Let's Talk BBQ
Recipes => Recipes => Pork Recipes => Topic started by: Hub on January 25, 2012, 10:14:41 AM
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Two inspirations for this recipe: (1) my grocery store had butts on sale for $.99 per lb. and that appeals to my cheap side. (2) I wanted to get great flavor but not use a lot of pellets -- another appeal to my cheap side. So . . .
Bought one 9.5 lb. and one 8.5 lb. butt. Unwrapped, rinsed, and sprinkled with Montreal Steak Seasoning (yet another appeal to my cheap side since it is the cheapest commercial rub I have). DID NOT inject yet. Read on.
Filled the hopper of my Traeger with Barbequer's Delight Hickory and put both butts in on "Smoke" setting. Smoked for 4 hours with temps slopping around between 210 and 140 (I have the 225 "outofcontroller").
Removed butts and injected each with approx. 1 cup of apple juice spiked with 6 dashes of Worchestershire Sauce and about 1 heaping teaspoon of garlic powder. (This is much cheaper than the Butcher's Injection I use in competition). Double wrapped in heavy foil. (foil, alas, is not cheap)
Into the trusty wall oven they go at 235 degrees for 11 hours. Internal temp was 200 when I turned off the oven. Rested for approximately 2 hours (left to cool slightly in turned-off oven). Internal was 150-160 when I pulled them.
Result: Easiest and cheapest butts I've ever done. Cheap meat, about half a bag of pellets, and probably a buck or two in electricity. Perfect texture with no mush or overcooking. Nice bark on top and sides. Good smoke level throughout but not overpowering (I'm not a creosote belch fan). Overall, this pork would have stood up to contest-level scrutiny. "Cheap" works! At least for pork butt
No pictures since we all know what a pork butt looks like and these look pretty much like every other pork butt I've ever cooked.
Hub
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I've been tempted to smoke a smallish butt for 4 hours, then give it a 1 hour ride in my pressure cooker.. (elevated above 2 cups of apple cider)
That would be cheap, and FAST.
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I've been tempted to smoke a smallish butt for 4 hours, then give it a 1 hour ride in my pressure cooker.. (elevated above 2 cups of apple cider)
That would be cheap, and FAST.
Sounds like a great idea! Let 'er rip and tell us if it works.
Hub
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And glad you clarified the title Hub...at first read - I thought this might be a thread about my ex-wife.... ;D
Seriously - sounds like a thinking man's approach to pulled pork. My bet is that it maintained a high moisture content as well.
T
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My bet is that it maintained a high moisture content as well.
T
That it did. Injecting and foiling are the keys to a moist butt ;D
Hub
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That always works for me Hub.
The injections I am getting twice a week now...Will try wrapping myself in foil.... ;D
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The injections I am getting twice a week now...;D
Uh, um, I think Butcher's might be better than Botox if you know what I mean . . . :-X
Hub
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I know this is an old thread but I wanted to add to it since I was looking for an alternate method for doing butts and I was copying Hub's method and thought someone else might do the same. I, too, am cheap, but I chose this method because I didn't want to be pulling pork late into the evening from an early morning start. I had 2 butts, each just over 7 pounds that were still a bit frozen in the center at the start. I figured I would smoke 4 hours at 175ish and move them to the 235* oven at 9:00 PM and then finish the next day. They had IT's of about 130* when they went into the oven. I got up to check them at about 1:30 AM and found them done with IT's of 197 and 202! Well, they were foiled so I shut the oven off and went back to bed. At about 5:30 they were around 145* so I yanked them and then pulled them. I was expecting a much longer cook even without a stall, but 8.5 hours total was all it was.
Even though I didn't inject them they were the moistest butts I've smoked and the bark was a real surprise; it was there for one thing, not like unfoiled but good never the less.
I will be using this method again, for sure, but compared to Hub's butts and cook times it appears that a pound or two difference makes a big difference in cook time.
Dean
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I have done this before when the rain came. By the time you get to the stall smoke penetration is over. Good old electricity is cheaper than pellets. Works like a charm.
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I am all about moving the meat once the smoke/bark is done, but it is normally to my electric smoker. I'd rather sleep for a little bit than keep tending a fire (and I am cheap), and my family likes our big meal around lunch. So, I am always doing long cooks overnight so that I can FTC between 9-10 in the morning.