# No Fat Cap on my Pork Butt



## chief osceola (Feb 9, 2013)

Doing my first pork butt today and worried about no fat cap on it.  I bought it ay my local butcher shop that has awesome meats and noticed no fat cap on it.  I'm worried it may come out dry with no cap to self-baste it.  Thoughts?  I'll post pics an updates later.


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## smoking b (Feb 9, 2013)

No cap at all? Most butts have enough internal fat to keep it plenty moist. Some people trim most of the fat cap off regardless & either throw it out or save it for sausages. I did one once that hardly had any fat on it & didn't have any problems with it drying out - I'd say you will be fine with yours...


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## bama bbq (Feb 9, 2013)

I agree.  The butcher just saved you the time and effort of trimming the fat cap off.  There's plenty of fat in a butt.


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## kathrynn (Feb 9, 2013)

Good Luck and show q-views!

Kat


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## chief osceola (Feb 9, 2013)

Thanks for the replies, put me at ease!  Put it in smoker right at 10a.  Will definitely post pics when it's done.  I also plan on making some BDSE to finish it off.


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## s2k9k (Feb 9, 2013)

I always lean trim my butts for pulled pork Ever since I started following this method I have made the best PP I have ever made:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...t-dry-smoke-chamber-q-view-method#post_830635


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## damon555 (Feb 9, 2013)

Smoking B said:


> No cap at all? Most butts have enough internal fat to keep it plenty moist. Some people trim most of the fat cap off regardless & either throw it out or save it for sausages. I did one once that hardly had any fat on it & didn't have any problems with it drying out - I'd say you will be fine with yours...


I'm with Smoking B on this one. I was watching an episode of Good Eats (Alton Brown's cooking show) and he said that the fat cap isn't as responsible for the tenderness of the meat as the internal marbling. It might help a little but the primary source is internal. Now, I'm not sure how true that is but he seems to have a pretty good grasp on some of the science involved in various cooking and food preparation techniques.


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## pgsmoker64 (Feb 9, 2013)

Chief Osceola said:


> Thanks for the replies, put me at ease!  Put it in smoker right at 10a.  Will definitely post pics when it's done.  I also plan on making some BDSE to finish it off.


These folks are steering you in the right direction Chief!  If your butcher has a reputation of supplying good meats then he just saved you the trouble of trimming the fat cap.  I bet if you take a good look at that butt you will find some awesome marbling throughout the meat!

Hey, glad to hear you are going to try out my BDSE sauce, you won't be sorry.  Here is the spice mix I use for the rub portion - I mix up a batch and keep it around until I've exhausted the supply during sauce making.

8 ounces of Paprika

4 ounces of white sugar

2 tablespoons of granulated onion

2 tablespoons of granulated garlic

When I add the rub mix I use a big tablespoon from the silverware drawer and add it by the heaping spoonfuls!

Good Luck and Get Smokin'

Bill


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