Pork Butts, to pan or not to pan?

[Frozen Smoke]

I do a bit of trimming but the majority of the fat cap stays on. I put directly on the grate. I use rub sparingly when the pork butts are raw. I add more after it is pulled the pulled product benefits much more than the raw product during the long cook.

I pan but do not cover when the internal temps hits around 170 or so. Thats when most of the fat and collagen starts to break down. By this time the butts have been exposed to plenty smoke and will continue to get more exposure because I do not cover the pan. I also add a bottle of dark beer to the pan and let all the juices and beer mingle together.

Once i hit the 205 to 210 mark and they are ready to be pulled off then I foil over the top and put them in the Cambro for resting. I let them sit in the Cambro overnight and pull the next day. Not sure I would do this with a faux cambro but with the actual Cambro I have left them in there for 14 hours and pulled them out and they are still 140 or above.

I pull them in the same pan I cooked them in with all the beer and juices. All that beer and juice gets reabsorbed back into the pulled meat. Then I add more rub. I vac seal in about 3lb bags and freeze.
I settled into this method quite sometime ago however I did discover there was no reason to use all the rub on the raw pork butt in the start but adding it after it was pulled was much more beneficial a couple months ago.

[Nate]

I add rub after as well. Doesn’t sound like I do as much as you do but I may have to try it.

[Dr ROK]

I have been smoking butts for three years for my catering business and have gone from cutting them in half to get more bark and smoking without wrapping to now leaving them whole and using a pan. I tried using elevated racks in the pan to get more smoke to the entire butt, but in my opinion it does not make any difference to the final pulled pork product. I put the butt in the pan, smoke it till it's probe tender, and then put foil over the top, seal tightly and put in faux cambro for at least 2 hours. The amount of time I save not having to clean up the mess of smoking 6 butts at a time is well worth the 30 or so cents I spend on a pan and foil. In addition, cooking in a pan allows you to collect all the drippings. I separate the fat and add the drippings back into the pulled pork, or into my smoked beans. If I'm not making beans I either freeze it or throw it away. It's the only way I do it now.

[Nate]

Just out of curiosity has anyone decided to go the hotel/restaurant pan route instead of disposables?

[CandySueQ]

I've done that! Usually with sheet pans with rack, so smoke gets all around the meat.

[Mr. Bones]

Yes, I do use my hotel pans, an racks, as well...CandySueQ is spot on, there!

[fuzzydaddy]

Nate Not pork butts (yet) and not in a restaurant pan, but I have cooked chuck roasts in my Drip 'N Griddle pan from abcbarbecue.



About 1.5 cups with about 0.5 cup being fat.

[Histrix]

For pork butts I've been cooking them until the IT is in the 160-180 range and then put it in a stainless steel dog food bowl (I try to avoid disposable aluminum pans) cover it with foil and then just put it in my oven.

Why?

1- My KBQ requires frequent care/feeding and I like being able to devote the last few hours of the cooking of the butt to other endeavors/meal prep. Once a meat is wrapped (in foil or paper) it's no longer going to be taking on smoke anyway and since heat is heat the butt won't know it is in an electric oven.

2 - I like to capture at least some of the renderings to either apply later to the pulled pork and/or to save some of that jelly for other uses.

[EdF]

Good idea. To what temp do you set the oven? Thanks!

[Histrix]

I start them at 275F-ish in the KBQ and when I put them in the oven I set it to...275°F-ish.

Once in the oven I set the thermometer to sound off when the IT hits 200°F-ish. When that happens I'll remove the foil and give the butt a jiggle to see what's going on. It's usually near ready by then and I turn off the oven heat and just let the butt sit in the oven until it's time to pull.

[EdF]

Great. Thanks Histrix !

[evollbrecht]

I have been smoking butts for three years for my catering business and have gone from cutting them in half to get more bark and smoking without wrapping to now leaving them whole and using a pan. I tried using elevated racks in the pan to get more smoke to the entire butt, but in my opinion it does not make any difference to the final pulled pork product. I put the butt in the pan, smoke it till it's probe tender, and then put foil over the top, seal tightly and put in faux cambro for at least 2 hours. The amount of time I save not having to clean up the mess of smoking 6 butts at a time is well worth the 30 or so cents I spend on a pan and foil. In addition, cooking in a pan allows you to collect all the drippings. I separate the fat and add the drippings back into the pulled pork, or into my smoked beans. If I'm not making beans I either freeze it or throw it away. It's the only way I do it now.

Has anyone else done a side by side of in a pan and not to see if there is truly a difference in the amount of smoke, or bark, the meat takes on?