1st Pork Butt

[wapiti777]

Well the pork butt marinated over nite with the homemade rub on it. (On sale at VG's for 1.39/.lb. Some child or the wife has misplaced my camera battery charger, I hope to find it and post pics.
The pig part is on the smoker now soaking up the hickory smoke.
Can't wait for the pulled pork for dinner tonight. :evil:

[Riva]

If this is indeed your first butt, here's the best advice I can give ya..."trust your thermometer".

First, the internal temp of your cooking chamber, whatever that may be, should be around 250F and no hotter. Remember, "low and slow" are the operative words.

Secondly, all pork butts "stall" around 160F. By that,I mean they appear to stop cooking and stay right about that temp for a couple of hours. Don't panic. After a while, it'll start climbing up again.

Third, be patient. Using a meat thermometer, do not take that bad boy off until it has reached an internal temp of 200F and stays there for at least 15 minutes or so. Take several readings.

Once it reaches 200F, take out and wrap with it HD aluminum foil. Then, wrap that with a bath/beach towel. Place the "bundle" and put in a dry cooler or inside your oven (no heat) and let it rest for 2 hours. Don't worry, it'll still be at 200F when you take it out.

After 2 hours unwrap and pull.

Lets see some pics.

[NEMichsportsman]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2003/2189568405_c1003315b0.jpg?v=0

[Gina Fox]

Hey!!! We are trying to decide what to have for dinner tonight..hint hint...we are at 14 & Harper I SEE you are right around the corner???? lol

Sounds good...I think a smoker will be on my Christmas list....

[Gina Fox]

I have a question, while we are on the topic of smokers...what smoker is the best to use?
I see there is an electric smoker...at Home Depot...60 bucks and I ve seen some more expensive ones for 249.00 Any thoughts?

[NEMichsportsman]

I have a charcoal, electric and a propane.

My propane is the largest and easiest to regulate the temperature. I think it all comes down to personal preference.

[Frantz]

Without pictures of said Pork Butt, I find it hard to believe this story. :D

[Gina Fox]

lol I only need one!

[NEMichsportsman]

lol I only need one!

If I could only keep one of mine- it would be the propane.

[Spanky]

Or if ya wanted a slightly larger one ya could have this:


http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff55/Captspanky/memorialdayTBS.jpg

it likes to be fed logs and meat!

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff55/Captspanky/tommysbuttsandribs.jpg


welcome to the funner part of the forums.less stess and heavy appetites!;)

[Spanky]

sorry to highjack the thread.

Riva has given ya some priceless info. Learn it, live it, when it comes to pork butts, he speaks the truth.Actually, when it comes to BBQ he does pretty good inthe directions department!;)

[Spanky]

I have a question, while we are on the topic of smokers...what smoker is the best to use?
I see there is an electric smoker...at Home Depot...60 bucks and I ve seen some more expensive ones for 249.00 Any thoughts?

like NEM said, its a matter of preference> propane and electric are the easiest and you can walk away from them for hours without worry(usually), charcoal has better flavor and smoke ring, but is labor intensive, and more expensive,wood burners like i have have the largest capacity and also are a bit on the babysitting side, but turn out the very best Q. There is nothing better than food cooked over wood, BUT...........not everyone can afford the cooker, or have the reason to cook 50-100 lbs of food per session.

Good to see ya down in these parts Gina!;)

[Gina Fox]

Hiiii Spanky...lol you will find me in a few forums...not just politics...BOY that is some smoker, but I am all about the walking away part of it... :-)

Boy that sure looks like some serious BBQ and it does look good...

Im thinking an electric one! That one looks like a Tim the Tool Man version, waaay more than I will need. I will go ck them out. Thanks for the info and the warm welcome ;-)

[Spanky]

well if mega watts is your thing then.

Sam's club( I don't shop there) and walmart sell the masterbuilts for 250-300 bucks
They are decent
If you want a really good electric set it and forget it, the cookshacks are awesome, but they go for 800-950 bucks.

If ya want extremely inexpensive, brinkman has an electric model for 60 bucks or so.

The elctric smokers have their niche, mainly fish and jerky/sausage(lower temp)I am not saying you can't do larger cuts or ribs, but many electrics are limited to 180-200 degree temps.To do butts . briskets and ribs, you need temps in the 230-260 degree range.

we kinda have an unwritten law in BBQ, no matter what a person thinks, or how they cook, we keep politics and religion outta our
thoughts, we prove our point with our food, and we are proud to share it with everyone, and very unselfish, and love to help everyone make better Q.;)

[Frantz]

Riva always has awesome advice with regards to cooking and smoking. I blame half my fat gut on him and his wisdom!

I have the masterbuilt electric, not a bad unit, could be a little bigger but it is a solid unit. The temp goes up to I think 275. I would like to try brisket sometime soon with it but first need to find a good price and one that is trimmed as I am clueless on trimming them.

[Spanky]

Riva always has awesome advice with regards to cooking and smoking. I blame half my fat gut on him and his wisdom!

I have the masterbuilt electric, not a bad unit, could be a little bigger but it is a solid unit. The temp goes up to I think 275. I would like to try brisket sometime soon with it but first need to find a good price and one that is trimmed as I am clueless on trimming them.

well........... as much as we disagee on other stuff, let me help ya out on the Briskets.i can get em for lss than 2.50 a lb( full packers), if ya want to PM me, I willget ya as many as ya want. Yes Riva is the man when it comes to awesome Q and recipes on this site!

PM me about the beef. I will get ya as many as ya want and store em in my fridge. I like to age them 2-3 weeks at least.;)

[Gina Fox]

I like to cook at low temps and often will put ribs in the ol oven at 225 or so for a few hours...Im not sure I like smoked and wouldnt mind investing 60 bucks and try it from there...

I can see this going the way my boating experience did...started out with 18 foot ended up at 36...I will look into a smaller one.

[Slick fishing]

Here is the butts and chicken I did today, was going to do a fatty but got lazy and did not feel like making it:D.. Cya Slick

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u148/Slick13photos/Picture-1.jpg

[Spanky]

Nice looking food Slick, Gonna be tasty. Looks like you have been doing this along time!;)

[Slick fishing]

Spanky you said you got that chicken leg holder from Lowes, any chance you have the propper name for it so I can order it online.. Thanks Slick

[Spanky]

yep, its a wing/leg holder!:evil:



























http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=93084-1337-0770-KD-L&lpage=none


see if this helps!:D

[Slick fishing]

Thank you sir!!

[wapiti777]

Well the wife finally produced the battery charger for camera AFTER the pork was done and half eaten. :rolleyes:

Thanks Riva for the tips. (And Spanky over the past few months). The meat thermometer I had was not reliable, so am in the market for a decent wire model so I don't have to open the lid on my Chargriller every time...
Cooking.com wanted $50 for their model, so any good tips on where to get a good one at a good price appreciated on the east side or the web.

Also going to get a wood fire box attachment for my birthday next spring for my grill, the charcoal just isn't cutting it on flavour.

Not far from you Gina. You will probably be able to smell the smoke next time I fire up the smoker.

We just picked up another pork butt on Harper at Manzellas for $1.49/lb. Better cap on it than last week one, better looking meat too. Will probably fire up next weekend again.

Whenever I smoke again, pics promised.

[Spanky]

I bought my redi-check mav-73 at I think its called partshelf, or foodshelf. I'll check for ya when I get a minute, ordered it one day about 3 pm on line and I got it at 10 am the next day fedex.
Picked up a case of butts today for an upcomming smoke.I paid a lil less, but I did buy 8 of them instead of 1.

I'll check on the therm for ya!;)

[Spanky]

OK here is the link

http://www.partshelf.com/maet73.html

these are an absolute must have for serious BBQ folks. I have 2 of them, plus a few other single probe therms. They are wonderful and save alot of wasted trips and overcooked/undercooked meats.

[wapiti777]

Again, thanks. They have the 73 on sale too.