first boston butt

[jsn1511]

Im going to try my hand at smoking a boston butt tomorrow. I was wondering if anyone can direct me to a good thread or give me some advice in this thread. I would do the searching myself but i am using someone elses AOL minutes and i would hate to spend all of thier minutes. Thanks!

 

[brdbbq]

Take to 165 wrap to 190 or 200 cooler. Pull at 165 or so pull. Use what rub you like and bury a couple cloves of Garlic in the meat.

 

[Solidkick]

Take to 165 wrap to 190 or 200 cooler. Pull at 165 or so pull. Use what rub you like and bury a couple cloves of Garlic in the meat.

Brian's a gasser, don't listen to him..........

Loose the cloves of garlic and use wood and charcoal..............

 

[The_Kapn]

BRO,

Take a look here:
http://www.bandera-brethren.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=2695

Lots of info that may help.

TIM

 

[brdbbq]

Take to 165 wrap to 190 or 200 cooler. Pull at 165 or so pull. Use what rub you like and bury a couple cloves of Garlic in the meat.

Brian's a gasser, don't listen to him..........

Loose the cloves of garlic and use wood and charcoal..............

Excuse me used Garlic in my old bullet smoker.

 

[jsn1511]

thanks guys i really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. im not working at my job anymore so now i have to use my girlfriends brother's account to get on the internet. And i don't want him to get mad at me for using all of his minutes. we're getting dsl in about a week, so that will allow me to get back on like i used to. thanks again.

 

[Saiko]

Heya neighbor! In case you forgot, I live right around the corner from you in Kennesaw, Georgia.
As far as Boston Butts, I do pretty much what everybody else does. I keep on the smoke until I'm sick of tending a fire (8 to 9 hours or so), then wrap and finish in the oven till I hit 190 or 200. This give me time to shower and nap after all the beer I drank while tending the fire. After the oven I wrap them in a towel and put them in a cooler for an hour or two, then pull. Make sure you mix in a little vinager finishing sauce to sweeten the pork (I use a combo of cider vinager, brown sugar, salt and crushed red pepper).

 

[tommykendall]

I'm not pinning anything on anyone in particular but I've been seeing a lot of this "finish off in the oven" stuff. We getting old or is this an unwritten unconfessed trick?

 

[Neil]

Looks to me more like an open confession. Say three Hail Mary's and three Our Fathers for absolution.

 

[Solidkick]

I'm not pinning anything on anyone in particular but I've been seeing a lot of this "finish off in the oven" stuff. We getting old or is this an unwritten unconfessed trick?

I think this comment comes more from what cooker you're using and possibly the weather conditions. Jumping up every 30-45 minutes to check the temps on a 'dera just simply wears your a$$ out, especially if your 50. :wink: Something more user friendly like a WSM or a double insulated cooker allows you to relax more.

Here's an example:

Two weeks ago, I had some customer orders for 2 briskets, a pork butt, and 4 slabs of baby backs. I check the weather and see that the wind is going to change directions and a cold front is moving in. First thought, call the Bellys and see if I can use the Blue Goose. No go, the door gasket has worked loose and is in the shop. So I gotta use the 'dera.
I put the 2 briskets in at 9PM and the butt at 10:30. Pretty good night going until 5AM, when the cold front moves in. OMG! Constant 15 mph winds from the north, no shelter for the 'dera, and I'm using fuel like you wouldn't believe. I send the wife to the store for more charcoal, knowing I was going to need lump with the temp change. None to be found.
To make a long story shorter, after 18 hours and close to 60 lbs of charcoal used, we simply couldn't take anymore. I'm very fortunate to have a wife that likes Q'n as much as I do. This time, we both threw in the towel and moved to stuff to the oven!

 

[BellyBrotherII]

I think this comment comes more from what cooker you're using and possibly the weather conditions. Jumping up every 30-45 minutes to check the temps on a 'dera just simply wears your a$$ out, especially if your 50. Something more user friendly like a WSM or a double insulated cooker allows you to relax more.


Rascal Dera Mod

 

[Saiko]

I'm agree with Solidkick big time, especially if you are using a wood fire. Due to the small firebox, you are constantly making adjustments to a fire, sometimes as often as every 10-15 minutes. This really starts to wear on you as the day goes on. It's not like using a WSM or Big Green Egg, where hours can go by without making an adjumstment.
My cut off is usually around 8 or 9 hours, by then I'm tired of tending a fire, and need some more time to nap, shower, prep other food, etc.

 

[The_Kapn]

I'm guilty
Other than competetion, I finish it all off in the oven once the meat is foiled.

It is just heat and the oven does a great job of making heat with no fuss :lol:

Also, I can use stable and low heat (maybe 200-210) and get a nice slow finish cook on the roast type cuts. TENDER to die for!

TIM

 

[ckkphoto]

I still do it the hard way, unless something comes up and I have to leave.
I would rather finish the last four HOURS in the oven than let my wife watch the fire for thirty minutes. Not that I don't trust her, but she doesn't like to cook and she isn't "firewood" inclined so the few times I have had to hand off, I came back to burnt food or a cold smoker.

All that said, I just like 100% smoke. Probably doesn't make much difference, though so anyone who wanted to bring it in halfway through a cook is just making their life easier.

 

[BigBelly]

I almost always finish in the oven when doing a brisket or butt for consumption in the home. You can save on fuel and tme tending the already fuel-hog of a dera if you do use the oven!

 

[chad]

I usually finish in the WSM or NB offset - but that's because I already have the fire going. One you foil it it's just heat! When I'm cooking the night before a party or if momma just has to eat at 6 pm I'll get up to the 165 or so (brisket) or 185 (butt) and foil it and put the meat in a 250 oven to finish off -- it'll get over 200 in no time! At that point I either turn off the oven and let the meat slowly cool (if we're eating at home) or put on the time bake to kick in several hours later and keep the meat warm until morning. I've done a couple of butts like this and just get up a little early to pull the pork and pan it up - then into the cooler for transport to the party.

Most competition cooks don't foil at 165 - they take the brisket or butt to the 195 "finished" temp and then foil and throw in the cooler. I think Jim has pointed this out a couple of times.

I will admit that I've found that my ribs finish a lot better if I do about 2-3 hours (just to the point he meat starts pulling back from the tip of the rib bone) and then foil - after that it's just determining when I want to pull them to finish.

3-2-1 is guaranteed to overcook the ribs -- that's ok at home but I can't afford to do this when competing. You gotta watch the ribs - and I cook spares not loinbacks.

 

[JacksonsDad]

I am glad the "finish off in the oven" part is finally coming out...till my dad let me in on that secret, I felt like a quitter...now I know...we're all quitters! Just don't tell the normal folk that!

Oh, and regarding butts, check out the pulled pork sammiches recipe with Down South Rub and Pork Pickin' Sauce in the recipes section...tried it this weekend and loved it!

 

[frognot]

Looks to me more like an open confession. Say three Hail Mary's and three Our Fathers for absolution.

Actually, this group says "Hell,Mary!" and "Old Farkers".

 

[brdbbq]

Actually, this group says "Hell,Mary!"

or "Share Mary"

 

[tommykendall]

I think this comment comes more from what cooker you're using and possibly the weather conditions. Jumping up every 30-45 minutes to check the temps on a 'dera just simply wears your a$$ out, especially if your 50.

Well then that explains a lot. I ain't near 50. I'm still just a boy dog.