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First Pork Butt: Big Success!

JBUG99999
JBUG99999 Posts: 263
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
We finally did it! Our first pork butt was a 20 pounder that we picked out from Sam's Club yesterday. We knew we'd never survive a 30+ hour cook (no Stoker or DigiQ here!), so we had them open the cryovac package and quarter it for us:

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At 5:45 this morning, while I was slathering on the yellow mustard and Bad Byron's Butt Rub, my other half was outside getting the fire stoked in our Large BGE, with a mixture of mesquite and apple woods.

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Around 7:15, we finally got the fire stabilized and ready for the pork butts. The dome was holding solid at 240 degrees with the platesetter (legs up) and a drip pan with some water on top. Here are the butts before I inserted the temperature probes:

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Around 5:30 PM, one of the butts was ready to come off for sliced pork (right at 170 degrees). I double-wrapped it in foil, then towels, and placed it in a warmed cooler for an hour and a half, before slicing it up:

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A short movie (25 seconds) of me slicing it up:

http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/onree08/?action=view&current=f1c62bd8.mp4

We re-arranged them on the grate and re-filled the drip pan with water. Then, three hours later, the smaller two butts were ready to be wrapped! Here's a picture when they hit 200 degrees:

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Here's the last pork butt that took a little extra time to reach the 200 degree mark, but was WELL worth the wait. This little gem was ugly, but tasted great! This piece was a little fatier than the others, and didn't have much bone in it, but ended up with a beautiful smoke ring and the best tasting pulled pork we've ever had (granted we haven't had much, but we're still impressed!):

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After being double wrapped in foil and resting for 90 minutes, here's one heck of a pile of pulled pork:

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Super close up "glamour shot:"

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Here's our giant pile of leftovers getting ready for the freezer:

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All in all, it was a great success and huge BGE milestone for us. (It was our first pork butt!) We'll definitely be doing this again, it was pretty easy and the results are well worth the wait!

Thanks again to Jay and Bubba Tim for your words of advice and encouragement!
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Comments

  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    That's a great looking cook. Sliced pork is underestimated, I like it too from time to time.

    Your post is the second this weekend mentioning huge butts from Sam's. I hope my store follows suit, the biggest I have gotten is a 9 or 10 pounder. I might have to put my name on a watch list for a big one....
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
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  • JBUG99999
    JBUG99999 Posts: 263
    Our local Sam's Club had one that was in the 8 pound range, and then in a separate area in an open-top cooler by the pork loins, they had these giant pork butts. I don't know if they normally have them or not, because it's not something we normally look for. I'm certainly happy with the end result!

    The sliced pork turned out nice, and we'll probably do it again, but the pulled pork is AWESOME!
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  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
    You don't need a freakin gadget to do a 30+ hour cook on the EGG! I have gone 36 hours on one load of lump.250 dome,Commando.I fill to the top of the Firering,adjust vents and let her go.
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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    JBug: Looks great!! Congrats on your first (and I am sure not your last) butt cook! :) I will make sure Bubba Tim gets your Thanks message, also. ;)
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  • SSN686
    SSN686 Posts: 3,504
    Morning Julie:

    YOU NAILED IT! Told you it was easy! Great looking pork cook!

    Have a GREAT day!

       Jay

    Brandon, FL


     

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  • JPF
    JPF Posts: 592
    Great job on your first and extremely successful butt cook. I loved sliced pork, kinda grew up on it. I still know of two bbq places that do real good pork sliced only. Congrats again your cook looks spot on.
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  • 2Fategghead
    2Fategghead Posts: 9,624
    Great job Julie, Looks like everything turned out fantastic. Tim :P

    I would love to get a 20 pound butt and cook it el commando naked. :woohoo:
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  • highpress
    highpress Posts: 694
    Julie,
    Congrats and looks good. Don't worry, soon enough you'll be doing them with your eyes closed. Nice job.
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  • JBUG99999
    JBUG99999 Posts: 263
    Thanks again! I'm surprised at how well it turned out and it really wasn't a big deal. It was so intimidating because of the time commitment. And, of course the commitment of purchasing 20 pounds of meat and worrying it will be inedible!

    Thanks again!
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  • KenHawk
    KenHawk Posts: 58
    What temp was your egg at? I just bought a Large BGE, smoked a butt, and was disappointed at the dryness. My temp kept creeping up to 300 F. I'm still learning I guess.
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  • JBUG99999
    JBUG99999 Posts: 263
    The temp was never above 250 for ours.

    Were you peeking at it? Bubba Tim suggested we do not peek until the temperature is right for taking it off, and that seemed to work perfectly for us. We did not baste it or anything.

    Also, did you let it rest after you took it off?
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