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Wanting to depart from the ordinary, my thought was to see just how one could smoke/cook a pork butt with minimum effort, yet produce a very pleasing finished product.

The following butt was prepared and cooked at a single higher than usual temp (no temp stepping) than usual for a shorter time without any of the commonly used trimming, scoring, rub, mopping, spritzing, wrapping, long rest or finishing sauce.


Preparation: Inject the 7# butt with brine, place in the simple brine for 24 hours, pat dry and then place in cold smoker.


Brine:
1 - gallon water
1 ¼ - cups canning salt, 370 g by weight
8 - cups total fruit juice, combined apple, orange and pineapple juice

Salinity/pH:
Salt and water = 35%
Total liquid = 30%
pH = 4.3

Smoker and temp settings, wood:
Cookshack 066 Amerique
Temp set 300°
Cut off to hold temps - 200°, 140°
3.15-ounce maple chunk

Cooking times and temps:
Ambient air temp - 45°
Starting meat temp - 41°

Time Meat temp Smoker temp
1 hr 124° 265°
2 hr 163° 294°
3 hr 165° 304°
4 hr 178° 298°
5 hr 190° 298°
6 hr 200° 300°
6.5 hr 206° 281°




Ingredients and equipment: Fruit juice combo of orange, apple, and pineapple, 7# pork butt
salt and water, fermentation crock, pH meter, injector, salometer, and 3.15-ounce maple chunk.



Butt submerged and weighted down in crock using 1.5 gallons of brine.



Butt after 24 hours in brine.



Ready for some heat. Notice no drip pan was used during the cook. This allowed the juices
to drip onto the firebox creating steam and additional smoke.



Decided to use some secondary smoke on some cheddar curds for my wife.



Smoked the curds for 20 minutes. The smoke at this time was a white, moist, medium density.
The curds were allowed to air dry for two hours and then were ready for consumption. Mild smoke flavor.



6.5 hours and 206°. First time the door was opened since putting the butt in.



The bark was outstanding, a total surprise.



The butt fell apart with very little residual fat.



Very easy to pull. There would have been more had someone stayed out of it.



Naked pulled pork on a Kaiser roll sandwich with smoked cheese, curds, and a Kosher dill.

Results:

This was a very easy to prepare butt that produced a surprisingly good mahogany bark, very easy to pull and very little fat, about a quarter cup. The butt had a very delightful pork flavor that was wonderful without any additional seasoning or sauces. All flavors were very subtle with no one flavor standing out. The fruit flavor was far less than was expected, even after injecting. The fruit flavor was an excellent complement to the salt and natural pork flavors.

My wife and lead critic commented several times on how good it was on its own with a mild smoke flavor and lower than the usual salinity.

The end result was a product that was very good on its own yet one that may well be adjusted to any taste preference after pulling or serving.

Will I do it again? Absolutely, may make adjustments to the brines basic flavor although the 30% salinity was spot on and will be kept at that level.

Tom
Last edited {1}
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Very interesting Mr. T. Think I'll give it a go on the next pork butt. Can always throw in some Rib Tickler rub after pulling if it needs it.

I went to Raley's yesterday, and they had pork butt on sale...60% off at $1.09/lb. I picked up 3 and froze 2. Would have bought more if my freezer weren't so full.

Pork butt on Tuesday. Smiler
Good buy on those butts, Pags, I would have loaded up also. As stated above, you will find if you feel it needed that it will be perfect for adding flavor after pulling or at service.

One of the purposes of doing this was to help those who might be reluctant to try a butt due to the time required and the complexity of many recipes, not excluding my own. Also, my thought was to keep the steps as simple as possible not only for those who may be reluctant, but also for those who may be under time constraints.

Tom
Jay, Notice that no drip pan was used. There was a good combination of steam and smoke for the first few hours. After the stall, it is my belief that is when the bark began to form.


Dave, I was surprised to find that there was very little detectable sweetness in the final result. I will try a 1x1 water to juice on the next one just for comparison purposes, may want to eventually go to 1x2. I will keep the salinity at 30% as it was spot on.

Tom
OK. I made the brine with equal parts water and apple/pineapple juice. I injected 2 butts with the brine mixture before adding the salt. I added 1 cup Kosher salt/gallon of liquid and then brined both pork butts for 20 hours. Froze one and just threw the other into the smoker at 300*. I did sprinkle it with Williams Rib Tickler Rub. The more bark the better.

At the same time yesterday, I threw 3 thick Pork Loin Porterhouse steaks (bone in) into the brine for 6 hours. Also, sprinkled them with WRTR and threw them onto the grill for last night's dinner. They turned out great. Moist, flavorfully sweet, nice pork taste, excellent grill marks. My daughter said, "Those were the best pork chops ever."

When I went back to Raley's to get the juices and other items yesterday, I saw bone-in pork butts on sale for $ .99/lb. Bought 2 more and found room in the freezer. Boneless was still $1.09/lb.

Pulled pork sandwiches tonight for dinner on Kaiser Rolls. Cole slaw, mac and cheese.
The butt turned out very well. Moist with a sweetness that folks here enjoyed. I was surprised at the strength of the bark. I only lightly sprinkled the butt with the Rib Tickler Rub, so I give credit for the bark to the brine...probably specifically to the juices.

We add salt to brine to create the osmosis that moves the moisture and seasonings into the meat. If I'm injecting, I don't need the salt since I'm getting the job done myself. I added the salt after injecting so the brine would do its job overnight. When eating the meat, I only notice the salt in the bark and not the meat so it seems the salt is doing its job primarily as a transfer agent. I injected and brined to follow your recipe.

In retrospect, injecting when properly done, probably doesn't need the brining. I've been doing more injecting and less brining to eliminate salt. What do you think?

I used hickory and the butt finished in 6 hours.
Last edited by pags
Glad everyone enjoyed the butt. I was also surprised with the bark and agree with your opinion as to what caused the bark.

Knowing that osmosis would not have much effect past the surface with such a short time in the brine is the reason I injected with salt added. Using salt and nothing else as a seasoning, we both felt that the 30% salinity was very good, although I wouldn't want to go any higher.

It will be nice for a change to be able to time the finished butt to within a half hour or so.

Tom
quote:
Originally posted by Padrefan98:
This looks great. I am curious what you guys think about the smoke profile in the meat? At 6.5 hours 300 degrees I am guessing it doesn't take on as much smoke as 14 hours at 225.


Very good question, Over the years I have learned, with a great amount of criticism, to apply smoke according to what is being cooked, by adjusting the color, density and time the smoke is applied. For example, I normally cold smoke a side of cured bacon in the 72-hour range using a very light blue smoke. On the other hand, sliced bacon can be smoked within a few minutes using a heavier white smoke.

When smoking a butt in a Cookshack, I found that a 2-3 ounce chunk is sufficient to apply a good amount of flavor.

Tom
Last edited by mrt 2
I used 2 large chunks (didn't weigh it) cause butts can handle the extra smoke. Smoke flavor was very good.

Mr. T. My whole thought process with not injecting the salt was, "Why put it in if it really served no purpose like a transfer agent?" Now, if you prefer the taste that's another thought. We loved the finished product and figured we had a healthier meal. "One small step for man." Smiler

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