Boston Butt East Carolina Sytle

[Spinaker]

I am planing on doing a Boston Butt this Friday. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what rub, if any, I should use. Do they mop the butt with the Carolina sauce through out the cook or just apply it before it goes on the pit. Thanks a lot Guys/Gals

[smarkley]

I don't mop, but some do... I exclusively use Meathead's Memphis Dust for butts, after an overnight dry brine.

[Huskee]

Continuing our convo from Disqus.... Many people use Memphis Dust as the go-to pork rub, whether ribs or butts...and even chicken too. I have a rub I share with Pit members, called Huskee's Rib Rub, it's a bit different than MD, it's less herbal, more sweet & salty. I think it works great on ribs, butts, and chicken. Just something different.

As far as mopping, most folks don't mop since that will tend to prolong your cook and soften your bark, but on the flip side it may aid in your smokiness and the smoke ring (more properly called "gas" ring). By way of reminder, TONIGHT IS THE SEMINAR W/ Dr. Blonder on SMOKE AND SMOKE RING!! When we're hot on a summer day we spray ourselves with a hose and cool off. Mopping meat does the same thing, it cools by evaporation. Now, this may not affect your cook time drastically, but it will affect it. Some still mop regardless. Honestly, if you want the flavor of the mop, add the mop to the pulled pork. Mopping causes most of the flavors to drip off, but adding your flavors to your finished product will ensure you get that flavor. Meathead has an amazing Columbia Gold mustard vinegar sauce. Check out the recipe on the main site.

[Spinaker]

Huskee,
Thank for the rub recipe. Im gonna try it out on friday. As for the mopping, I'm gonna save it and just add it at the end of the cook. Thanks too for the heads up regarding the seminar tonight. Wouldn't miss it.

[HC in SC]

I tried the mustard slather with the cheap yellow mustard last time and it came out great. I have used the MMD rub and Huskees rib rub and found I preferred the sweetness with the HRR a bit better. The trick with the mustard slather seems to be wrapping the butt, or using a Ziploc bag and keeping in the fridge as long as you can. CurlySueQ said the best she ever had was slathered, rubbed and wrapped for a week. I only had 5-6 hours on mine and it was the best I had ever done. I used apple wood for smoke. Another good tip is to wrap your butt when it hits 160 until it reaches final temp. It will speed up the cook and keep the moisture in the meat.

If you don't have a good Eastern NC sauce, you can use Texas Pete pepper sauce (not the red colored hot sauce, but the one with the little peppers soaking in clear liquid - the kind we use on greens) in a pinch. Hope this helps and you have a great cook!

[Spinaker]

Thanks a lot!! I always want to try BBQ flavors/techniques from different parts of the country. I'm gonna try the HRR and the Texas Pete. thanks again for your input.

[Huskee]

Sounds like a plan Spinaker, please give me your honest feedback on the HRRR recipe page. You wont hurt my feelings if you hate it, I just like to read feedback. Cheers!

[Spinaker]

Will do Huskee. I'll try to remember to take a few pics as well. Smoke on!!

[HC in SC]

I failed to note in previous posts that I do not dry out the brown sugar in the HRR, well, at least I haven't yet. The first time I made it I was short for time and I went ahead and made a double batch and am still finishing it up. The way I understood the reasoning behind the drying was mainly to avoid clumping. Not to mention I don't think it would matter if doing the mustard slathering method since you would just be re-introducing a bunch of water right back into the sugar.

BTW: The mustard slathering is to my knowledge is more of a competition trick of the trade, not so much something specific to either North or South Carolina but is something I am experimenting with. The thinking is that the mustard will hold the rub on better and that vinegar from the mustard will help start breaking down the meat for tenderness - that is the reason for letting sit 'marinading' in the mustard / rub mix wrapped in the fridge as long as you can.

Read Meatheads history of BBQ and his descriptions of the different styles of the Carolinas. I hear MHs Carolina Gold sauce recipe is on the money for SC barbeque sauce, but haven't tried it. Eastern NC uses a usually spicy vinegar sauce. Some have hints of tomato and sugar as you go west and north in NC. The TP pepper sauce is just spicy and vinegary enough to mimic a basic ENC sauce. Add some sugar to mellow it out if you need to. Either way hopefully your pork is so good you just need a few drops of sauce anyway!

[Spinaker]

Thanks Brother!!

[The Burn]

I really liked MH's East Carolina Kiss & Vinegar Mop & Sauce on my pulled pork. Really cuts the fattiness.

[Huskee]

I failed to note in previous posts that I do not dry out the brown sugar in the HRR, well, at least I haven't yet. The first time I made it I was short for time and I went ahead and made a double batch and am still finishing it up. The way I understood the reasoning behind the drying was mainly to avoid clumping. Not to mention I don't think it would matter if doing the mustard slathering method since you would just be re-introducing a bunch of water right back into the sugar.

Exactly, it's to avoid clumping if you store it, especially like I do in a shaker bottle (old large-holed seasoning shaker or Parmesan cheese shaker) It is not a requirement for flavor by any means. But I make full (4x) or sometimes double full (8x) batches, and in this way drying it helps immensely to keep a consistent dry rub.

If you pour a clumpy mixture through a shaker, you could end up plugging holes, and then the smaller salt grains slide through giving you an unbalanced way-too-salty mixture which can ruin the rub's flavor on your meat. If you spoon it on, drying is a moot point.