Well... I pulled this off...

[Medusa]

Happy New Year!

So, I got a 7.42 lb Boston Butt @ 1.99/lb this past week. I normally grind these up and get about 5lbs for sausage & pork burgers. Well, I was lazy and decided to smoke this one instead. My first time ever.

Followed Meathead's recipe, etc., etc. Made the Memphis Dust sans ginger - I was out ( Fool! ) Wrapped tightly in saran wrap overnite.

Anyhooo... between 4:55 PM to 5:50 PM ( on 12/26) the IT only moved from 178 - 181. I'd been cooking pretty much between 265 & 280. ( I didn't worry about trying to keep it @ 225 because of the size of this clod ).

I had burned a full kettle 2x2 fuse and it was getting dark. I had added 10 lit coals, but they had burned down, and the kettle temp was dropping. So, I wrapped that baby tightly in foil and put it in a 300 degree oven. 1 hr 15 min pulled it out @ 203.

Total Cook Time: 9hr 41 min ( including oven time )

We didn't pull it - #1 wanted slices and chunks on the plate. She made Rosemary-Garlic Smashed Potatoes and we covered everything with drippings - WHOA!

That was Friday, 12/26. Had leftovers last nite - have even more leftovers - YEAH.

This AM #1 informed me that this was possibly the best piece of meat I've ever cooked No Couch Tonite!

Sorry no pix - I'll send some the next time when I do a smaller butt and it cooks completely in the kettle. Bark is unreal!

Here's a link to a cool product in the event you don't want to use twine to tie things... I used 8 of them on the butt and everything held very, very, nicely.

These are silicone grilling bands.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

--Ed

[Huskee]

Way to go Medusa!

[fuzzydaddy]

Congrats! These bands are interesting. I've only cooked 2 Boston Butts and used twine. Maybe I'll try these out. Thanks for the Amazon link.

[Medusa]

Thanks!

Think of these as "rubber bands". So when you stretch and pull them over a hunk of meat covered with oil and rub you're going to need to be careful of spattering on the counter, your clothes, your face - LOL!

They're sposed to be able to stretch around a turkey, too.

I really think it makes a big difference when you tie up loins and roasts as far as cooking and keeping them from falling apart.

[_John_]

Glad it went well, if a little long. The bands look cool, the last but I did barked up all over my twine and quite a bit of it pulled off while trying to remove it.

[Medusa]

Yes, a little long... Next time I'd try to get a butt between 5 - 6 lbs, or cut it up as Meathead describes. Not sure if I like the idea of freezing 1/2 of a butt, tho.

Sorry to hear about the bark. I might have been lucky that this didn't happen with the bands. I only removed the 1st 2 on the money muscle as this was enough for us on day 1. Took the other 6 off yesterday after we reheated the whole thing in the oven.