My First Butt

[Dgilleece]

Hi Lads,

I've been smoking food for a little over a year now and I think I am ready to smoke my first butt and I have a few questions that I know y'all will help me out with.

I've done several pork ribs over the year or so and was planning on doing the butt in a similar way as I would ribs, you know rub, wood, temp, etc...

So here are some of the questions I have.

Question 1 wood. Which wood should I use. I have apple, hickory, and pecan. I am partical to hickory but if the the others would be better for a butt let me know.

Question 2 time. In reading I see that I was to pull the butt when the internal temp reachs about 195, does that sound right? Also about how long will that take if I set the smoker at 225. About 60 minites per pound?

Question 3 rub. I was planning on using my rib rub for the butt it is,

1/8 cup ground sea salt
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons groound black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Would you make any changes? I was thinking of adding a wee bit of heat with cayenne???

Question 4 drip pan. When I do ribs I fill my drip pan with water or apple juice. Would you recommend for the butt doing apple juice or just water or nothing at all???

Last question for now and don't laugh. What do I do with it once I have it all cooked. I mean do you chop it, do you use folks to pull it apart, do you just break it into chucks and serve it that way.

Thanks in advance for all your input.

[marubozo]

1. Any of those woods would be just fine. I'm a big fan of fruit woods and pork, so that's typically what I use. But I also mix woods and use oak plus a fruit wood, or some hickory and some fruit, etc.

2. Temp will vary from meat to meat, but generally speaking, if you're looking for pulled pork, you'll be done at 200 degrees, give or take a few on either side. The exact temp doesn't matter much as long as the bone pulls right out and the probe goes in like butter.

And in my opinion, don't waste your time doing it at 225. Especially if this is your first one. You will be in for a LONG cook, and that just means less sleep, more time to manage the pit, more fuel, more opportunities for something to go wrong, etc. And an hour per pound at 225 is a pipe dream. If you want it to cook at around an hour per pound, you should be shooting to cook at 275+. I actually almost always cook at 275-300.

3. The rub looks good. Very similar to what I use on my butts, and do have a little bit of cayenne like you mentioned.

4. I don't use a pan of any liquid and just run it dry.

5. Let it rest for a good hour or so after you pull it. Don't worry, it will still be blazing hot inside. Then if you're wearing gloves, just pull it into pieces by hand. Or if it's too hot to handle, just take a fork or some tongs and pull it apart that way. If you cooked it to the proper temp, pulling is almost effortless.

[Fat Cap]

I tend to use apple wood and love the flavor. I pull butts at 195-198 and wrap and rest for about an hour. Rub is a taste thing. If you like the rub on ribs, then use it on the butt. I do use a dirp pan (more to save time on clean up) 1/2 apple cider 1/2 water. I always pull pork butts. Great for samiches or all by its lonesome. I also use it in my green chili.

[fantomlord]

Originally Posted by marubozo

1. Any of those woods would be just fine. I'm a big fan of fruit woods and pork, so that's typically what I use. But I also mix woods and use oak plus a fruit wood, or some hickory and some fruit, etc.

2. Temp will vary from meat to meat, but generally speaking, if you're looking for pulled pork, you'll be done at 200 degrees, give or take a few on either side. The exact temp doesn't matter much as long as the bone pulls right out and the probe goes in like butter.

And in my opinion, don't waste your time doing it at 225. Especially if this is your first one. You will be in for a LONG cook, and that just means less sleep, more time to manage the pit, more fuel, more opportunities for something to go wrong, etc. And an hour per pound at 225 is a pipe dream. If you want it to cook at around an hour per pound, you should be shooting to cook at 275+. I actually almost always cook at 275-300.

3. The rub looks good. Very similar to what I use on my butts, and do have a little bit of cayenne like you mentioned.

4. I don't use a pan of any liquid and just run it dry.

5. Let it rest for a good hour or so after you pull it. Don't worry, it will still be blazing hot inside. Then if you're wearing gloves, just pull it into pieces by hand. Or if it's too hot to handle, just take a fork or some tongs and pull it apart that way. If you cooked it to the proper temp, pulling is almost effortless.

^all of that...only thing is that I prefer to rest my butts for more like the 2-4 hour range (double layer of foil, in a cooler filled with towels)

and cooking by feel is the most important part--it's done when the bone wiggles easily, no matter what the IT is

[jimstocks53]

Stealing a page from Mixon - I am also tired of cleaning grill grates. Just did my last pulled pork a week ago and cooked it in an uncovered foil pan. Yes, the bottom didn't have any bark but 90% was bathed in smoke and the bark was just fine. Had the added advantage of collecting juices for adding back to the pulled meat - WOW! I cooked at 325-350 - on the smoker by 0730 and done in 5 hours. Threw some hickory and cherry wood chips in with the Royal Oak lump. I injected it with around 6 oz. cherry coke and liberally dusted it with a standard rub without any time between rubbing and cooking. Pulled it immediately and as stated I added back all the juices. The family said it was the best ever. Made great eating for days.

[NickTheGreat]

I like Hickory, but SWMBO doesn't. So I use Apple most the time.

And like the other fellows say, cook by FEEL. The probe should just slide in like butter. I've had it be around 195° and I had one just a month or so ago that was 208°