I have smoked several pork butts with the SNS Plus and have loved the end result. My only issue has been cosmetic. The pork butts are a bit too dark. Most likely this comes from my not wrapping. I have avoided the Texas Crutch because I like a good bark. Does anyone have a way to preserve that mahogany color I want without wrapping? Thanks for the help!
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i haven't done either of these since i don't really care about bark on a butt, but i would assume: cook until bark is color you want, wrap until you hit target temp, unwrap and put back on cooker for ~30 minutes to firm up bark
or maybe
cook until bark is right color - switch to oven -
Use butcher paper after you like the color. About 30-40 minutes before you're going to take it off, open the paper to reset the bark.Originally posted by rgriffeath View PostComment
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people eat with their eyes first... i've had people look at my crusty, dark butt's and roll up their nose at the thought of it being burnt. Not too appetizing, i will admit but until you try it and see how wonderful the taste is, you are just judging a book by its cover.
My only recommendation would be to mop and/or spritz. it will lengthen the cook and wash off most of your rub, but you will get the color you desire. eventually.Comment
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use less sugar in the rub.Comment
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You might try mopping during the cook, but it may wash off some of the smoke flavor.Comment
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Try some butcher paper? or tenting it without fully wrapping to compromise bark?Comment
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I don't have a Kettle/Sns combo (but I wish I did, just for the fun of it), so I may be talking a bit out of school on this. If you watch the video link on the first post of this topic , you'll see that the smoke color/flavor is heavy using the SnS--or at least it was for that one cook. Ditto for that pretty smoke ring. So I say just enjoy it and go with the cook as is. After all, how many of your guests actually get to see the PB before it is pulled and served? The proof is in the excellent eats, IMO.
Perhaps, since much of the color seems to be deposited early on, if you position the wood chunks a little further away from the initial smoking coals, not as much color/smoke would be deposited.
Also, I find that rubs with paprika really amp up the color. If the rub you're using has paprika in it, perhaps you'll want to substitute a light application of white pepper instead. Just a thought--I've never tried it.
KathrynLast edited by fzxdoc; September 9, 2016, 06:43 AM. Reason: forgot to make the link to the other topic. corrected now.Comment
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Thank you everyone. I appreciate the ideas. I don't care that much about the dark color. I just wanted to see if I was missing something. The resulting dark pork butt from the SNS Plus is unbelievably tasty, so I will keep on keeping on. Thanks again
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fzxdoc Thank you for the detailed response and good suggestions. I really appreciate it.Comment
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rgriffeath , I fixed the link in my post so you could see, on that You Tube video, the difference between a dark pork butt on a kettle/SNS vs a lighter one on the WSCGC. It's a fun video to watch.
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I'll be honest, I love my pork butt to look like a meteorite! One way to address the "turning up the nose" issue may be to point out that the best BBQ joints in the world turn out pork butts that look like that. Just a thought ... my guests for the party where this one was served mentioned that it didn't seem nearly as smokey as the chicken.
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ecowper Thanks for the pic! I'm glad to know that I am in good company in serving dark pork butt
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I'm dissapointed if my pork butt doesn't look like a meteorite. That's what there supposed to look like. Anyone that thinks otherwise is in for a lesson on what good smoked food is all about.
If they are still ignorant then there cut from the invite list next time. Problem solved. If your smoking good quality food like that there's always someone else who would be happy to take there place
If they can't understand after explaing that the awesome food you made them is not burnt and that's what great food looks like then your wasting your talents on themAttached FilesComment
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