smoking Smoked pork butt!

Edmick said:
What was the dry rub? Did you inject?
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Rub was of my own creation; sea salt, turbinado sugar, paprika, chile powder, home smoked chipotle powder, garlic/onion powder and a touch of allspice.  Did not inject - rather I had a pan half fulla apple juice and spotted cow with some onions and garlic underneath the pork while it cooked.  When I took the butts off to rest I poured out that pan into a stock pot and hit the fire.  It reduced by half or so over the hour the pork rested, then I skimmed it/strained it and mixed about 2/3 of the 2 cups I had back into the meat.  Hit it with a bit more rub and then onto buns.  
 
Deeeeeelish!  :D
 
SmokenFire said:
 
 
Rub was of my own creation; sea salt, turbinado sugar, paprika, chile powder, home smoked chipotle powder, garlic/onion powder and a touch of allspice.  Did not inject - rather I had a pan half fulla apple juice and spotted cow with some onions and garlic underneath the pork while it cooked.  When I took the butts off to rest I poured out that pan into a stock pot and hit the fire.  It reduced by half or so over the hour the pork rested, then I skimmed it/strained it and mixed about 2/3 of the 2 cups I had back into the meat.  Hit it with a bit more rub and then onto buns.  
 
Deeeeeelish!  :D
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My rub is almost identical except I also add a touch of fresh ground Cinnamon! Yummm!
 
I did my first pork butt yesterday.
 
I started with a 7.5 lb bone-in butt from Meijer.  (On sale for $0.99/lb  :party: )   Picked the one with the best marbling,
 
The night before I brined it mostly following Alton Brown's recipie:
 
3/4 cup of molasses
12 ounces pickling salt
2 quarts bottled water 
 
I used cold tap water, 1 1/4 cups of pickling salt, and filled the pot with water after the butt was in. 
 
The butt sat in brine from 10pm to 6am.
 
I took it out at 6am and patted it dry.  I started the grill using a chimney and Cowboy lump hardwood charcoal.  I soaked hickory chunks overnight for smoke.
 
For rub I mostly followed Alton's recipie:
 
1 teaspoon fresh ground fennel 
1 teaspoon fresh ground coriander
1 teaspoon fresh ground cuman
1 tablespoon chili powder 
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika
 
I added
 
1 heaping teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon 
1 heaping teaspoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon fresh ground cayenne
1 tablespoon garlic powder
 
I sifted the rub all over the butt.  
 
I set my Webber grill up just like this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4omNfZ_6WYs
 
I put a drip pan over the coals with beer/water and a drip pan under the butt with water.
 
For mop sauce I used 50/50 white vinegar and citrus hop beer.
 
The butt went on at 6:45 am and came off at 9 pm.  I waited 4 hours for the first two flips and mops and then 1 hour intervals after.  I took it off at 180 F because we were starving.
 
I wrapped it in foil and let it rest for 30-45 minutes in a cooler while we (my wife) made some sides.  (mac n cheese and honey chipotle corn bread)
 
 
Here is my critique followed by pictures.  Feel free to add.  
 
I'm known to cheat and do pork in a crock pot and finish on the grill.  The pork flavor/texture this time was significantly better than my best crock pot / grill attempt.  I will not use the crock pot again for big cuts if time allows. 
 
The bark was pretty lame.  It did not burn but it was very salty / very smokey.  I prefer sweet and tangy with a bite.
 
The meat had great pork flavor.  It was not overly salty (good), but It didn't get any sweet or tangyness.  It was a little bit too smokey for my taste.  Pork and lots of smoke.
 
The meat held together under its own weight and gently pulled apart.  It wasn't dry at all.  The bone pulled out clean.  I think it would have been even better if I took it up to 190 - 210 range and rendered more fat out.
 
I'd give myself 3/5 stars.  -1 for the bark and -1 for flatness of flavor profile.
 
 
Next time I want to cut the salt and brine for 24 hours.  Maybe more molasses and inject?  
 
I might use charcoal briquettes instead of hardwood charcoal.  I'm only going to add wood chips for smoke for the first part (not the entire time) to hopefully cut down on the smoke flavor. 
 
I'm going to trim the fat on the outside of the butt. I'm going to rub with mustard and re-work the rub to include more brown sugar.  Similar to my rib rub but less heat:  http://thehotpepper.com/topic/62314-baby-back-ribs-round-2-in-the-crock-pot/
 
I am worried that too much sugar might burn so I might add it later in the process to build the bark. 
 
I will spray instead of mop with vinaigrette or apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar/beer.  I think I was too rough with my mopping technique.
 
I will probably start the night before at 1am to move dinner time up a little bit.  
 
Thanks for reading!   :dance:
 
 
Pictures:
 
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The Hot Pepper said:
Now THAT is not something that NEEDSWORK! :clap:
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Edmick said:
Looks great! perfect comfort food sides too. Well done!
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The Hot Pepper said:
You not only cooked it good you pulled it good. I hate dry shreds! Gotta hand pull some chunks and finer pieces.
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t0mato said:
Nice bark on that meat. Good job!
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Thanks for the kind words!!  You keep me motivated to try new things with your posts.  
 
The side selection was 100% my wife.  I just hovered in the kitchen until she chased me out with a wooden spoon.  We were starving so I just pulled chunks off and plated.  I might hand shred finer bits for some sandwiches this week.  I was worried I wasn't going to get any bark because it didn't show up until the last hour or so after most of the fat had rendered.  Now I just need to make it sweeter next time.  :drooling:  
 
Hell of a cook there NeedsWork.  Looks great!  :)
 
I always foil my pork butts when they hit 155 to get through the stall.  I feel like I end up with a finished product that retains more moisture and it cuts cook time.  My magic number for pork but is 198.  If I'm smoking pork butt or brisket I usually start em out late in the evening - like 11pm or later - and then cat nap through the night between flips.  They're ready the next day between noon and 4ish pm and can rest in a cooler without suffering.
 
Feedback:  Your brine/rub had a lot of salt - so balance it with savory/sweetness in your rub.  I use turbinado sugar.  Sugar won't burn until it hits 325 - 350 and your smoker isn't going that high so don't worry about burning it.  Also only use dry wood chunks not soaked.  You want smoke not smolder.  Keep smoke on your meat for only the first couple three hours, because after the meat hits 150 or so it won't absorb much more.  
 
Keep on truckin.  This certainly didn't look like your first run.  ;)
 
Ah yes the old soak debate. Definitely don't soak wood (imo, and i used to soak!). You'll notice it puts off white smoke not the sultry blue smoke associated with BBQ which gives it good flavor. Thin blue smoke is the goal. No bitter taste from white smoke.
 
SmokenFire said:
Hell of a cook there NeedsWork.  Looks great!  :)
 
I always foil my pork butts when they hit 155 to get through the stall.  I feel like I end up with a finished product that retains more moisture and it cuts cook time.  My magic number for pork but is 198.  If I'm smoking pork butt or brisket I usually start em out late in the evening - like 11pm or later - and then cat nap through the night between flips.  They're ready the next day between noon and 4ish pm and can rest in a cooler without suffering.
 
Feedback:  Your brine/rub had a lot of salt - so balance it with savory/sweetness in your rub.  I use turbinado sugar.  Sugar won't burn until it hits 325 - 350 and your smoker isn't going that high so don't worry about burning it.  Also only use dry wood chunks not soaked.  You want smoke not smolder.  Keep smoke on your meat for only the first couple three hours, because after the meat hits 150 or so it won't absorb much more.  
 
Keep on truckin.  This certainly didn't look like your first run.  ;)
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The Hot Pepper said:
Ah yes the old soak debate. Definitely don't soak wood (imo, and i used to soak!). You'll notice it puts off white smoke not the sultry blue smoke associated with BBQ which gives it good flavor. Thin blue smoke is the goal. No bitter taste from white smoke.
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t0mato said:
^

+1

The thin blue smoke over long periods of time can give your BBQ some awesome smoky flavor.
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The Hot Pepper said:
billowing = bittering
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Excellent point about the sugar temps ... I never even considered being low enough not to burn.  This time I will not soak the chips.  Thanks for the feedback!
 
I say "this time", because after your feedback I wanted to try another butt.  Guess what was on sale this week.   :party:
 
I trimmed the fat .  This time I cut the salt in half for the brine.  1/4 cup pickling salt and 3/4 cup molasses for an 8.5 lb butt.  Enough water to fill a medium size stock pot.  It will brine for ~24 hours.  I'm going to start it around 11 pm tomorrow.  Tomorrow night is supposed to get down to 25 F so low temps will certainly be a wild card.  I'm probably going to use traditional kingsford charcoal. 
 
 
 
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Really nice trim work there dude.  I'm excited! lol 
 
;)
 
edit: if using chips not chunks I would advise you throw em about half on/half off the lit coals in the smoker.  the chips will burn quickly, so having some to ignite and flavor as the coals burn is good to keep your smoke constant and consistent.  Otherwise it will choo choo on you and just be puffs of white as the chips are added.
 
 
 
It's a great day!!  First because my seed order from AJ Drew arrived, almost instantly.  Great price and extras - so thank you!!  Can't wait to start the 2018, year 4 glog!
 
Second because it's time to start the butt!!  Meat pics below.   :party:
 
After 12 hours of soaking, the butt emerged from the sweet and salty bath.  I patted it dry, slathered it with mustard, and applied the rub.
 
This time we are going with:
 
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (thanks for the tip SmokenFire)
1/8 cup salt 
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ancho powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground 2017 cayenne
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespon cardamom 
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2/3 teaspoon cinamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground fennel
1 teaspoon freshly ground corriander
2 teaspoons freshly ground mixed peppercorns 
 
There was enough to sufficiently cover an 8.5lb butt.  Then I covered it in the fridge to sit until I decide to start the smoker (grill with pans and foil). (~2-4 hours)  For this smoke we will be using DRY hickory (thanks for the tip) and royal oak ridged charcoal.
 
The beer of the night is Bengali and later Resin, both by Sixpoint out of NYC.  Resin will hit you like a truck on an empty stomach.   :cheers:  edit* beer typo
 
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