My wife and I are having a Derby party tomorrow and I was going to do a couple pork butts. One of the families that is coming is Jewish, however, so I thought, no biggie. I'll smoke one pork butt and one chuck roast. Then I realized how much bigger the butt is than the chuck roast. How do I deal with this? Pull the chuck roast off when it's done and set it in the oven at 170 or a faux cambro until the butt is done? Then re-crisp the bark on both 30 minutes before meal time? Or should I go back and get two more chuck roasts, do all pulled beef, and throw the butt in the freezer and use it for something else?
-
-
I wouldn't worry about the chuck roast getting done too early, especially if you are going to pull it. It takes 205+ to get there, then held at about that temp for another 1-2 hours. Let that sucker ride and bark up. -
I agree with @Jerod. Also, for bigger cuts thickness determines cooking time also, so I wouldn't worry too much. If you want you could always put the butt on 1 hour before the roast. If you have gotten good bark I wouldn't bother with firming up the bark before meal time. I've done plenty of both butts and roasts, and never put them on the grill again after the cambro. That is just my personal preference, I don't think it's needed, but to each his own.
Comment
-
Sweet! Our cooler will be occupied so I'll just follow meathead's recommendations for holding but will use our oven at 170 to hold it before serving. I'll just avoid the crutch and let it ride then. I may crutch the butt if it takes too long, but not before barking it up really well. Thanks for the help!Comment
-
You've gotten some great advice here, and your game plan sounds spot on, tugboat . Enjoy the cook and the party and let us know how it all turns out.
KathrynComment
-
Good luck with your cook! Come back with pics.....
Comment
-
I will report back with pics!
I also just realized something. I was reading Meathead's pork butt article and got to the part where he suggested cutting the butt for more bark and quicker cooking. I have a six pound pork butt. If I cut it in half (it's boneless) I'll have three 3-pound cuts of meat. Sweet!Comment
-
I haven't done a pork butt in a while, have taken a liking to the pork butt cut into slabs / country style ribs, call them what you will. JUST this morning before I read this post I saw the online ad for the meat place I frequent and they have boneless pork butt strips for $155/lb. Different when those are done then pulled pork I know. But you sure do get a lot of bark surface when done in 1 inch slabs like that. Then I do burnt ends with them, or eat it like a big chop, or like a massive boneless rib if you sauce them. They are also done in about 4 hrs at 225-250.
Good luck with your cook. Your guests will be very fortunate and talking about it next week at work.Comment
-
Are you making an assumption about your Jewish visitors that might be cleared up by asking if they have any dietary restrictions. Most Jewish people (like me) eat pork and don't care. Other Jewish people might have a problem that the beef is cooked on the same cooker as the pork.
Pretty much all Jewish people, however, take responsibility for themselves, and will navigate whatever you do, probably without a fuss. It's how folks with dietary restrictions should roll. Make it clear to the host ahead of time if you have a problem and navigate the offering if you didn't without a complaint.Comment
-
This past Monday I brought in brisket burnt ends and flat slices for the neighbor next to me at work who is Indian. I assured him it wasn't pork and he went to town on it. He asked if it was real American bbq and I didn't quite know where to start with that
-
If they're the middle case (no pork, no hangups about separation), you're fine offering PP and SC, or going all beef. Either way. Your place, your preference, within their stated limits.
-
An update on the party. The chuck roast was a hit! Everyone loved the butt and the chuck roast but no one there (myself included) had ever had smoked chuck roast so everyone was raving about it. Used meathead's beef rub on it and Memphis dust on the pork. Both went on around 6:30am. The meat temps on my maverick never got much above 192 (temperature control was a bit wild; kept on having to rearrange the coals in my slow and sear but I wouldn't notice until the temps dropped below 190). My thermapop measured the meat a bit hotter depending on where in the meat I probed but none of the meat was near the recommended 203 (butt) 210 (chuck) that everyone states. They were around 192. I finally called the meat done around 6:45 cause I was sick of waiting so they were on about 12 hours. I hear so much on here about meat having to be at a certain temp (especially chuck roast having to be much hotter than butt) but both the butt and chuck pulled super easily and neither was dry. They were super moist with plenty of bark. I didn't even crutch and they were perfectly moist. I totally forgot about pictures so here's one crappy pic after I pulled them.
Which leads me me to a question. How do you actually tell if the meat is done? Pick it up and it starts falling apart? Honestly I think if I took these cuts up to the generally recommended temperatures they would've been extremely dry. I've noticed this with spare ribs too. Everyone says 5-6 hours for spare ribs but mine are always done in 4 hours, even with good temperature control. The first couple times I did ribs I took them 5 hours and they were really dry. Ever since then I've bend tested it starting at about 3.5 hours any by 4 they're done. Much quicker than the recommendations.Attached FilesComment
-
-
Looks good !Comment
-
Thanks everyone!Comment
-
Good looking meat. Like they say, it's done when it's done. Temps are just guidelines.Comment
Comment