First time Boston Butts with Q-view

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get smoked

Fire Starter
Original poster
May 12, 2011
41
10
Huntsville, AL
This is my debut into the arena of Boston Butt smoking.  Constructive criticism is what I'm after, so sock it to me!

Woke up at 6:30 and was down at the grocery store to pick up two butts that came in with last nights shipment.  Got them back to the house and trimmed off the excess fat.  

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I've heard two schools of thought on this.  My buddy says to leave the fat on.  A lot of blogs say to trim it off.  I figured, as long as I'm injecting it moisture won't really be an issue.  I left a little of it on, patted them dry, and then doped them up with Chris Lilly's injection recipe.  It seemed like most of the injection would squirt back out, but I'm sure it's gonna help.  Maybe I'll dope em up again right before I put them on.

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I put them in the freezer for about an hour, and then into the fridge they went.  I thought they might need a boost getting back below the danger zone seeing as how I was working them for about 30 min. 

Anyone have any ideas towards what I could do with the fat I trimmed off.  Maybe I'm just really hungry (Actually, I am really hungry), but it looks a lot like bacon.  

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I'll be sure to post pictures of my progress here.  They're gonna sit in the fridge for 16 hours and then tomorrow at 4 am they'll go on. More to follow. 
 
This would be a great weekend for it.  Would you do anything with that fat I trimmed off, or would you just throw it away? 
 
Good luck!!

 I have never injected or cut the fat off so I can't help ya there..

Take a look at the pulled pork WIKI, it has lots of help and suggestions.

  Have a great day!!!

           Craig
 
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I'm also doing a Butt tomorrow....only my 2nd one....I used SoFlaQuer's finishing sauce last time, and will use it again this time.  Good stuff.

No suggestions on the fat....sorry.
 
Sorry for not getting back sooner. (Previous response was while at work, on break.)

Yes, I plan to foil at ~160, out at ~205 for pulling.  I've always had good luck with foiling my ribs (modified 3-2-1 pork spares) and I foiled the last Butt I smoked and it came out excellent.

This time, I will probably finish in the oven, after foiling....to free up space for other stuff.

Side note regarding SoFlaQuer's finishing sauce - When I made it the first time, I could not find Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning so, I used some other brand of cajun spice blend.  Later, I did end up finding Chachere's and tried it out in the sauce.  I personally don't normally use much salt, if any.  I found that stuff salty, but good.  However, I preferred the first batch I made with the other blend....but that's just me.

Good luck.
 
I want to apologize to everyone for not being able to finish my post.  I unwrapped the butts about 30 min. ago and ended up eating them on the spot.  30 min. and 18 lbs. of RAW butt later (Beat that Adam Richman!!) and now I’m on the way to the ER.  THEY SMELL AWESOME!!!!!!

Har har har

Thanks Craig.  I need all the help I can get. 

SmakinAl – That’s why I’m on this forum.  Great idea.  That’s exactly what I just did. 

So MS Smoker:  I’m using the last of a bag of Cowboy’s Hard Lump, and I just opened up a bag of Kingsford Comp. that I got at Costco.  I haven’t gotten a hold of a actual cut hard wood yet, but I’m going on Sunday to help this older gentleman clear some trees off his property from the tornados we had come through here late April.  He said he had some hickory and pecan trees that have been down for much longer than that, and I’m looking forward to getting a hold of some.  We’ll see.  Having said that, I am using chunks of hickory and apple that I soaked over night.  I have a few pieces wrapped in foil now, sitting on the coals.

Thanks my87….,  I’ve heard a lot about that finishing sauce on this forum.  I’m going to have to try that sometime.  The plan today will be to have some variety on the side.  I’ve got Sweet Baby Rays.  I’ve also got some sauce my Dad makes that is pretty freakin awesome if you ask me.  He calls it Baskerville Butt Cheese.  “Excreted from the hounds of Hell”  He’s got a Habanero plant in his back yard that he brought inside over the winter and now has 4 trillion blooms on it.  Last year was his first year growing a Habanero plant.  Long story short, it’s really good.  It’s sweet and just a little tangy, and leaves a nice warm hug on the back of your tongue.   I’m going to have that on the side as well.

Eriksp, I’ve got two butts going.  I think, since I’ve never done this before, I’m going to wrap one and not the other.  Not sure yet.  I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks Roller!  Patience is a virtue.

Now for some new pictures:

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Just got my brand new ET-732 in the mail yesterday.  Here, I am testing the accuracy of the two readings.  I've read that the meat and grill temps can sometimes be a few degrees off.

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I did not find this to be the case with my unit.  Two Thumbs Up!

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I woke up this morning and took the butts out of the fridge.  WOW, they smelled awesome.  Sorry, I think I already said that.  THEY SMELLED AWESOME!!!

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I pulled out what was left of the injection I made yesterday and hit them up a few more times each with the "juice."  

Afterwards, I used the remaining rub I had left over to pat them down once again and get them ready for the grill.  

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Pork......     Thank you God.  

I figured I'd let them sit for a spell while I got the grill ready, so outside I went.  After lighting the coals, I took a few tin pans and put them below the grates to catch the drippings.  I also poured about a cup of apple juice and maybe two cups of water into another pan next to the SFB.

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You may also notice the probe wires leading into the grill from the left side.  I ended up drilling out two hole already there to widen them for the probe wires.  

With everything in place and the grilled warmed up to about 265, I then placed the butts on the grill and am now blogging about it watching my thermo receiver; happy and content.  Can't wait for some pulled pork.  

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What do you think?  If you see something I could be doing better or have any advice/tips, sock it to me!

Thanks for your input.  More to follow....
 
3 hours into it:

Grill - 261 degrees

Meat - 129 degrees

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3:30 am came really early this morning.  Temp alarm set, time for a nap.
 
Looks Great So Far...

I would have waited to probe the meat with the Thermometers until it had cleared the 4hr 40º-140º danger zone if it were me.  On a piece of meat like a pork butt you know it is going to take over 4hrs to cook so there is no need to pierce the muscle until it clears the danger zone. 
 
This is making me hungry I have to wait until tomorrow to cook my butt.  Keep them coming you don't look like you need much advice from anyone on here.
 
good point.  I guess I got anxious to use my new toy.  That ET-732 is pretty sweet.  Just when I was about to fall asleep, it woke me up to tell me the grill was cooling.  Just added a few more briquettes.  Below is a picture at about the 4 1/2 hour mark.

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Grill - 228 degrees

Meat - 153 degrees
 
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