Pork butt: Minimalist plus one

[DaveD]

Hey folks, smoking up a pork butt today, and continuing my ongoing series of "minimalist" smokes, trying to add as few variables as possible each time. This is just my sixth butt, and the last time, back at the end of April, was a serious disappointment. That one was a Kurobuta butt that was way too lean, much more like loin than butt, and came out very dry indeed.

This time it's a standard commodity (Smithfield) bone-in butt, 7.1lb/3.2kg. Have not done one of these, my previous five have been from CrowdCow and Creekstone, so that's one variable. The other today is that I will wrap in butcher paper at the stall, which I have not done on a butt previously. Running at 250F/121C in the Pit Boss vertical p-smoker.

Sides to go with this will be some zucchini & summer squash and honkin' taters that I'll bake in the smoker so as not to heat up the kitchen by baking them inside - it's a scorcher today.

This cut had a pretty significant fat cap, which I trimmed away prior to dry brining.




Doused with Memphis Dust half an hour before going in.



One hour in, IT=54F/12C. Decided to put a disposable foil pan underneath to catch drippings, if for no other reason than I don't yet have a good sense for how much a cut like this is likely to produce...


Two hours in, IT=93F/34C, and the Meater+ ETA is sitting at a shade over 5 hours. That ETA is always an interesting parameter, serves more as a measure of stall proximity until the stall is over, then it starts to actually represent a real ETA, in my experience...


More later on!

[Oak Smoke]

I think you’ll be pleased with the Smithfield. I’ve had good results with them. I wrap at 180 F in foil. The reason for 180 is I like the bark that has formed by then and the foil is to catch the juices so they can be added back to the pulled pork.

[DaveD]

I'm going to stick to butcher paper for this, and hopefully get the drippings in that foil pan, which is probably where the pulled pork will end up for cooling it off overnight before packaging up the leftovers tomorrow...

[bbqLuv]

Ditto, Oak Smoke

[rlozinak]

Looking good so far, can't wait to see the final result

[smokin fool]

agree about the ETA, I write mine in pencil rather than pen

[DaveD]

Everything is nominal, cruising along nicely. At 3 hours in, IT = 123F/50C, and the Meater+ ETA is 4:17 remaining. Gave it a spritz.


At 4 hours, IT = 140F/60C, ETA = 4:18, another light spritz.


Clearly approaching the stall, in the 15 minutes since I took that last reading, the ETA has climbed to 5:15.

[Michael_in_TX]

I think you’ll be pleased with the Smithfield. I’ve had good results with them.

Same here. They always turn out really good. (My rub is Killer Hogs's The Hot Rub.)

I keep intending on trying a heritage breed of pork, but commodity pork butt is expensive enough as it is.

[DaveD]

What are you paying for it Michael? It's been $2.49/lb at our local grocery since April... not terrible IMO.

[Michael_in_TX]

Mine are running $2.54/lb....you're right, it's not terrible. I just miss that my store would have them on sale for $0.99/lb every six weeks or so. They haven't done that in a long time, though.

[DaveD]

Hokay, yon butt being well and truly ensconced in Stallsville, pulled & wrapped in butcher paper and back in the smoker...

At 5+ hours, IT = 159F/70C, Meater+ ETA = 5:19, fully an hour longer than the estimate one hour ago! Definition of stall.


6 hours in, IT = 166F/74C, ETA 6:25 - ANOTHER hour longer. Yup, time to wrap.



I'll put the taters in about 90 minutes from now, and when yon butt makes it to target T, into the Cambro it goes until dinnertime... so more than likely, next update will be after-action.

[Sid P]

I always enjoy the detailed write ups of your cooks, Dave. Will this be your first use of the Cambro?

[DaveD]

Thanks Sid! Yep, its inaugural voyage.

[RonB]

Lookin' good, and thanks for the detailed write up.

[DaveD]

Hey friends, here's the results: Fantastic! I was very impressed with the flavor and texture of this butt from Smithfield. And I was really surprised by how much juice came out of that baby while it was wrapped in butcher paper, resting (about an hour). So much that it really did braise the meat, it was swimming in juice in the pyrex dish I had it sitting in inside the Cambro. I hacked off the "money" end and a bit more, and chunked that up to serve for dinner with some steamed summer squash and a honkin tater that we split - baked that in the smoker (foil wrapped) until IT was a bit over 206F/97C, and let it rest while the squash was steaming. I'd have liked it barkier, but it was really outstanding.



The butt got to 198-203F/92-95C, rested in the Cambro about an hour, and looked like this when unwrapped from the butcher paper.


Slicin' & chunkin' & servin'.






Final temp profile. Success is declared!


Edit: Forgot to comment on the Cambro: it held temperature extremely well! Butt dropped only a few degrees, it was actually a bit too hot right when I took it out. Perhaps the excellent seal on that thing promoted the huge amount of liquid that resulted?

[Stuey1515]

Great write up, salivating at these images haha

[MsTwiggy]

Nicely done DaveD !!!! 🔥🔥🔥❤️🐿

[WayneT]

I always enjoy reading these detailed documentations of cooks. They provide a great reference point for future cooks by all. Thanks for all the great pix and descriptive comments.

[DaveD]

Thanks for reading it all!