does anyone have any good or bad thoughts or experiences about poking holes in butts before smoking? just curious......
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Well,
My "coonass" in-laws,which cook mighty fine,like to run a straight boning knife deep in about 15 places.
They shove a green onion and a garlic clove in the slit.
Tastes purty good.
They also will inject anything they can catch.
Other than that,I can't think of any reasonable use for pokin' holes.
Now there are some folks that like to run the knife along the bone and add some of their rub ,when doing the preps.
My "coonass" in-laws,which cook mighty fine,like to run a straight boning knife deep in about 15 places.
They shove a green onion and a garlic clove in the slit.
Tastes purty good.
They also will inject anything they can catch.
Other than that,I can't think of any reasonable use for pokin' holes.
Now there are some folks that like to run the knife along the bone and add some of their rub ,when doing the preps.
what about cooking time? will the holes make a difference? also worried that they might cause a dryer butt. i guess its experiment time...
That ol' high heat steak cooking thing",if you poke one hole,it will let juice out like a water balloon" don't seem to apply to hawgs.
Now over cooking and too long a holdin' period will do that.
Most of the butts sold at retail are shot full of salt water,so a little drainin' might help.
Now Sam's are not injected,so far.
Now over cooking and too long a holdin' period will do that.
Most of the butts sold at retail are shot full of salt water,so a little drainin' might help.
Now Sam's are not injected,so far.
CB, do you mop or baste your butts or just cook them straight?
I'm actually doing two butts today. I noticed, can you imagine the horrow, that Pork Butt 101 doesn't have any PHOTOS...oh, the humanity...
I'm going to debone one and I'll also poke some hole in it. I'm going to cook one to 180 for slicing and the 2nd to 190/195 for pulling.
Personally, based on no scientific experience, I don't expect a lot of loss. The meat is not a solid surface, it's very porous. And as Stogie mentioned in his post about steak and poking holes in it, very little juice runs out, just from the hole you poke, not the whole steak.
I'm actually doing two butts today. I noticed, can you imagine the horrow, that Pork Butt 101 doesn't have any PHOTOS...oh, the humanity...
I'm going to debone one and I'll also poke some hole in it. I'm going to cook one to 180 for slicing and the 2nd to 190/195 for pulling.
Personally, based on no scientific experience, I don't expect a lot of loss. The meat is not a solid surface, it's very porous. And as Stogie mentioned in his post about steak and poking holes in it, very little juice runs out, just from the hole you poke, not the whole steak.
smokin, i smoke em strait with my own created rub. once they start showing dryness,
i start spraying them down with coca-cola. i dont use any sugars in my rub, although if you are looking for serious bark, just rub them with honey and you will have all the bark you ever dreamed of. i will send you some butt pics i have. maybe you wil use them, maybe not.
different topic.... my last 4 cases of butts were 'bryan' brand. my suggestion is that 'bryan' should stick to golf! i never though i would run in to a bad butt but these are terrible! on sale, of course from u.s. food. when i opened the packages the butts were stiff, not flimsy like normal. i mean you could hold one end of the butt and the whole thing would stand up like holding a yard stick. i tried soaking in water. no difference. ok, so i just smoked the heck out of them. still stiff. i guess these little piggies were screaming their heads off as they were being processed, giving them time to clench their muscles as tight as the could. thus, stiff, tough butts. the meat taste just fine, not reccomended for pulling, but ok for chopping... any thoughts?
i start spraying them down with coca-cola. i dont use any sugars in my rub, although if you are looking for serious bark, just rub them with honey and you will have all the bark you ever dreamed of. i will send you some butt pics i have. maybe you wil use them, maybe not.
different topic.... my last 4 cases of butts were 'bryan' brand. my suggestion is that 'bryan' should stick to golf! i never though i would run in to a bad butt but these are terrible! on sale, of course from u.s. food. when i opened the packages the butts were stiff, not flimsy like normal. i mean you could hold one end of the butt and the whole thing would stand up like holding a yard stick. i tried soaking in water. no difference. ok, so i just smoked the heck out of them. still stiff. i guess these little piggies were screaming their heads off as they were being processed, giving them time to clench their muscles as tight as the could. thus, stiff, tough butts. the meat taste just fine, not reccomended for pulling, but ok for chopping... any thoughts?
Well now,
I have no idea what happened to those butts.
Bryan is one of the two brands that Winn-Dixie gets down here that are not injected.
I usually go in the back and pick out a few 15 lb. 2 packs ,every time they run them as a loss leader.
They'll run them at $0.79/lb,which is usually cheaper than Sam's case price.
I have probably cooked around thirty to forty of them and don't remember any problems.
I will say that somtimes I have trouble getting previously frozen butts as tender as I like.
Sometimes the freezing process may pull out the natural moisture and a salty rub will dry it out even more.
Maybe the injected ones will hold up better through the freezing process?
I have no idea what happened to those butts.
Bryan is one of the two brands that Winn-Dixie gets down here that are not injected.
I usually go in the back and pick out a few 15 lb. 2 packs ,every time they run them as a loss leader.
They'll run them at $0.79/lb,which is usually cheaper than Sam's case price.
I have probably cooked around thirty to forty of them and don't remember any problems.
I will say that somtimes I have trouble getting previously frozen butts as tender as I like.
Sometimes the freezing process may pull out the natural moisture and a salty rub will dry it out even more.
Maybe the injected ones will hold up better through the freezing process?