Best way to smoke a pork butt

[$moke!t]

Hey everyone. Whats the best way you smoke a pork butt?
I love to hear different techniques.

 

[zwiller]

My most recent: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/butt-halved-success.298552/

 

[Berettaclayshooter]

I fire up the smoker (offset) and go in and trim the butt leaving about 1/4" of fat cap. I'll apply my pork/ chicken rub and then put it on the pit (fat side up) once it holds steady at 275F. I'll cook until it hits 160F. , I also spray with (apple juice 4-6 oz, apple cider vinegar 4-6 oz and bourbon 2 oz) every 30 mins for a nice bark. Then wrap in butcher paper and cook until it hits 205F. Then rest for 3-4 hours, you can shake the bone out. Per competition BBQ it's over cooked, but this is what most people want I know so that's how I make it.

 

[jcam222]

Butts are very forgiving cooked at different temps as long as you hit the right finish temp to pull. Here’s my last butt smoke https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...slaw-and-hatch-chili-cheddar-biscuits.300881/

 

[Bearcarver]

Here's a couple Step by Steps:
Pulled Boston Pork Butt (230°--April 23, 2013)
Pulled Boston Pork Butt (265°--Oct 21, 2018)
Pulled Pork Finishing Sauce

Bear

 

[thirdeye]

Pork butt is the one barbecue meat I still cook at old school barbecue temperatures. So, 225° to 240°. I do inject and my favorite is 60% pork stock (from smoked neck bones preferred) and 40% Coca-Cola (Mexican Coke preferred). Salt and pepper as a minimum seasoning, but about any rub works on butts. Bear in mind that the higher the sugar, the higher the risk of your meat getting too dark. I'll look at the internal temps, but I trust the 'feel' of the meat as it tenders up.

When the color looks like this I start watching it and checking tenderness every hour. Spraying or basting any dry spots.



Once I get this color, and see the meat shrinking around the blade bone I start checking every half-hour. I'll do a wrapped finish on the pit if needed, but will always wrap for the hot box, and a 2 to 3 hour rest is ideal for me.

 

[tallbm]

Hey everyone. Whats the best way you smoke a pork butt?
I love to hear different techniques.

Hi there and welcome!

I have switched to the pork butt cheak cutt approach :P Read about it here:

Butterflied Pork Butt (or Pork Butt Butt)

Well a few weekends ago I did 2 pork butts at 17.5 pounds total. I butterflied them so that the pork butts were more like butts hahaha. The reason I did this was to: get more seasoning on the meat for flavor get more bark because there was now more surface area get more smoke flavor and...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

In short I split the pork but but keep it intact. I cut from the meat side upwards towards the fat side till i hit the bone.

I then season with my Salt, Pepper, Onion, Garlic (SPOG) + Paprika. I season all over and up in the split and i smoke it with the split spread open.

I find that this gives more bark, more flavor, better flavor, and more flavor penetration in the meet!!! I no longer have to mix seasoning into the meat when it is shreded or if I do its very little. Great amount of flavor penetration this way!

I smoke at 275F smoker temp cause pork butts dont care what temp they are cooked at. I smoke till about 205F-208F internal temp and ensure that it is super probe tender by stabbing all over with a kabob skewer cause pork butts (and briskets) are done when tender not by temp or time.

That's how I do mine!

 

[zwiller]

tallbm Just realized I learned this split/halving technique from you. Many thanks! This was HUGE for me.

 

[SmokinAl]

You can cook a butt about any way you feel like, low & slow. Hot & fast & when the IT hits 203-205. You won’t be able to tell the difference. The most important part is to use a finishing sauce. This is the one I use, but a lot of the guys use chef Jimmy J’s finishing sauce.

SoFlaQ’uers finishing sauce

​

1 Cup Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Course Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Warm the Vinegar up enough so that it disolves the Sugar well. Then add the remaining ingredients.

I use it in one of those clear Ketchup bottles you can get from Wally World for about $0.99. Snip a little bit larger hole out of the spout with a pair of scissors. Once all your ingredients are mixed together, put your finger over the top, and shake vigorously.

Randomly squirt this over warm freshly pulled Pork, then kind of mix it up with gloved hands. This adds very little heat (despite the Red Pepper) and mellows out the stronger, gamier parts of the Shoulder. The Vinegar also helps break it down even more for some REAL juiicy pork.

Personally, I eat it just like that, but your guests can add whatever "Q sauce they prefer once it's on their plates or bun!

Good luck,
Al

 

[noboundaries]

Butts are a GREAT meat to experiment with. Look up regional techniques and cultural styles. Best? They are all good in their own way, so it's a matter of personal taste.

The key is learning the feel for when they are done. Internal temp is a guide, but it can fool ya. My last two butts, smoked together on the same rack, took 20.5 hours and had final ITs of 192F and 199F. Juicy and tender. Often they only take 15-18 hours and have ITs north of 200F before they probe tender. Learning the feel is key, and know that it is just about impossible to overcook a butt. Dry and tough is undercooked, not overcooked.