Second attempt at Butts

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bigwalk

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jan 2, 2011
35
10
Hey guys, 

   Having some family over for the Super bowl next weekend and gonna smoke some butt. My first attempt was a success. Bought some "Famous Daves Rib Rub" and rubbed it all over, smoked it with hickory for six hours, another seven in the oven, and pulled it. It got rave reviews. I wanted to tweak it and switch it up some and was thinking about marinating/injecting. I am plannning on an apple juice, bourbon, brown sugar, pepper, salt, etc. mixture for the marinade. Would you guys suggest letting it soak for a while or just injecting it straight in? Second, if you marinade, do you need to do a rub with it, or will that overpower us with spices? Finally, I will be doing it on Saturday, so it will need to be reheated. How would you guys suggest reheating it without losing any flavor or drying it out? Thanks for the input. This site rocks! I don't know how I would have learned anything about smoking without it.  
 
Never Inject my butts. I like to do the dry rub and smoke. Hopefully some one who injects them will answer up soon I figure I get the results I am looking for from  a dry rub so I don't mess with injecting my Pork Butts

Good Luck

Robert
 
If you want the flavor of the marinade through out the butt I would inject it. It's such a thick piece of meat the marinate would only flavor the surface. You can rub it too, it won't be overpowering, just keep in mind that you have a lot of flavors going on and don't overdo it.When you smoke it put a drip pan underneath it with beef broth, onions, & garlic if you like these flavors. Then pull it on Sat. & add the broth (de-fatted) from the drip pan to the mix. Then on Sunday reheat in a 175 degree oven until warm.
Hey guys, 

   Having some family over for the Super bowl next weekend and gonna smoke some butt. My first attempt was a success. Bought some "Famous Daves Rib Rub" and rubbed it all over, smoked it with hickory for six hours, another seven in the oven, and pulled it. It got rave reviews. I wanted to tweak it and switch it up some and was thinking about marinating/injecting. I am plannning on an apple juice, bourbon, brown sugar, pepper, salt, etc. mixture for the marinade. Would you guys suggest letting it soak for a while or just injecting it straight in? Second, if you marinade, do you need to do a rub with it, or will that overpower us with spices? Finally, I will be doing it on Saturday, so it will need to be reheated. How would you guys suggest reheating it without losing any flavor or drying it out? Thanks for the input. This site rocks! I don't know how I would have learned anything about smoking without it.  
 
Never injected a butt either, never had to. As far as reheating, IMO there's nothing better than a crockpot. Hopefully you use a finishing sauce, just throw it all in the pot on Sunday. If you need a finishing sauce, I have one of the best I think, from a guy I know from Texas and it rocks, bigtime.

Best of luck to ya, and go Packers!
icon_mrgreen.gif
 
My personal felling on marinating is that it makes the meat a bit mushy on the surface. I have injected a couple of butts but really prefer just to rub them and smoke them ALL the way to completion in the smoker.
 
I dont' inject pork butts either due to the massive amount of fat marbling in the meat.. it doesn't hurt anything, it's just not required. I think if you are wanting to get some flavor to the inside, you are going to be better off injecting it in instead of marinating.

I would go ahead and rub the outside with some good seasoning that you like.. make sure to use a rub that is not overly salty. Most store-bought stuff is just way too dependent on salt for its flavor.

At any rate, the butt is a big hunk of meat and it is almost impossible to over power it with flavor. Inject a couple of ounces per pound then use about 1/4-1/2 cup of low salt rub for the best results.

Your best flavor is going to come from catching the juices that fall from the butt while it cooks and adding it back in after you pull it. Just place a pan on a lower rack of your smoker or smoke the butt in a pan if you like.

Be sure to de-fat the juices that you catch by pouring it into a container and placing it into the freezer/fridge for a little while. The fat will harden  on top and can be scooped off leaving you with a wonderful juice to mix back into the meat and juice it up just before serving.

Folks who regularly inject pork butts may have some other tips for you.
 
Thanks for all the tips guys. Thinking I am leaning more towards injecting some. I will let everyone know how it goes. 
 
I think Jeff mentioned the important thing, easy on the salt. Especially if your injecting it can make your meat mushy. I also inject & just love it!! Do yourself & friends a solid, go to the wiki & look up soflaquers finishing sauce!! You can't believe how good it is!!
 
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