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Getting the Most Flavor Out of My Butt..

MaskedMarvel
MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,136
edited February 2012 in EggHead Forum
Greetings friends -

I can get super cheap butts through my work, and will probably start with a traditional low and slow for the first one on my Egg, however...

When we cook them at work I've found they have FANTASTIC taste around the edges, but are almost boring inside.  A friend said that's why you drag each piece through sauce.  

I've got lots of exp with beef brisket, and would rather every piece be tasty without having to sauce them up too much.  I understand this is why the burnt ends ("dark meat?") get chopped up into the rest?

So - I've decided to try a little experiment.  What if I slice the butt into three hunks and smoke them that way?  Maybe three super sized pork steaks?  Maybe an elaborate three tier self basting rig that exposed as much surface area to the smoke and rubs as possible?  

Or - can I expect a flavorful butt the traditional way, thru and thru?

Whaddya think?
8-Damien

Large BGE and Medium BGE
36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


Comments

  • SteveWPBFL
    SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
    You're sort of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Butt if it's lots of bark you want then JUST DO IT! Would like to know how it turns out. It can't be bad!
  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873
    MaskedMarvel-
    I recently cut a 10 pound shoulder in half for the same reason. Wanted more area for bark. They turned out great. Only weird thing was that the cooking times were significantly different. Where do you work in Greensboro? I'm in Winston but lived there for 5 years.
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC 
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
     heres some ways to get more flavor

    cut all the fat off the butt before the rub, more rub sticks and more bark

    use the picnic shoulder, darker meat and a stronger flavor than the butt end of the shoulder, has more gristle fat to remove when pulling but still works fine

    something i havent ever seen here posted, everyone wants bone in butts, get a boneless one, splay it open in one piece and cook it spread out, all the nooks and crannies hold more rub, you can also pour some nc vinegar sauce in those cranies towards the end of the cook for even more flavor. this cook isnt as uniform as a whole butt cook texture wise but i like some chewey dry bark in my pull

    injections, everyone wants to inject the butt before the cook and rest it in the fridge, this is messy, adds to prep time, too much work, injection mix all over the place, and not as much stays in the butt.  inject the butt as it passes the plateau stage,internal temp  175 to 180 is good, inject it in the self cleaning egg, the butt takes more injection mix at this time, ill add the rub im using to the injection mix, i use a big injecter and a simple vinegar sauce, see the ederward recipe on the whiz site.

    i like to thin a little sauce with cider vinegar or vinegar sauce and mix that into the pull before serving and have the thicker sauce on the side for those that want it
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873
    get a boneless one, splay it open in one piece and cook it spread out,
    That's a very interesting idea. I may give that a try. Much shorter cook I would imagine.
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC 
  • tgkleman
    tgkleman Posts: 216
    I have tried smoking a smaller butt before, and they didn't turn out as juicy as an 8 pounder.  You might be giving up juiciness for more bark
  • joe@bge
    joe@bge Posts: 394
    I have tried injecting before the cook and I agree with fishless...its a mess and I don't really see the value or taste in the end product, but the idea of injecting during the plateau is definitely an interesting idea.  going to have to try that next time.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162

    No claim to originality but read this a few months back and it works-for the "pre-cook" injections; wrap the hunk of meat in a cling/saran wrap cover and inject through the wrap.  Keeps the injection from going where no one wants to do the clean-up.  As an aside, I prefer the plateau injections for the best flavor.

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • MaskedMarvel-
    I recently cut a 10 pound shoulder in half for the same reason. Wanted more area for bark. They turned out great. Only weird thing was that the cooking times were significantly different. Where do you work in Greensboro? I'm in Winston but lived there for 5 years.
    Whoops - sorry I missed this earlier..

    I work at 1618 Seafood Grille on Friendly.


    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873
    1618 is my wife's favorite restaurant. We still drive over to eat there on occasion. We wore it out when we lived there. GREAT spot.
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC