First time cooking butt (pics)

[sterling_bbq]

Smoked up my first pork butt on my UDS this weekend for some pulled pork sandwiches. It was about 5.5 pounds. Put it on at 11. I did it hot and fast at 325-250. I was aiming to foil it at 160 internal temp but the first time I checked at 1:30 it was already at 180. I pulled it off and wrapped it in foil with some Sprite and put it back on. The temp was 140 when I put it back on. Not sure if it cooled off that much because it took me a while to foil it or I if I just stuck the probe in a cooler spot. I'm pretty sure I had it in the thickest part of the meat both times. :noidea: I left it in until it was 204 at I think around 4:30. Then it went straight into an empty cooler for a couple hours till it was time to eat. It smelled SOOOO good and pulled apart nice and easy. The bone slipped out clean as a whistle. We topped it with some pineapple, mango coleslaw and it was a huge hit.

 

[wormy]

That's the first time I heard of anyone adding Sprite. Does it have any benefit or just for taste or what? Either way I am curious.....BTW, It looked damn good in the pictures

 

[CheapSmoker]

Good job for your first time! Probably my favorite food right there.

 

[mattmountz94]

Looks great for your first one. Interesting take on the sprite

 

[Richard_]

Is your UDS lined with brick ?

 

[sterling_bbq]

Most recipes I saw for hot and fast pork butt added some kind of liquid when they foiled it. Most added apple juice. One swore by ginger ale. I didn't have either on hand so I used Sprite. I figured it would just add little moisture back in to the meat after cooking so hot. I didn't notice any lemon lime flavor in the end but if it had come through it would have blended nicely with the sweet coleslaw. I think most of it dripped out anyway. I did a terrible job foiling it.

The UDS is not lined with brick. I just knew it might take me a while to foil it. Rather than leave the lid off for that long, I pulled the whole grate out and set it on a stack of bricks that I set up next to the UDS for that purpose. I have plans for a real table but I have too many other projects that need to get done first.

Here are some pics of my UDS

 

[cowgirl]

The pork butt looks delicious! Nice drum too!

 

[Bigbears BBQ]

Nice color on that butt, always nice when you have success out of the gate.

 

[Smokiemon]

Looks delicious, job well done!

 

[Stingerhook]

I would say you have a fine looking "butt".

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Good looking rig and butt! Dang! Wish my first one would have turned out that good.

 

[bigreves]

That does look really good. Toppings sound delish. I'd probly eat 3 minimum

 

[sterling_bbq]

Good looking rig and butt! Dang! Wish my first one would have turned out that good.

Can't really take any credit for it. It's due to the vast wisdom of the brethren of this site. I'm just glad I didn't screw it up.

 

[bigreves]

What does lining the uds with bricks do? I've never used one but I love seeing cooks from them on here...

 

[Doog]

Good job! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Looks tasty

 

[sterling_bbq]

What does lining the uds with bricks do? I've never used one but I love seeing cooks from them on here...

I don't think I've ever heard of anyone lining the UDS with bricks. But bricks would add thermal mass. That would mean that it would take longer for the temperature to change. Longer startup and longer shutdown but your temps would be more stable during the cook. The bricks would also absorb and release heat around the outside of your drum so they might act like a heat diffuser and reduce any cold spots. The cost of all that would be higher fuel consumption because you have to heat up not only the meat but also the bricks. I don't think it would be worth it. Temps are already very stable on an UDS.

I think Richard was asking if my UDS was lined because of the pic of my grate sitting on the bricks.

 

[KevinJ]

Good looking PB one of my favorite cuts to cook. :thumb: