Finishing in the oven?

[DWCowles]

No big deal finishing it in the oven I do it alot

[billg71]

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement, guys! Butt's been on since 7:15, the smoker is behaving nicely, staying around 250. I'm using B&B briquettes so may have to fiddle with it some since I'm used to KBB but so far, so good.

Well, as soon as I typed that the Tappecue alarm went off, smoker had gone to 275 in the 15 minutes since I last checked and maxed at 280. So I just got back from trimming the vents... I hear there's not too much you can do to screw up a pork butt but I may put that to the test.

I want to see how this turns out, I marinated it overnight in a salt water/molasses brine(from Alton Brown's show) and rubbed it with Aaron Franklin's Texas-style pork rub rub(no salt). I really like that Central Texas 'cue, we'll see how it finishes.

Thanks again to everyone!

Best,
Bill

[PitmasterAg]

Pork butts are hard to screw up...yours will turn out fine. I'd keep the 275F. Seems to be the ideal temp and will push you through the stall. I'd also wait until you have pushed through, if possible. And as mentioned, the faux cambro does wonders and have saved me many a time!

Good luck and make sure to post pics!

[billg71]

Well, all well that ends and all that. Wrapped it at 2:30 @178 internal, the smoker was still maintaining temp and the wife was going to roast a chicken in the oven so I kept it on the WSM. Then the sleigh ride started, couldn't get temp up to 300, added some briquettes, temp went to 350, played with vents the rest of the cook. Probed at 4:30, it had reached 205 but the bone was tight and there were some spots that weren't probe-tender. By 5:30 it was up to 209 but it probed OK and the bone was loose.

I let it rest 45 minutes and pulled, it pulled well but the money muscle and another part were a little dry. The bark was really nice, the fat cap rendered down to almost nothing but bark and I got a really nice smoke ring if that matters. I cooked and wrapped it cap up and the lower meat was really moist, the upper muscles not so much so. I like the sweet undertone from the molasses in the brine and the peppery bark, it's definitely not your typical Southern butt with a sugar rub. But it was a bit salty to my taste, I probably should have either cut back on the soak or the salt in the brine. It wasn't overly sweet so I think reducing the salt next time would be the way to go.

Next time I think I'll keep it at 225 for the cook and just have more patience. And use less salt in the brine.

All in all, I'm happy although the end result was a bit dry and salty. I can work with that.

Since it didn't happen if there aren't pictures, here we go:

At the wrap:



Coming off the cook:


And the finished product:


I ended up with 4 lb of usable product from an 8.5lb butt, about what I expected after trashing 4-6 ox of fat and membrane. Except for the little extra salt, it tastes good. SWMBO liked it and she's pretty sensitive to salt so I may be a little picky.

Overall, I'd give it a C+ or a B- and I'm happy with that for my first butt. I really like the bite the black pepper added, it's definitely different from the usual sugar rub.

Thanks again to all for the encouragement and suggestions.

Best,
Bill

P.S. Not sure why there are extra pix, if a mod could delete them I would appreciate it.

[Huskee]

billg71 Good work. I like that you took advantage of your coals and left it in your cooker after wrapping. With many repeated attempts in the future you're likely to find dryness and such will vary from cook to cook, it could be the meat. It could be taking it up to 209. Even though the bone was tight, I would suggest in the future dropping your heat when the meat gets to 200-205 and let it "hold" faux cambro style (either in your cooker still at say 170-180, your oven, or in an actual faux cambro) for 1-2hrs, or 3 or 4. It's the time that's needed after the meat hits the 200 range. Keep up the good work!

[billg71]

Thanks for the tips, Huskee. Looking back there was no real reason for trying to bump the temp after wrapping except maybe to save a little cooking time. I think I might have just cooked it too fast towards the end after wrapping.

Anyway, it's edible and I've learned some things for the next cook!

Thanks again!

Bill