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First time Butt roast- advice please

Kailas
Kailas Posts: 146
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Ok, my DigiQ DX II is set to arrive this evening, so I'm planning on breaking it in on a butt roast. My wife and I purchased a large boneless butt roast from Costco a while back and she cut it in thirds. I know.... not the best idea, but since this is my first try I'm going to take the 2 that are left and roast them on the BGE.

What I need is a good recipe and prep (marinade, rub, etc) and cooking instructions.

It took me 4 tries to get my Baby Back ribs perfect, and I'd like to cut my learning curve down on this.

Anyone have some good ideas?

Comments

  • Scottborasjr
    Scottborasjr Posts: 3,494
    There are probably as many answers to this question as there are people who own smokers/eggs/grills. What kind of result are you looking for? Pulled pork, Chopped pork, sliced pork, etc? How big are the remaining pieces of meat? What kind of flavor are you looking for, BBQ, oven roasted, oriental, spicy, etc.
    I raise my kids, cook and golf.  When work gets in the way I'm pissed, I'm pissed off 48 weeks a year.
    Inbetween Iowa and Colorado, not close to anything remotely entertaining outside of football season. 
  • Kailas
    Kailas Posts: 146
    Scottborasjr wrote:
    There are probably as many answers to this question as there are people who own smokers/eggs/grills. What kind of result are you looking for? Pulled pork, Chopped pork, sliced pork, etc? How big are the remaining pieces of meat? What kind of flavor are you looking for, BBQ, oven roasted, oriental, spicy, etc.

    Good questions!

    Looking to do a BBQ Pulled Pork. Smoked, etc.
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    First off, don't over-think the butt cook. Figure about 1.5 hrs per pound of cook time with dome at 250°.

    Smother the butt(s) with mustard or EVOO then liberally apply your favorite rub.

    Light the egg in 2 or 3 places and make sure you don't overshoot the cook temperature of 250°.

    When the temperature is close to 200° hook up the DigiQ2 (q2). If you have a 10cmf blower close the slider down to 1/4 - 1/3 open. Install the blower in the lower vent. Press the bracket in when closing the screen over the housing as the housing may end up tearing some of the screen off of the screen frame.

    Make sure the screen & vent door is over the bracket, don't worry about the foil tape.

    Set your q2 temperatures, I like the dome open feature 'on', ramp 'off', alarms 'off', display scroll 'on'.

    Let the q2 do the work and get some sleep. When the meat gets close to done temperature 195° - 200° check for the meat being tender.

    When the meat is done foil, wrap and let the meat rest.

    Pulled pork is one of the easiest cooks on the egg.

    {edit} load the lump close tot he top of the fire ring and remember to add your favorite flavor wood. I like cherry, apple, hickory, Jack Daniels, grape vine and several others. I usually don't mix the woods.

    GG
  • GeorgiaBorn
    GeorgiaBorn Posts: 178
    Here is the recipe I always use for butts.

    Boston Butt-Pulled Pork

    7-8lb Boston Butt
    Yellow mustard
    Marinade for injection
    Rub

    Overnight
    -Rinse butt and pat dry
    -Inject butt
    -Rub with yellow mustard
    -Cover with rub
    -Refrigerate.

    Remove butts from fridge 30 minutes before cooking
    Put large pieces of charcoal on bottom of fire box
    Fill rest of fire box with more charcoal
    Light charcoal in center and heat BGE to 250 degrees dome temp
    Spread wood chunks over the entire surface area of the coals
    Insert plate setter, legs up
    Place drip pan with water, then place grate
    Put butts on grate.
    Insert temp probe in thickest part of one of the butts, away from bone
    Close lid and maintain 250 degrees dome temp
    Remove when internal temps reach 190-195
    Let rest for 1-2 hours hour wrapped in foil, towel and in cooler
    Remove from cooler and pull

    Total time for butt: 2 hours per pound
  • GeorgiaBorn
    GeorgiaBorn Posts: 178
    Here is the recipe I always use for butts.

    Boston Butt-Pulled Pork

    7-8lb Boston Butt
    Yellow mustard
    Marinade for injection
    Rub

    Overnight
    -Rinse butt and pat dry
    -Inject butt
    -Rub with yellow mustard
    -Cover with rub
    -Refrigerate.

    Remove butts from fridge 30 minutes before cooking
    Put large pieces of charcoal on bottom of fire box
    Fill rest of fire box with more charcoal
    Light charcoal in center and heat BGE to 250 degrees dome temp
    Spread wood chunks over the entire surface area of the coals
    Insert plate setter, legs up
    Place drip pan with water, then place grate
    Put butts on grate.
    Insert temp probe in thickest part of one of the butts, away from bone
    Close lid and maintain 250 degrees dome temp
    Remove when internal temps reach 190-195
    Let rest for 1-2 hours hour wrapped in foil, towel and in cooler
    Remove from cooler and pull

    Total time for butt: 2 hours per pound
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Mustard is for hot dogs!! :laugh:

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,671
    if you want to cut the learning curve down go buy a 7 to 8 pounder and cook it 250 inderect til the internal reaches 195 to 200 degrees :laugh: right now you have 3 pieces weighing about 2.5 pounds thats going to shrink about 40 percent to about a pound and a half, and half of that will be dry bark, i wouldnt waste the lump
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Kailas
    Kailas Posts: 146
    fishlessman wrote:
    if you want to cut the learning curve down go buy a 7 to 8 pounder and cook it 250 inderect til the internal reaches 195 to 200 degrees :laugh: right now you have 3 pieces weighing about 2.5 pounds thats going to shrink about 40 percent to about a pound and a half, and half of that will be dry bark, i wouldnt waste the lump

    That is exactly what I wanted to know. Sigh... any ideas on what I can do with those "scraps"?
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,671
    some do cook small butts but i believe they are foiling to keep it moist and thats not what i would want for real pulled pork
    try these
    http://olddavespo-farm.blogspot.com/2009/03/pork-steaks.html
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Here's my method.

    Fill the firebox with lump, bury a few hickory chunks here and there and light in 2-3 places.

    Add platesetter, legs up, place drip pan on platesetter (some put spacers under the drip pan, but I never could see the point). Add cooking grid (no other rack needed).

    Leave dome and bottom vent open for 5 minutes or so.

    Close dome and add daisy wheel, fully closed except petals open about a toothpick's width. Make sure they are ALL open that much.

    Install Guru set for 250° pit temp. Clip grid temp probe to the stock thermo probe in the dome. If your dome thermo has been calibrated, the temps should match. Plug in both meat and grid probes to Guru before connecting to power.

    Once it gets to temp, let it burn for 30-45 minutes before adding meat. This is when I apply rub. I never rub in advance. And no mustard needed.

    I have had great luck with the following...

    Pork Butt Rub – Eastern North Carolina Style

    1 Tbls salt
    1 Tbls sugar
    1 Tbls brown sugar
    1 Tbls ground cumin
    1 Tbls chili powder
    1 Tbls cracked black pepper
    1 Tbls paprika
    1 tspn cayenne pepper


    Vinegar Sauce - traditional Eastern NC Style

    1 ½ cups white vinegar
    1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
    1 ½ tbls sugar
    1 ½ tbls red pepper flakes
    1 ½ tbls bottled hot pepper sauce
    1 ½ tbls cayenne pepper (can use less… or none)
    Salt and pepper to taste

    Alternative sauce (thicker)

    1 cup apple cider vinegar
    1 cup ketchup
    3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
    1 tablespoon yellow mustard
    1 tablespoon molasses
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
    In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk well to dissolve the sugar.

    Good luck!!

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • Kailas
    Kailas Posts: 146
    fishlessman wrote:
    some do cook small butts but i believe they are foiling to keep it moist and thats not what i would want for real pulled pork
    try these
    http://olddavespo-farm.blogspot.com/2009/03/pork-steaks.html

    The wife and I love pork steaks! I mean LOVE!

    I will try those some time, just wanted to do pulled pork this weekend.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,671
    just go get a bigger butt. simple cook, inderect 250 dome til 195/200 internal. now if you want the long version its hard to beat elderwards writeup, just make a note in the cooking section, 250 dome/ 235 grill level depending on how your monitoring temps. make both sauces, splash some vinegar sauce in when pulling, add the other sauce to the sandwich. my only complaint with the writeup is the slaw, no yankee can eat that much sugar :laugh: you could cut the sugar from 2 cups back to 2 tablespoons

    http://www.nakedwhiz.com/elder.htm
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    haha - the ONLY time I ever eat slaw is on a butt sandwich - and the only kind I like is from KFC!! If I'm feeling energetic, I will make my own from a copycat recipe. It only has 1/3 cup of sugar per head of cabbage. Plus I know what ELSE is in it!

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    I agree that cutting the pieces down to the thickness of a pork steak will make a good meal.

    If you still want to try for pulled pork, try tightly tieing the pieces back up. It will not work quite as well as un-cut, but if you can re-assemble the mass, that will slow the cooking way down, and may let the lump go long enough that it breaks down without drying out.
  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
    I would cut cut into smaller pieces, say about 1"cubes, then cook in a skillet.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,671
    try the 2 cup sugar slaw :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: i like a vinegar slaw on the side, homemade boston baked on the pull sandwich :whistle: :laugh:
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    I like sweet tea, (pretty sure they make it by filling a glass with sugar and pouring the tea in until it won't take any more), but I'll pass on the cole slaw. :)

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
    That will work if the tea is hot. If cold, you will have unsweet tea with a layer of sugar in the bottom of the glass. ;)
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    Kailas,, here's a link to when I had a couple of butts cut into 2 pound country ribs. They came out good.

    http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=471647&catid=1
  • Kailas
    Kailas Posts: 146
    Update:

    Picked up a 7.7 lb boston butt. Going to slow cook this instead.

    I will let everyone know how it turns out. Should be a good exercise for the DigiQ and my patience.