Second cook on the BGE w/ Pron (Butt & Ribs)

[Bacon_99]

Well, this was the second cook on the egg this past Sunday - thought I'd break it in with butt and ribs after the chicken the weekend before. Made some buns from scratch on saturday for the pulled (more like sliced chopped) pork. Smoke ring wasn't that impressive and even though I pulled one butt at 190 and the other at 200 - neither were pullable.... must have been the organic pork (all they had) or the fact that I had some temp issues between dome and grate - think I might have gotten dome temp too high...

Was getting worried when butt not only stalled but dropped almost 15 F - first time cooking butt but hadn't read anything about it dropping that much in temp....

[anamosity]

Maybe its m screen, but the pic of your butt looks a little dry.
When I do butts on the egg, I do them at 250 until they reach 205, then pull and rest for a while. Always turns out juicy and delicious.

[Bacon_99]

Do you go by 250 dome temp (the BGE temp) or do you use a digital probe on the grill?

Only pull at 205 eh? Maybe that would have got the collagen to melt down a bit more.... I figure the butts may have been somewhat lean to begin with for some reason. Also, I think next time I'll inject the night before. I injected it about 30 mins before it went on because I had read that injecting over night over tenderizes.... So next time I will inject the night before to see what happens.

The upside was it tasted great on the buns with some thin vinegar sauce I made thanks to a recipe I had for a supposed western north-carolina style sauce (c/o Real Barbecue)- to reheat the meat I did so in a pot with the sauce and let the pork absorb some of it and then threw some slaw on top - didn't taste all that dry...

[Bacon_99]

PS - Ribs were the best I ever cooked - not fall apart but came off the bone clean - went 2 hours smoke, 1 foil, 15 mins with thin sauce on top..... They were baby backs hence the reduce 3-2-1..... Still learning though - going to try brisket hopefully for the third cook.......

[anamosity]

I set my egg dome temp at 250.
Then cook until internal 205 according to the electric green thermapen.

And the ribs do look great.

[Bacon_99]

Cool - have been wondering if I can rely on dome temp or not.... I'll try that next time....
Thanks for the response : )

Yeah - the ribs were tasty - just need to perfect my own sauce for ribs - love the one for the butt.....

[landarc]

I was gonna say the buns and ribs look great, the butts look a tad underdone. You cannot rely on anything but meat temperature or feel to check if the meat is done. I use a meat temp and poke it with a skewer checking for feel, goes in very easily.

[Crüe-B-Cüe]

Those actually look more like those pork sirloin roasts that Wally World sells.

[Bacon_99]

Yeah - I had a wireless temp probe I stuck in the butt when I put it on and monitored the temp on the larger cut till it hit 190 F and the smaller butt was at 200 F....

I think I may have upped the temp a bit on the egg not trusting the dome temp since my butt was not only stalling but dropped 15 degrees. Pulled it at 190 because that what Chris Lilly in Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book......

Will just have to keep trying - wasn't bad for my first try but still not as good as the pulled pork I've had from others......

[Bacon_99]

Those actually look more like those pork sirloin roasts that Wally World sells.

Wallyworld?

Do you think the butcher tricked me? Does it not look like pork shoulder? They were only 3 # each - but that was because I only wanted the butt and not the picnic.... Not being a butcher I figured I'd get what I was paying for...

[landarc]

The cut section looks like a really trimmed down butt to me. I would suggest next time, go for a 5 to 6 lb bone-in butt. It will taste better and believe it or not, it is easier to cook.

[Bacon_99]

Wasn't given an option with bone in - butcher went out back - had just got a shipment - and brought me out two butts.... When you say bone in do you mean whole shoulder, i.e. including picnic?

[cruzmisl]

Those don't look like pork butts to me. It looks like a roast which would explain why it wasn't pullable. If you pull a butt at 200f and its not tied it will literally fall apart on the grill.

[Bacon_99]

Hmmm.... Not impressive then - thought the cuts looked a little lean - when he prepared them the label said "pork shoulder roast" - figured they don't actually use boston butt.... Oh well, that's it for using a grocery store then - going to go to a butcher downtown - have to order meat in advance though... Friend of mine who got a BGE the day before me just picked up 10 # of pork belly to make bacon - said the butcher was great.... Will try that...

[Buster Dog BBQ]

Most places label them Boston Butt. I agree with other posters. 200 degrees on the meat when you take it off will fall apart. It looks like you have two or three muscle groups there and they are much larger then those on a butt. Even a boneless butt will be spread out somewhat.

[1_T_Scot]

Good looking eats ya got there.

I go by dome temp also and then probe feels like Butter test usually 200 internal though.

[Bacon_99]

Well - will try same method but get the cuts from a proper butcher and see if that helps... Like I said - tasted great but would have been nice to have that pulled texture - mine was more like smoked chopper pork tenderloin or chops.....

[cruzmisl]

Where in Ontario do you live? I've bought pork shoulders from Zehr's before if you have one locally. Usually a pork shoulder will be 7-10lbs on average so if its smaller than that its likely not what you want.

[HeSmellsLikeSmoke]

The ribs look great. And I agree that that those don't look like butts. Like the way you are trying all the basic meats right off the bat.

I notice that you seem to be controlling the temperature with the daisy wheel, which is nearly shut, instead of the intake draft door.

I have much better luck leaving the top vent about half open while keeping the intake vent nearly closed. Conventional wisdom for the BGE is to have the top vent more open than the bottom vent in order to produce cleaner smoke.

[Bacon_99]

Where in Ontario do you live? I've bought pork shoulders from Zehr's before if you have one locally. Usually a pork shoulder will be 7-10lbs on average so if its smaller than that its likely not what you want.

No Zehr's here - way up in Ottawa..... Just going to go to a real butcher that gets top grade local meet.... Charges actual market price...


I notice that you seem to be controlling the temperature with the daisy wheel, which is nearly shut, instead of the intake draft door.

I have much better luck leaving the top vent about half open while keeping the intake vent nearly closed. Conventional wisdom for the BGE is to have the top vent more open than the bottom vent in order to produce cleaner smoke.

Funny - was wondering about that. Read something this week where people say they leave the top open and use the vent to control the temp.... I will definitely try that, was having a bit of trouble controlling my temp - was afraid if I closed the vent on the bottom too much that the fire would go out... So was trying to control with the daisy wheel... Good eye by the way!

[chambersuac]

Glad you liked the pork, even if it wasn't pull-able like you wanted. The ribs look really good!

[BRBBQ]

Looks like a smoke ring to me, and have a nice color. I'd enjoy.

[Bacon_99]

Glad you liked the pork, even if it wasn't pull-able like you wanted. The ribs look really good!

Thanks. Yep - sometimes it's all about taste. The next butt will be even better! 8)

Looks like a smoke ring to me, and have a nice color. I'd enjoy.

Yep - enjoy'd them. Would have figured 7 hours would have put a bigger ring but there was a ring no less.... Heck of a lot better tasting than doing pork in the oven :wink:

[cbagby64]

That looks like a roast to me. The grain of the meat looks like a loan, not shoulder. I agree with smellslikesmoke on the intake door on the egg. If I shut the wheel completely I get stale smoke. I always get bone in shoulders if you can find them. The bone makes it easier to tell when the shoulder is done, a slight pull on the bone(and there isn't a lot of resistance) will tell you when it's done.

[BRBBQ]

Thanks. Yep - sometimes it's all about taste. The next butt will be even better! 8)



Yep - enjoy'd them. Would have figured 7 hours would have put a bigger ring but there was a ring no less.... Heck of a lot better tasting than doing pork in the oven :wink: OVEN! Been there:biggrin:

[Bacon_99]

OVEN! Been there:biggrin:

Don't get me wrong - a good pork roast and gravy is some good stuff - but smoked pork with a real good vinegar sauce with slaw is just so much better.... Pork in general is just so much better q'd....

Will definitely try controlling via lower vent and leaving top more open....

[h20loo]

This might help you out- it was awesome info for me on my first few.
http://www.youtube.com/user/BBQTalk#p/u/35/CFO3TJ27m6w

[Bacon_99]

This might help you out- it was awesome info for me on my first few.
http://www.youtube.com/user/BBQTalk#p/u/35/CFO3TJ27m6w

Thanks - this is great. Funny that its a Canadian guy doing it..lol But man - those look way different that what I had going - and to think he said Sobeys had a good product - I think he's right about going to a real butcher to get a better cut...

Thanks for the link - very useful :-D

[Bacon_99]

Damn- this video is awesome - same cooking conditions I have now in the same province.... Interesting to see that the WSM still works in the winter - would think it would be real hard to keep temp on over a winter night here than in an insulated cooker.... Thanks again....

[gotwood]

they dont look like butts to me

[Bacon_99]

Me neither after watching that video..... Thought they were small butts and all the larger ones were Boston shoulder attached to the picnic and though mine were just small because they were the boston shoulder only and deboned.... I think I got ripped and ended up with loin somehow.....

Like I said, still tasted good though.... Even stalled during cooking - maybe many cuts do this and just not butt.... Totally weird first experience with butts nonetheless though....

[brown dog]

Try walmart, better price than the butcher.Don't forget when you pull from the smoker to wrap in foil and a towel, place in a cooler and let it rest for 2hrs, or more.The pics you posted look like a roast. Great post Bacon, the next smoke will be better.