Epilogue: using Mickey's salt trick for corralling butt grease

RRP

This late morning butt #9 went on my egg. For the last 6 butts this week I have used coarse kosher salt sprinkled on a foil covered shallow Hefty pizza pan to corral the heavy grease these butts have been releasing. I know there was some discussion earlier this week when I posted a question about this method and maybe the resident experts explained why this could or could not work, all I know is it worked for me and will remain one of my ongoing methods! While it doesn't solidify all the grease it makes what little is left very manageable. BTW I have changed out after each butt cook. Here's a picture for proof though not a very pretty picture! 

Logger

Interesting... I'm going to try this on my next one.  
Thanks!

RRP

Logger said:

Interesting... I'm going to try this on my next one.  
Thanks!

I experimented with the amount of salt and I'm sure the more the better, but I'm just Scotch enough that a nice consistent pattern of scattered kosher works well enough to be able to remove the dip pan safely for disposal of the remaining grease. BTW that blacken part is crusty & crackling hard!

fishlessman

i usually forget to remove that pan and get greeted by it during the next cook

Jstroke

I did not understand from the original post what you were trying to accomplish with the salt. I thought the salt was creating the airgap underneath the pan. This method you are illustrating makes sense. I will be sure to try this for the eggfest coming up

nolaegghead

I have studied this exhaustively and have concluded that it makes your grease very salty.

RRP

Jstroke said:

This method you are illustrating makes sense. I will be sure to try this for the eggfest coming up

You're doing a butt for an eggfest? Surely you must mean like taking it partially cooked and finishing and pulling there. huh?

Jupiter Jim

nolaegghead said:

I have studied this exhaustively and have concluded that it makes your grease very salty.

I have thought for some time now that you were very smart! I was right.........

theyolksonyou

fishlessman said:

i usually forget to remove that pan and get greeted by it during the next cook

Me too. Lots of alcohol leads to late clean up. Or alternatively, early clean up. 

Hotch

nolaegghead said:

I have studied this exhaustively and have concluded that it makes your grease very salty.

I have also studied this exhaustively and have concluded that it makes your salt very greasy.

Focker

Now that looks like something I might actually try a bite of.  I had a fork ready for a recent butt cook, and had to abort strictly going by smell and visual.  I'm not that stupid.

What's even more concerning are the cats letting all this grease run amok into their fire.  Yeah, no thanks.
May give this a try next time Ron.  Thanks

Legume

About how many tablespoons?  Will any kind of salt work?

RRP

Legume said:

About how many tablespoons?  Will any kind of salt work?

All these times I just scattered coarse kosher salt around the pan. Look back at my picture first posted in this thread today and note the area between 2:00 and 3:00 and you will see salt where no grease hit. I looked back for one of Mickey's pictures and it appears he puts down a thick solid bed, unlike what I chose to do.

RRP

Focker said:

Now that looks like something I might actually try a bite of.  I had a fork ready for a recent butt cook, and had to abort strictly going by smell and visual.  I'm not that stupid.

What's even more concerning are the cats letting all this grease run amok into their fire.  Yeah, no thanks.
May give this a try next time Ron.  Thanks

Thanks for having my back on this, Brandon! Just like plenty of other things here some people like them and some people poo-poo. To each his own I still say, but I know this trick works for me and I do thank @Mickey for the idea! BTW I'm sure a bed of sand also would work.

Focker

RRP said:

Focker said:

Now that looks like something I might actually try a bite of.  I had a fork ready for a recent butt cook, and had to abort strictly going by smell and visual.  I'm not that stupid.

What's even more concerning are the cats letting all this grease run amok into their fire.  Yeah, no thanks.
May give this a try next time Ron.  Thanks

Thanks for having my back on this, Brandon! Just like plenty of other things here some people like them and some people poo-poo. To each his own I still say, but I know this trick works for me and I do thank @Mickey for the idea! BTW I'm sure a bed of sand also would work.

Yes it would, a nice heat sink to run a little hotter too.

HeavyG

So...the whole point of this salt exercise is to just keep the grease from sloshing around so it is not as likely to spill when getting the drip pan out of the grill???

Lit

Thanks for starting a thread to let us know this works. Even though Mickey has already posted pics of it working I am glad you started a thread just to make sure we know it works. As always an amazing post Ron.

Lit

HeavyG said:

So...the whole point of this salt exercise is to just keep the grease from sloshing around so it is not as likely to spill when getting the drip pan out of the grill???

I agree not really sure the point. Just an air gap works fine

Ozzie_Isaac

Hotch said:

nolaegghead said:

I have studied this exhaustively and have concluded that it makes your grease very salty.

I have also studied this exhaustively and have concluded that it makes your salt very greasy.

Make pork flavored salt for seasoning.  I'm going to be rich!!

RRP

HeavyG said:

So...the whole point of this salt exercise is to just keep the grease from sloshing around so it is not as likely to spill when getting the drip pan out of the grill???

I guess. Turned out I egged 9 butts this week for a neighborhood picnic on Sunday. I bought all on sale at $.89 a pound and soon discovered why those piggies were sold so cheaply - they were the fatest butt I have ever egged in spite of timing a pound or more off each butt. The meat was more than just "marbleized" 3 of the butts had hard snarled impossible fist size clumps. Yes they were FAT! So finding that @Mickey's solution worked for me to control the   the excessive pools and puddles of fat then I was happy. Why my posting of this p*ssed off a dude here is no surprise to me.