Newbie Butt looking for feedback

[Ozzie]

A few weeks after receiving my first real smoker (and not being able to use it after catching the crud) this weekend was the true maiden voyage. I am very pleased with the outcome but I think I want to make a few changes next time around. I would appreciate any feedback anyone wishes to offer, my thanks in advance!

Abbreviations-

S.P. = controller set point
I.T. = internal temperature by Smoke probe
A.T. = air temp (inside smoker on Smoke air probe

Setup:

REC TEC Mini
Thermoworks Smoke & Pop
Pellets= cookinpellets.com Perfect Mix (Hickory, Cherry, Hard Maple, Apple)
Fresh from butcher 6.11# Boston Butt (Cut down from 9.4#, lost half the money muscle, gained a monster blade bone :/ )

Dry brined 26 hrs salt only
Memphis Dust just before loading
S.P. = 250F (gets an A.T. of 225F for first 7 hrs then rose steadily to ~238F by 9.0hrs and held until S.P. change at foil wrap)
Ambient = 45F start, 32F at 6hrs, 55F at end

Hit mid 150's I.T. at about 5.5hrs

At 8.0hrs flipped left to right for two reasons-

1. Money muscle (tapered end) was already at 190F by Pop and was at the hot end of the smoker.
2. Wanted to get the underside on top for more uniform bark.

Stalled hard at about 8.0hrs @ I.T. 170F that lasted about 1.5hrs with no change in temp.

Once I knew I was out of the stall at I.T. 183F, I wrapped in foil out of newbie fear of creating a meteorite (did not want to disappoint the CEO!) In hindsight, a regret I think. S.P = 240F

Then I got cocky (somebody was talking about mint julips and lawn mowing) and I ran to the barber for an overdue trimming. Oops.

On return I.T. = 206F, 1.25 hrs after wrapping. Removed to tray and added a second wrap of foil for the faux Cambro. I.T. cooled to 188F while prepping the Cambro.

1.75hrs in the Cambro, I.T. = 164F at end.

Pulled and chowed!

Solicitation for feedback about my Butt-

1. I had no liquid in the plastic wrap after the dry brining so I take that as a sign of a truly fresh piece of meat, or did I not use enough salt?
2. For those who have spent a lot of time handling butts, how would you grade (A-F) this hunk? Too fatty?
3. Did I trim it enough or should I be cutting into the larger fat veins and removing those?
4. Did I get enough Memphis Dust on?
5. Any contrary advice on probe placement, both meat and air?
6. I was shooting for Meathead's 203 + 2hr cambro and oops'd to 206. Should I have skipped the cambro at that point? The meat just fell apart almost too easy I suspect. Kind of the 'ribs that fall off the bone' kind of too easy. Or did I do that with the 206F?
7. I found the meat to have a strong fatty texture despite surgically removing all the fat I could during pulling. Is this a sign of a fatty butt, overcooked butt, or a result of the foiling?

All in all a great experience! I know I am hooked. Many thanks to Meathead and staff for this sanctuary of knowledge and great people (staff and members)! Thanks to Huskee and especially buttmaster Jerod Broussard
for all the extra feedback on butt endeavors, sure helps cover the what-ifs.

[smokinfatties]

Hey buddy, looks like you had a successful first cook!

For your questions-
1. Dry brining- i never look for liquid after a dry brine- if the flavor is good and not too salty, then you did good! Best to use less than more salt especially with a 26 hr dry brine.
2/3. The Hunk of meat you got looks excellent! The marbling looks nearly perfect from the side shot. Pork is always fatty. Your trim job looks pretty spot on. You want to keep some fat to protect you from the heat.
4. The bark looks excellent- it should look like a meteorite, so it looks like you got the right amount of MMD on there. Picture of it on the grill looks like the perfect amount- you can still see the meat underneath which is what I shoot for.
5. Probe placement looks fine- just try to stay away from the bone. Also, the money muscle cooks quicker than everything else, so if you want to retain the money muscle on it's own I usually try to trim/isolate the money muscle and then you cut that bit off and cook it separately once bark forms (about 170-180 IT).
6. Don't worry about "oopsing" with pork- 206 is fine. Usually go by probe tenderness- I.e. can you get a toothpick or probe in and out without much resistance. Sometimes that could be a higher temp (210 or even higher sometimes) but 206 is fine. Never skip the cambro- always give it at least an hour but the more the better - 2 i think is perfect. just don't let internal temp get below 140 in the cambro or the meat may firm up a bit and bacteria start to form below that level. In my opinion, a butt that is cooked perfeclty should let you pull the bone out (if bone in) without too much trouble. I usually leave the bone in in mine. Boneless will cook a bit faster.
7. Pulled pork in my opinion always has a fatty texture, but you may try adding a little liquid for braising once you put in the foil so the fat can melt down.

A couple more items-

1) When I wrap in foil, I usually do it before the stall to help speed up cook time and get through the stall quicker.
2) For flavor, I add about a 1/2 cup of brown sugar, some agave nectar, and some kind of liquid to braise the butt in (apple juice, or stubbs pork marinade is what I like). At the end, this liquid will mix with the fat and you'll have some liquid to mix with sauce or to keep it a little more moist.
3) Try to cook with the bone side/fat side closest to the heat source. Flipping like you did will help with evenness.
4) If you plan to reheat - use a vacuum sealer if you have one and put the shredded stuff in the vacuum sealer with a little of the fatty juice or some kind of a liquid- reheat in boiling water or micro (2 mins or so after slittling the vac seal bag with a knife) and it will be as good as when you first cooked it. If you dont have a vacuum sealer it can be reheated other ways too and always reheats pretty well, just add sauce if it dries out.

Great job!!! Looks stellar for a first cook. most importantly, did everyone you cooked for enjoy it?

[Ozzie]

Thanks! Great info! smokinfatties I think you caught me with an edit on the end. Just me and the CEO and I did get the proverbial thumbs up!

[DeusDingo]

and to play devil's advocate:

i never cambro when i cook pork butt. i put that thing in my pan and start tearing into it. i've never had a problem. beef usually needs a little hold time but pork is so much softer that i don't ever do it

i wrap after or the middle of the stall, but not until i am happy with the bark. i rarely wrap before the stall unless i am in a hurry

i never leave any fat on the outside of the butt. my smoker isn't something the pork needs to be protected from

my butt has never needed to go past 203, if anything it gets done in the high 190's just because it has been in there long enough to melt everything that would hold it together

but those are differences that work for me. neither of us are wrong in the way we do it. you will find out what works for you and that might be different as well. congrats on your first cook. as smokinfatties says, it's mostly important that everyone enjoyed it and you had a good time

[Ozzie]

Thanks DeusDingo ! I was skeptical of leaving the fat cap on (even in it's trimmed form). It looked like a membrane under there that I wanted to remove something fierce. It was plenty juicy so I think I will just take that sucker off completely next time.

[Notavegan]

Reading replies in reverse Deus, +1 on letting bark develop more.

[Michael Brinton]

I think you may be the most prepared, knowledgeable, first time pork butt cooker who ever lived. Your going to be dialing in your preferred version in no time.

[Ozzie]

I appreciate the kind words Michael Brinton. I would hate to have to admit to how many hours I read and re-read compared to the actual cook time. Silly engineer brain.

[fuzzydaddy]

Great job on your pulled pork. It looks fantastic! I plan on a few hours in a faux cambro which helps me have it ready for mealtime in case the cook runs a bit longer than my average. For bone in butts I've quit tying them with twine. As long as I'm careful when removing from the cooker I can keep them together and I don't have to sacrifice the bark that sticks to the twine.

[Ozzie]

Thanks fuzzydaddy. I think I am with you on the twine thing. Frog mat will save me if I fail + I want to try to get the money muscle off early next time.

[LA Pork Butt]

The only thing I would suggest is skip temp and begin checking for probe tender (feels like going into soft butter) at 190 or 195. I wrap for two hours, because it seems to help in separating the excess fat when pulling

[Ozzie]

Thanks LA Pork Butt. Could you please elaborate on "skip temp and begin checking for probe tender .... at 190 or 195" I have no idea what skip temp means. After checking with the Pop at 206, I now definitely know what probe tender is, I couldn't tell if I was in fat or muscle .

[LA Pork Butt]

Ozzie what I mean by skip temp is don't take a set temperature as being finished, but rather use probe tender as deciding when it is done. When you get to 190 begin using a probe to periodically check for tenderness. Once reached pull and wrap.

[Ozzie]

Roger that!

[Nate]

I wrap mine with just a little bit of liquid in the foil. Then when I unwrap it to pull, I save all that juice and run it through a fat separator. I use the juice to pour a little back over once pulled and then put the rest in the bags or containers I'm using to freeze or store the leftovers. That seems to really help prevent drying out when reheating.

[DeusDingo]

i do this every time as well. it made a HUGE difference in the flavor of the meat

[Skip]

Very good looking cook Ozzie . Also welcome to The Pit from southern Minnesota. Smoke on!

[Ozzie]

Thanks Skip from me a little NE of the Cities. Coincidence or did the Summit reference in my signature give it away???

[Skip]

I saw in your profile where you live. I am from Blue Earth.