purchased mine). I have found the the cooking time for pulled pork in my smokette is about 2 hours a pound for the biggest piece of meat. This almost always gives me an internal temperature between 185' & 190'. I have smoked meat that has been frozen & fresh & have never been able to tell the difference in taste or texture. As for the cuts, I have done butts & picnics & get great results from both of them. If you want some excellent results use a fresh ham (not smoked or cured). It's a lot more expensive a cut of meat but the meat is great. Now the only problem most people have is were to get good cuts & variey of meat. The answer is don't buy from a store but find a real butcher! Search the yellow pages & I'm sure you'll find one. I buy all my meat from a slaughterhouse that also sells to the public. I get fresh meat & it's cut to my specifications. Lastly, I think you may want to start smoking on a small scale & try different rubs & injection liquids, etc. until you find the taste you're looking for. Everyone has different ideas as to what tastes great (that's one of the best things about barbeque - the variety of tastes) so don't just folow what recipes people post here but experiment. I hope my ramblings have been of some interest to you.

This is a great thread guys! ...loaded with info. Stogie - I LOVE your idea for adding layers of rub to build out the bark. Never tried that but you can bet I will next time I smoked a butt...or brisket.

Paul M suggests using a butcher vs the supermarket. For those of you who regularly frequent a favorite restaurant, ask to speak with the chef (who's probably too busy to speak with you LOL) Chances are he'll be happy to order you meat from his purveyor, and sell it at cost.