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Porkulus, brined pork butt madness.

Mud Pig
Mud Pig Posts: 489
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Its going to be a good weekend. I have two 9 pound pork butts brining in my fridge as of last night. Going to pull them out on Friday night, giving them 48 hours in an Asian inspired brine. This is my first attempt at pork butt so I'm going all out on it. Hopefully it comes off.


Here are the ingredients to the brine. 1 gallon of water, 6 cups of soy sauce, a cup of honey, a cup of molassas, half cup salt, 1 cup white sugar. Bring to a boil and then rapidly cool with abiout 5 pounds of ice. This further dilutes the brine as well.
IMG00087-20101229-2014.jpg

Here are my pork butts in the brine. Each one of them is about 9 pounds. Notice the stab marks from my knife all over the butts, lets the brine penetrate better.
IMG00088-20101229-2045.jpg

Anyone have any tips on when to start these? I'd like to be feeding my friends at about 7PM on Saturday. I was thinking of starting these around 8PM on Friday night and letting them go all night.

How long do you figure each butt will take to cook?

Comments

  • crghc98
    crghc98 Posts: 1,006
    not sure how the brining will affect it but you are looking at about 12-18 hours at 250...

    I would start them around midnight, if they are done at 12pm double wrap in a aluminum foil and into a warm cooler insulated with towels...pull around 5pm and keep warm in a 200 degree oven until 7...


    or chance it a little more, start later, maybe 2am and cook. If not done by 3pm ramp up temp to get done at 5pm...about two hours of rest time is ideal I think....
  • 2Fategghead
    2Fategghead Posts: 9,624
    I am intrested in your cook. I think you have a 12 hour cook with out the brine. With the brine the cook may go faster. I will be intrested what others say. Tim :P
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    Hey Mud Pig,

    If you plan to cook at 250 dome temp then I believe the consensus is 1.5-2 hours per pound. Cooking 2 vs 1 shouldn't matter (only affect is it might take the egg a little longer to come back up to temp after adding the cold meat). I think you are looking at upwards of 18 hours of cook time. You can put the butts in foil, wrap in beach towels, and put in a cooler to keep them warm for up to 4 hours or so. If it were me, I would plan on putting the butts on around 11 pm- midnight. They should finish a little early, and you can hold them in the cooler until ready to pull and serve.

    I'm sure they will turn out great. The brine sounds very interesting. Happy New Year.

    Edit:
    I need to start typing faster. Just once I want to be the first to answer! ;P.

    Another thought occurred to me after I clicked submit and saw your stab marks :). The holes in the meat might speed up your cooking time. Perhaps err on the "short side" a little more. Maybe 1 AM ish. You can always bump up the temp a little if you need to get it finished faster.


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • Mud Pig
    Mud Pig Posts: 489
    Thanks for the tips guys. We'll see how the brine does on the meat, but I got the recipe based on some research on great pulled pork so I think it will turn out great.

    Lets hope that the cook does it justice. I will post the cook next week.
  • Mud Pig
    Mud Pig Posts: 489
    That sounds like a good plan. I think I will go with the midnight cook time, hopefully I won't be too drunk on New Years Eve to start the egg up properly.
  • EAT
    EAT Posts: 39
    I have done 9lb butts at 200-220 and also at 250.
    When at 250 it has been as fast as 14 hrs to reach 190-195 internal. And 20+ when at 200.
    Post some pics when they are donde !!
    And let us know your comments on flavor, brined vs non-brined !!
    Thanks !!
    Enrique
  • Mud Pig, I would suspect it will take about 1.5 to 2 hours per pound and you can foil wrap them swaddle in a big towel and place them in a cooler for about 4 hours before pulling. The brine sounds interesting. Are you going to serve it with some Asian slaw?

    Have a Happy New Years!
  • Mud Pig
    Mud Pig Posts: 489
    I might have to whip up some Asian slaw for them, would add a nice crunch to the sandwiches. I think the brine will really be the star of the show.
  • I see a lot of 18 hours estimates, which surprises me. I always do 8 pound bone-in butts at 250 dome temp in less than 14. I've done 5 so far and not one has taken longer than 14 actually.
  • Mud Pig
    Mud Pig Posts: 489
    Thanks for the input. I think what I'm going to do is start it around 1AM on Saturday morning and then hopefully it will be done around 3PM. That way I can foil and wrap them and then pull them at 7PM for my guests.
  • 2Fategghead
    2Fategghead Posts: 9,624
    That may be the perfect plan. I'm sure it will all go well. Tim :)
  • crghc98
    crghc98 Posts: 1,006
    sounds good...
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    Hey Mud Pig,

    How did the brined butts turn out? What was your cook time?


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg.