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1st butt

Richtermedic
Richtermedic Posts: 49
edited June 2012 in EggHead Forum
Just lot the fire for my first butt. It's an 8 pound bone in. Injected it with apple cider vinegar and have both hickory chunk (4) and chips in.

Comments

  • BYS1981
    BYS1981 Posts: 2,533
    Cool. I want to do a comparison of 2 butts at once, injected and not injected to compare them. Have fun!
  • Temp climbing very slow tonight? Extra lump or hickory chunks and chips?
  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,136
    Take pics!
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


  • Woke up this morning and checked temp. Had fallen to 200. DW initially won't budge. Took it off and pushed a little and it loosened right up. Opened up the bottom vent and got some air moving and temp came up no problems. I checked temp of meat and it is right around 140. Not bad for 6-7 hours in I guess. It's already smelling great and I can't wait til tonight to eat. Had trouble sleeping b/c worried about temp. This is the first overnighter. Still learning how to control temp. Starting to think more and more about an iGrill.
  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873
    Get a maverick. It will start beeping if the temp gets out of range. No more sleeping problems.
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC 
  • michigan_jason
    michigan_jason Posts: 1,346
    Get a bbq guru digiq and really have no sleeping problems.



    "Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity, and are able to turn both to their advantage."

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,167
    @ Richtermedic-I'm sure you have read many threads here about pork butts-but to mention a couple of key points on this journey-patience is the watchword, Suspect you are cooking at around 260*F (+/-) on the dome so you should plan for 2 hrs/# to get to the finish-line.  FTC if done early-and as someone has said before-if you are lookin, you're not cookin.  Enjoy the journey.  Pork is very forgiving and will turn out great.
    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.
  • Great suggestions. Meat went into the egg at about 11 last night so I'm figurin about 3-4 o'clock today. I did that one temp check but other than that have actually done well to resist the urge to look. Such a new way of doing things that it is hard to get used to not checkin on it constantly.

    I used Kroger brand pork rub. Never used it before. Smells good though so we will see how it turns out.

    I'm maintaining a dome temp of about 270 at this point. All the smoke has stopped from the daisy wheel. Not sure if that means the hickory is gone or what. Gonna start making some secret recipe sauce pretty soon. Wife is still reluctant to invite anyone over. She wants to see if this turns out ok first. Fine by me. More pulled pork!
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,167
    Forgot to mention that when you hit the stall/plateau (somewhere around 160) don't be surprised if the temp actually drops-it can take several hours to get through the stall.  There can be another minor stall at around 190 or so but that one is much more random. 
    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.
  • It will turn out great! It is a very forgiving piece of meat.  Invite the friends over and enjoy a few beers, they will love it.  Trust me Ive done many Butts and some were better than others but my friends never gave a bad review and ate everything in site.  Have fun and enjoy.
  • Anyone have suggestions on how many people one will feed per pound? The meat guy said they recommend one pound per person. Seems like it would feed more. Thoughts?
  • BYS1981
    BYS1981 Posts: 2,533
    1/2lb per person is a better ratio imo. Especially with sides and stuff. 1lb of meat is A LOT, for reference most burger joints that make a "big" burger are 1/3lb at precooked weight. I would guess a 1/3rd burger cooks down closer to 1/4th.
  • In the home stretch now. I haven't check it since early this am.
    Maybe will check temp around 3:30. Temp has held at 260 all day. Should be just about perfect! I can smell it anytime I am within 25 feet.
  • Cool. I want to do a comparison of 2 butts at once, injected and not injected to compare them. Have fun!
    I think Taz did it last week.

    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,167
    In the home stretch now. I haven't check it since early this am. Maybe will check temp around 3:30. Temp has held at 260 all day. Should be just about perfect! I can smell it anytime I am within 25 feet.
    I'm in the manual controller camp (use lower vent and DFMT) and am comfortable without going auto-about the only thing I do have is an electronic thermo that I insert and run the cable to an external (to BGE) read-out.  Being anal, I also insert a bimetalic into the hunk of meat and try to align the dial with the opening in the DFMT-thus another visual without opening.   Calibrate (against my hot&fast thermopen) both before long cooks and then enjoy the journey. 
    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.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,167

    With regard to the side-by-side inject vs not-I have seen two recent (last six months or so) tests run.  And in one for sure, the blind test favored the injected butt.  Don't recall the other but it must have been at worst neutral. FWIW-

    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.
  • With regard to the side-by-side inject vs not-I have seen two recent (last six months or so) tests run.  And in one for sure, the blind test favored the injected butt.  Don't recall the other but it must have been at worst neutral. FWIW-




    I'm pretty sure it was Taz but whoever it was used Stubbs Texas Butter. He said that it was a little moister but no significant flavor change. It did cook much faster than the non-injected which makes perfect sense (liquid is a very efficient conductor of heat).

    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    It was me, and cen-tex got the gist perfect.
    Injected stubbs' Texas butter (lighter flavor profile than their chipolte butter). Both coated in lots of Bone sucking rub + extra brown sugar.
    The Injected cooked faster, was a bit moister (I wasn't positive, but the Mrs confirmed), but no discernable taste difference after being shredded.
    Oh and while the Mrs and I tasted before too many beverages, we couldn't say the same for the rest of the folks. :D
    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
  • Just temp checked and we are at 210 internal. Finishing up my first batch of sauce on the stove. Went ahead and pulled it off the BGE. Used only the dome temp and manual control. Used a stick thermometer for checking. Only
    Checked twice. Once halfway through and once at the end.

    Meat is so tender right now having trouble getting it off the grill without falling apart.

    Alright got it wrapped in foil and a towel and in the oven for a while. Pictures I follow when I figure out how.
  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852

    Meat is so tender right now having trouble getting it off the grill without falling apart.
    .
    Yep, its done.
    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
  • Amazing. Buff said.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,167
    Congrats on a great cook-enjoy and if inclined make a few notes for the next one-always a learning curve with the BGE!
    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.
  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873
    Who's Buff? Should we take his word for it?
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC 
  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    I don't like the way he tries to bully Marty McFly, with that was Biff.
    Who's buff again?
    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
  • Stupid autocorrect machine. That's who buff is. Nuff said. :)
  • Stupid autocorrect machine. That's who buff is. Nuff said. :)


    I will call mine Buff from now on :))

    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Rich_ie
    Rich_ie Posts: 268
    I remember my 1st butt!! 
  • FanOfFanboys
    FanOfFanboys Posts: 2,615
    Hopkinsusmc said pork is very forgiving. He is very accurate.
    The first butt I did wasn't planned. The goal was to wake up early in morn and cook piglet I had. My neighbor came over and asked if I had room for two butts as well. I said sure and threw them on

    It was my first low and slow for anything. And I had worked the day prior and went out for a drink after work that lead to be staying up all night at a friends house drinking. Literally we were still drinking when sun came up. Drove home and started cooking. I did not get any sleep that day bc wife was pissed and gave me extra chores to do.

    I was lacking for sleep and had to be awake during the drunk to hung over phase and my 1st cook. And still came out damn good. Incredibly juicy and tender.

    I'm looking forward to doing again, rested and sober (well sober at the start at least)


    Congrats on your first butt. It's cool doing on the Egg and really seeing how amazing it is.
    Boom
  • Rich_ie
    Rich_ie Posts: 268
    I did not get any sleep that day bc wife was pissed and gave me extra chores to do. =))