Second week, butt time question

Unknown

Well I've cooked everything in the freezer and sent the Misses to the store for a pork butt. I wanted to practice one before Christmas (yeah right!)
Question: While I was in Mobile this week on buisness I couldn't resist finding a store that sold eggs. Found one and had to have an arm load of assessories, including a plate setter. The Manager said he places the setter center side down and puts his butts right on the grill with no drip pan(the mess didn't seem to bother him.) Then cooks at 250 to 300 until done, about 12 to 14 hours for an 8# butt. Sound OK??

stike

ronbeaux,
if you do that, make sure the butt's up on a rack, and two cents worth of HD foil will keep cleanup simple. put that under the rack.
try for 250....[p]i dunno, others have different thoughts, but 300 sounds a little too high.[p]plan on 2 to 2.5 hours a pound, and feel free to jack the temps a notch (up to your 300) after the plateau.

Unknown

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<p />stike,
This is how I plan to start. I'll hold 250 as you say.

Sandbagger

ronbeaux, Congrats on cleaning out the freezer. It sounds to me like you got the egg bug, seak and you shall find the egg stores. [p]On the how to's, this is a perfect place to hang out. I'm no butt expert but from the posts, it seems butts are an inexact science. Some butts cook 12 hours; others cook 20+ hour. Some folks like boneless, others bone-in. Some inject the butt, some don't. Some trim the fat, some don't. Some like the Cowboys, some the Redskins (Oooppps)! Anyway, there seems one common thread, if the butt gets done early, put it in a cooler to rest and it will only get better.[p]Cook a couple, keeps some notes and after a while you will be providing great advice. Happy Holidays, Tom

Unknown

<p />ronbeaux,
maby this will work

katman

ronbeaux,
That will work. I usually put a disposable pan on the platesetter under the butt. Put some foil in the pan overhang the sides so it catches the juices. No mess on the platesetter and you can reuse the pan cause it stays clean. Toss the foil. Just my way. Some people don't mind the mess.

sprinter

ronbeaux,[p]Be careful of that indirect setup. I would recommend that you put a drip pan on the inverted plate setter and have some liquid in it. Mess or no mess, the main reason is that the plate setter sits directly above the fire and the radiant heat from the plate setter will cook the bottom of the butt VERY quickly and cause it to dry out. Put a drip pan with some water in it to keep that direct heat from hitting the bottom of the butt and you dont have this problem. That plate setter gets HOT and that radiant heat will realy dry things out, especialy with the butt sitting above it for nearly 10 or more hours. Just my two pennies.[p]Troy

BrianP

ronbeaux,
I usually set my Guru at 225. I would strongly recommend you placing a drip pan on that place setter. Your butts will shed a lot of fat and you'll want to catch it. Also, place whatever you use to catch the fat on a spacer of some sort. If you lay it flat on the plate setter, the fat will burn onto the pan and you'll never get it clean. If you use an aluminum pan, you can simply throw it out.[p]Brian

ronbeaux

katman,
OK, so far it's 250, drip pan(with or without liquid in it), foil for easy cleanup, OK to jack it up after the plateau, put in cooler if it's not quite there, and congratulations on cleaning out my freezer. Thanks guys! I think I'm ready, just going to send the Misses back to the store for beer.

Chubby

Sandbagger,[p]"I'm no butt expert"....??[p]I'm here to tell you, I've seen this man in action and he's just waaaaay to modest!![p]If there's anyone on this board who knows butts...It's "ShaggerBagger"!![p]Chubby

stike

ronbeaux,
hell
that, and ifya teach the missus how to cook the butt, you won't haxta do a damn fing