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ktkintner
03-01-2012, 12:06 AM
I am brand new to smoking, having never smoked anything before. I will be finishing up my UDS today and plan to season it with a fatty. This weekend though, I plan to try my hand at smoking a port butt. There are so many impressive recipes on this site that I just do not know where to begin. I would like to do something simple and classic I grew up in Western NC and just haven't found good BBQ since moving to FL which has pushed me to want to learn the fine art of smoking. Any tips on how to prep from brine to rub to sauce would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Kevin

Wampus
03-01-2012, 12:33 AM
I don't do a lot as far as trimming goes. I may remove the really thick part of the fat cap.

Well, if you wanna go simple, kosher salt & cracked pepper is simple.
One step up is seasoned salt (Like Lawry's or McCormick's) works well.
If you wanna layer on a little garlic powder or paprika or onion powder or all, that works too.
If you have any commercial rubs, try one of those.

Up to you really.


I usually put about 3 chunks of smokewood throughout the charcoal before I light it. Some will light the fire then throw on the wood. Light the smoker well ahead of time so that you get a nice clean fire with blue smoke. Then....get your smoker up to temp (225-250).

Place rubbed pork butt on smoker. If you have a remote thermometer, stick it in, not touching the bone but in the thick part of the meat. If you don't have one, it's not critical.

Lock down the smoker and maintain heat at desired temp. Now "traditionally", that's at somewhere between 220 and 240. You really go hotter, it's up to you. Many go with a 275 cook temp, which will speed things up. Then there's what's called Hot & Fast, which is above 300. Your first time out, I'd say keep it easy and go for 225. If your UDS wants to run a little hotter, don't stress....just let it go.

If you do have a temp probe in there, just keep the lid closed but check your probe once in a while. When it gets to about 150-160 internal temp (IT) peek. If the butt is looking like you want it, now's the time to foil it. Wrap it tightly in foil and return to the smoker. This is also not critical, but many do it (I do). This will help the butt ride out the rest of the cook.

Beware the stall. The stall is something that happens when right about 150-160 degrees IT the roast will just hang out for a while. You'll start to get anxious (we all do starting out) but it's no biggie. The foil will help this speed along. The collagen and connective tissue is breaking down is all and it takes some time to do that.

If you don't foil, you'll end up with a nice, dark, thick bark. Depending on how you like the bark, foil or don't.


Either way (foil or no) when the butt hits about 180-185 degrees IT, you're close. You'll want to start probing the roast. Use a skewer, a temperature thermometer probe, a fork...whatever. At this point you can basically get rid of the real thermometer because all it's done is tell you when to start checking for tenderness. If the probe or whatever you're using goes in with little to no resistance (we call it like "buttah") then that sucker's done. If it still takes some effort to push in.....let it go longer. Check it every, say, 20 minutes. Whenever it's probe tender, pull it off the smoker. Crack the foil and let it vent until the heavy steam stops. Then (if needed) you can wrap it back up and hold it for hours in a well unsulated cooler. Just wrap it in a towel and sit it in there until it's time to pull it.

You can, of course, eat it right away.

Pull the meat apart with forks, by hand, whatever floats you boat.


Off the shelf, IMHO, Sweet Baby Ray's is superior. I like to doctor it up a little with a splash of white vinegar and a dash of ground cayenne. That stuff, though, is pretty dang good right out of the bottle. Cattlemans and Stubbs are pretty good too.
I don't usually sauce the meat at all. I let folks serve themselves and sauce themselves.



Good luck!
Don't forget folks here will help out during the cook too.


And THAT...........is smoked pork shoulder.

fingerlickin'
03-01-2012, 12:37 AM
No need to brine a butt IMO. Keep it simple, hit it with rub then get your fire going, throw on a couple chunks of wood. Let it settle in at 250* or whatever temp you'd like. Make sure the white smoke is gone and you have thin blue smoke. Insert butt. Pull the butt off when it's probe tender. Start checking around 190 int. temp. If you're nervous take two forks and try to pull it apart a little. The bone should also pull right out. My last one was done at 200* intenal, but their is no exact temp. Every cut is different. It was a 10lber that took 9 1/2 hrs. The one before that was only 8lbs and took 13hrs. Don't overthink or rush it the first time. As the saying goes, it's done when it's done. Just have another beer. If it's done early, wrap it in foil and place it in a cooler full of old towels to hold until you're ready. I've gone up to 5 hrs in the cooler. Good luck and welcome to the madness! :):thumbup:

martyleach
03-01-2012, 12:39 AM
You are going to get a zillion replies as there are so many different and effective ways to cook a pork shoulder. A pork shoulder is very forgiving so you can kinda screw up and it still comes out great.
If you cook a 7-8lb butt at 230 it will take about 14 hours. That is assuming you don't wrap it in foil. I don't.

For your first cook I would suggest establishing a baseline so you get to understand the UDS. Keep it simple. Apply a rub and start cooking. I don't use a water pan but I do use a big foil pan to catch the drippings and to act as a heat diffuser.
Put your butt on the drum fat side down and give it a spritz with apple juice every couple hours. After about 9 hours you may want to put a foil hat on your butt to keep the bark from getting too thick.
When you can easily slide a temp probe anywhere into the butt, it is done. Internal temp should be about 195.

fingerlickin'
03-01-2012, 12:42 AM
Oh, and if you don't have any rubs yet use the google search at the bottom of the page. There was a recent thread on carolina style sauces that should come up for you if you search.

rondini
03-01-2012, 12:43 AM
Kevin hi. I just did my 1st butt last Saturday. I injected apple juice, then rubbed with Garlic infused EVOO and Southern Succor Rub. Smoked Hot and Fast 4 about 4 hrs.. This was a 7.5 lb. roast. Smoked w/5 smallish chunks. Flavor was Good, but needed more smoke. Next time bigger chunks or more. Hope this helps a little. Did this in my UDS.

DaveMW
03-01-2012, 05:45 AM
I completely agree with Wampus on how to cook a pork butt. Two words of caution that I learned the hard way: #1 Be sure that your thermo is reading the correct temp before using it. It could read "x" degrees hotter or colder than reality. Do a search on here for ways to check the accuracy. #2 Wampus said cook at 225 and don't stress if it gets warmer BUT I went too low and slow (thanks to that bad reading thermo) and I ruined one because it was too low for too long and would have been bad to eat. I stressed every detail of my first smoke which was also a pork butt. Relax and enjoy it. Pork butt is very forgiving. Most of all, welcome to the BBQ Brethren!

WvSmoke
03-01-2012, 06:24 AM
If you have a meat thermometer, use it. The time for butts to finish varies a lot as Marty illustrated above. As another example, I just did an 8 pound butt Sunday. I started it at 6:00am. Even at a steady 230° in the UDS it blew right through the stall and was done at 1:00, in just 7 hours! Fortunately, there was no set time to eat (as is common at my house we eat when it's ready).

mytmouz
03-01-2012, 06:27 AM
I just went the hotnfast route with mine. 10.56 lb'er, my own rub, no brine or injection. On the smoke @340-350 until it reached 165, then I foiled it with a little liquid and returned to the smoke until probe tender. Best I have done (maybe had). And while I made 6 sauces to test with, it absolutely did not need any.

DaChief
03-01-2012, 06:42 AM
Butts are very forgiving so don't stress. I'd keep it simple for the first cook. Forget injection for now. Keep the rub simple. Foil around 160 if you want to/or need to speed things up and are not worried about thick bark. If you foil, add a bit of apple juice. If you don't foil, you might want to spritz with apple juice every hour or two but remember "If you're looking, it ain't cookin" :grin: Many first timers freak at the stall....Nothing is wrong and you do not need to do anything to help move it along. I've pulled Butts anywhere from 190 to 210. Feel is the key, not temp. As mentioned previously, you can wrap in foil and put in a cooler and keep for a number of hours if the Butt gets done too soon. Important - It is done when it's done. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time esp if you have a house full of guests expecting a pulled pork sammie at a certain time. Also, a nice slaw to go on that sammie IMHO is mandatory :becky:

Big George's BBQ
03-01-2012, 06:54 AM
It will take a while to get to the blue smoke you want I have waited up to 2 hours. Pork Butt I cook fat side up. Brisket I do Fat side down Everyone does it differant. When done wrap in foil and let it reast in a dry cooler for a few hours before you pull. It will remain very hot. If cooking bone in Butt and they are best you want to be able top pu8l;l the bone out cleanly Have fun

Grillman
03-01-2012, 09:47 AM
Below is a link to a video I made of how to cook a Pork Butt for pulled pork.
I cooked it in the oven, but the technique will be the same for cooking it
on your UDS, or whatever type of cooker you use.

http://youtu.be/nh-6s824LeM


.

gtr
03-01-2012, 11:15 AM
You have the info you need from ^^^these farkers up here^^^^, and you'll see it's basically variations on the same theme - cook it 'till it's tender (you know this when the bone is loose or a probe slides in with little to no resistance). Let it rest, then eat it.

All the other info is options for you to explore to find out how to get the results you like best. Bottom line is you'll be eating some damn good grub to start, and it'll only get better as you progress.

Post pron! :hungry:

mtbchip
03-01-2012, 11:54 AM
K.I.S.S. (keep it simple silly)....
1) Generously slather with favorite rub & mustard "paste".
2) Place in fueled up cooker
3) Start cold and ramp to 225° for 12 hours (cooking over drip pan)
4) Remove to refuel, take out drip pan.
5) Continue cooking another 6-8 hours at 225°-250° to develop bark.
6) Remove, let cool 20 min. Separate bark from shredded/pull meat.
7) Mince bark on chopping block with BIG knife and mix back in. EAT

mr dirts bbq
03-01-2012, 12:49 PM
imo everone above is correct you really cant mess up a butt, but if by some miracle you do it a cheap cut, do what feels right and over time you will learn/develop your own ways. 1-1:15 per pound is usually about right pull it at 195ish heavy on the ish, key thing no white smoke when you start up make sure its all gone before you put in smoker, and i inject with apple juice and butter and rub let sit for 1.5 hours and then put in/on smoker.

ktkintner
03-01-2012, 09:14 PM
Thank you everyone, I think I am just trying to over think it. The words of encouragement help, I am looking forward to my first smoke! I finished my UDS today and plan to season with a fatty tomorrow.

Big George's BBQ
03-02-2012, 10:06 AM
Let us know how things work out and enjoy

ktkintner
03-03-2012, 07:26 PM
Well I seasoned my UDS with a couple bacon wrapped fatties last night, they turned out great and I'll be getting up early to put on a 9lb butt in the morning. Thanks again everyone!

ktkintner
03-04-2012, 10:57 AM
I am well on my way with my first butt. We have some friends coming over for dinner and didn't want everyone waiting on food so I started early, had the butt on at 4:30. IT is right at 170 now, I'll stick it in a cooler to rest when it is probe tender till time for dinner. Thanks again everyone.