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Never tried the low slo Butt cook, but....

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eggo
eggo Posts: 492
edited February 2012 in EggHead Forum
Lots of butts I have bought from various fund raisers have turned out very greasy. Wondering if you pro butters do a lot of trimming before putting it on. Any suggestions for prepping the butt? Have researched the cooking process but haven't seen anything on the meat prep. 
Eggo in N. MS
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
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    IMHO, fat that is on the outside of the butt will stay on the outside of the butt, and drip down into your drip pan as the cook proceeds.  When I pull the butt, I remove anything that isn't meat.  What's left is what it is.
    The Naked Whiz
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    Just out of curiosity, are the fund raisers selling a whole butt?
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  • eggo
    eggo Posts: 492
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    @gdenby
    Don't rightly know if they are whole butts. Mostly I buy from first responders such as volunteer firefighters and sometimes churches.
    Eggo in N. MS
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  • eggo
    eggo Posts: 492
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    IMHO, fat that is on the outside of the butt will stay on the outside of the butt, and drip down into your drip pan as the cook proceeds.  When I pull the butt, I remove anything that isn't meat.  What's left is what it is.
    This what I wanted to know. I think the butts I have bought were not trimmed after cooking.
    Eggo in N. MS
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  • Mike8it
    Mike8it Posts: 468
    edited February 2012
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    A lot of charitable organizations and restaurants will chop everything leading to a greasy and gristley (may have made a new word up) pork experience. Always better to smoke 'em yourself. Anybody here leave the money muscle in tact?
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  • eggo
    eggo Posts: 492
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    @Mike8it: The butts I bought were still wrapped in foil so I guess they were whole butts, they all had a lot of fat and were greasy. About to undertake my first butt smoke and just trying to avoid a bad experience.
    Eggo in N. MS
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,748
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    the ones i get are pretty much trimmed, no fat cap. i like more bark and not having the fat cap on helps. i think it depends what your looking for with the final outcome, i like some crunch parts with rub stuck to it and the fat washes off some of the flavor of the rub you put on it
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Mike8it
    Mike8it Posts: 468
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    I do not trim mine as I find that the bigger the fat cap the better. I like a lot of bark on my butt and do not find that trimming the cap is necessary. You can certainly control how much fat goes into your Q when you pull it. I find mine to be absolutely delicious and not greasy at all. Once you start pulling the pork you will see what meat to go after. Good luck with your cook and it is a very easy cook to pull off as the butt is very forgiving.
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    I guess what I was asking was that you were buying large pieces, not something that was already pulled.

    As NW says above, any fat left in the butt should be removed before pulling. If that is done, greasiness should be at a minimum. Myself, I did one butt that I had wrapped in foil, and removed that and let it cool. The side of the butt that was left sitting in the rendered fat and juices was not pleasant. I'm supposing the fundraisers may have been making lots of butts, and holding them.

    Anyway, no, having a lot of fat on the outside seems to be a good thing. At the end, the pulled meat should be succulent, and lip smacking, not greasy.
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  • Mike8it
    Mike8it Posts: 468
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    Also you can pull the fat cap off after cooking and throw it back on the grill for some impromptu crackling!!!!
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    Ooops, forgot to to hit the post button. See you have responded with:

    "The butts I bought were still wrapped in foil so I guess they were whole butts, they all had a lot of fat and were greasy.."

    That is my experience with my own when I let them cool before pulling.

    Assuming you keep the fire going and steady, butts turn out really good. They will withstand periods of high heat, and not dry out with long periods of low heat.


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  • paulheels
    paulheels Posts: 457
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    dont trim a butt or shoulder or picnic before cooking.  Separate all that out when pulling.



    Paul
    thebearditspeaks.com. Go there. I write it.
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  • hogaholic
    hogaholic Posts: 225
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    I don't trim but I do cook the but fat cap down.  That goes against conventional wisdom, I know, but the part of the meat that sits on the grid becomes unusable after 15-20 hours of sitting there during the cook.  Putting the fat cap down takes care of the part of the butt I don't want.  As you pull the meat just be judicious and throw away the fat as you go.
    Jackson, Tennessee. VFL (Vol for Life)
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