OT - Traeger + SV pork butt

Canugghead

Read @JohnInCarolina 's post re SV pork butt when I was getting ready to try couple of small pork butts in the Traeger, so I decided to give one of them the SV treatment.
Day 1 - smoked one to 165 IT then SV 165F for 18 hours; SV finished too early on Day 2 so ice shocked and chilled it. 
Day 2 - smoked second one all the way till IT 203, foiled at 170ish since it was getting late.  Also smoked the SV piece for 2+ hours with foiling near the end.

Both came out juicy/tender with nice bark, the SV piece was a tad drier, probably due to prolonged second smoke at 250F.  Smoking shorter at 350F may be better.

Needed the AMZN smoker to boost the smoke. Even with great visual smoke ring it didn't have the robust 'in your face' smoke smell/taste profile as cooked in BGE.  Family members prefer butt from the BGE.

SV butt is more work than straight smoke but it's a great way to plan large cooks or have pp on short notice ... chill or freeze after SV, you're guaranteed to have one ready to serve after a couple hours' smoke to build the bark.

I'm still learning with Traeger, so far prefer it for ribs and chicken. For low and slow like pulled pork and brisket I will stick with BGE.  For mass cooking can't beat the Pro 34 though.

SV piece on the left...






homemade Mantou (steamed bun)...


quick chamber vacuum sealed daikon and carrot pickle...


fusion pp sammy...


simple side, steamed bok choy with low heat sauteed garlic+soy+sesame oil...

henapple

Looks good 

caliking

Outstanding , Gary!

Any advantage to smoking first, then SV, then smoking again? What about SV first, then smoke for a couple of hours? It would simplify the process. Don't know how the smoke flavor would be affected, but you would still get some bark.

On to the sides- I've been thinking about pork belly buns again. I steamed one bun when I made hamburger buns recently, and  though the  texture was good, it sort of collapsed when taken out of the steamed. Any tips?

And I wouldn't mind the recipe for the pickled carrots and daikon either

Legume

Damn - making me hungry!

Canugghead

Thanks all for the kind words.
 
@caliking I've done beef (chuck and brisket) in the past with SV (50 to 72 hours), followed by hot sear or 2-hr smoke, without pre smoke, both came out good.  Never tried pork butt that way.

With the pre smoke, the butt came out looking more 'appetizing' after SV even without post sear.  It's not as important as the post sear for bark building though.

Swmbo made the steamed bun.  To minimise collapsing, introduce steam gradually ... place the steam baskets over the water before it boils, turn heat down once it starts boiling. When done steaming (about 5 minutes) turn off heat and let buns stand, do not open lid immediately. I think building a strong dough also helps.

For the daikon carrot pickle I added in rough measures:  vinegar, sugar, salt, cilantro, Thai chilli. Vacuum sealing speeds up the marinating. You can google and find many variations.

CigarCityEgger

Oh man, steamed bun sandwiches are some of my fav. Yours looks awesome!

Canugghead

@CigarCityEgger Thanks, pork belly burnt ends on steamed bun is on my to-do list!

thetrim

I love that type of bun.  Your pics look awesome!

caliking

Thanks for the bun tips. I was doing it all wrong - plopped dough in once the pot of water boiled, steamed on hard boil for 5-10 mins, then took it right out. I'll try your method next time.

When you say "strong dough" do you mean use higher protein flour or lower hydration?

Lastly, do you know how they do it in restaurants? I imagine they have the pots boiling constantly as they make batches of buns?

 

Canugghead

@caliking we used AP flour with regular bread dough like hydration, mixed/kneaded in KA about five minutes, followed by hand kneading. I wonder higher protein flour would help minimise collapse even better.

Good question about how restaurants mass produce them, since they probably don't have the luxury of time-consuming gentle steaming.