ever brine or marinate a butt??

[capri man]

i am going to smoke a butt most all day tomorrow. just wondering if anyone brines or marinates them the night before. i usually just put some rub on mine and fire it up. thought i would try something different. thanks

 

[landarc]

I have tried brining before, in a misguided attempt to make a faux ham. I think overnight was not enough time was the problem for me, overnight just was not enough time to get the brine into the meat enough. Flavor was good, texture was odd since the brined meat was different from the non-brined meat.

 

[stiffy]

I have marinated a butt in Apple Juice many times, and always like the taste.

 

[SmokinOkie]

brining something as dense as a PB wouldn't really do well unless you did it for a VERY long time.

You could inject a brine but give it a number of hours to dissipate.

marinading is different, it will only penetrate the our layer, so you won't get any flavor added in deep.

Smokin
Author Brining 101

 

[Ron_L]

Listen to the brining guru ^^^^^ :-D

If you want to get flavor and moisture into the butt your best bet is to inject and let it rest for a few hours for the injection to distribute throughout the meat.

 

[LJ5.0]

From your post I gather that you put the rub on and then throw it right on the grate. If that's the case, try rubbing it the night before and wrapping it in plastic wrap. I find that when done this way the bark is not overly salty like it is when I just "rub and go". The meat is flavored more evenly this way in general, too.

I don't feel the need to marinade or brine since the meat turns out as moist as I'd ever want it to be by simply que'ing it up :biggrin:

 

[Cryodain]

I've tried both and have had great success with both methods.

 

[Critter Done --- BBQ4U !!]

I've had a lot of success injecting apple cider and rubbing a few hours prior to cooking.

Good Luck,
Chuck

 

[1FUNVET]

I gonna try Dr. Chicken's Sweet Kiss of Death Injection( that's some gooood stuff) on my next one.

 

[Big Frank]

I tryed AB's brine on a couple of butts last fall. Didn't like it. Tasted like ham.

 

[swamprb]

One time, I thought I'd get creative and inject a butt with Stubb's Pork Marinade.....

It sucked!

 

[sdb25]

Injecting all the way. Do it the night before so it has some time to spread evenly through the pork.

I will NEVER make another butt without injecting it first. It really makes all the difference.

Good luck!

 

[BRBBQ]

Some times I brine in Morton Tender quick salt, I don't leave it in the salt more then 3 hours, it will turn meat grayish and salty, not a real bad thing! You will notice a nice smoke ring. Also try not to buy the inhanced or solution added butts when using a brine, try the all natural butts when brine is used. The Baron of BBQ has a article in his book about brined butts.

 

[bigabyte]

As SmokinOkie suggested, it takes a long time. I have tried brining a whole pork butt only to find it can not fully penetrate in just a day or two...it several days. I have cut a deboned butt into 8 chunks and had those successfully brine overnight with a Tenderquick brine to make a hammy flavored pulled pork.

 

[BBQchef33]

Ive brined, marinades and injected... But always on boneless butts that have been butterflied.


with bone in, i just inject with applejuice, a little salt and worsey sauce, a couple tablespoons cider vinegar and brown sugar.

 

[kickassbbq]

http://kickassbbq.com/brine_recipe.htm

 

[big brother smoke]

I do this with good results, but it is usually a boneless shoulder.

 

[K-Barbecue]

I've always made up a brine with salt, brown sugar and whatever rub I'm going to use for this smoke. Then I inject the butt with the brine solution and toss it in the brine overnight. I'll then pull it out of the brine in the morning and without rinsing I put the rub on and toss it on the smoker. Always works excellent !! I'm doing one right now.