Brining my Butt

Fireball

[p]Has anybody brined a Boston Butt? What was the length of time you left the butt in the brine? Should I brine my butt as if it was a pork loin or a pork chop? Thank you all in advance. It will be a JJ"s Rub butt today and a brined butt latter this weekend.
Fireball

RhumAndJerk

Fireball,
About a month ago, I brined a Boston Butt in Jamaican Brine for 24 hours and then a Jerk marinade for another 24 hours. I then smoked it over guava and apple for twenty some hours. The resultant Jerked Pulled Pork was very good, but it did have a ham type flavor. I would prefer to not brine and just let the Jerk Marinade sit for 48 hours. [p]Try it and see if you like it.
RhumAndJerk

Nature Boy

RhumAndJerk,
Hi Mike. We discussed the haminess a few weeks ago when you posted about it. You were thinking it might be the salt.[p]I was reading the brining article that Cat posted yesterday (that is a good one), and it said that the hammy flavor comes from the sugar....not the salt. That was interesting. Maybe cut down heavily or omit the sugar, and try it again!![p]Cheers
NB

KennyG

Nature Boy,[p]I agree completely and will again volunteer to be a guineapig and ingest the results of the experiment, hehehe[p]K~G

Huck

Kennyg,
I JUST did finish a butt. I brined it for eight hours in:
gallon apple cider
cup brown sugar
cup salt
two tablespoons garlic powder
two tablespoons onion powder[p]The result was absolutely fantastic. I used hardwood lump, a pizza stone for a deflector with a pan full of beer under the thing. I used hickory lump and chips. I made a paste out of a dry rub similar to JJs and mustard and smeared it on icing style. The temps: eighteen hours at 200 dome, the rest at 250-300. The butt hung out at 160 degrees for over eight hours! Towards the end it crept up to make the final leg. I've never had better meat, any kind anywhere. You simply cannot buy this delicacy anywhere at all.[p]Good Luck

Unknown

Fireball,I brined a butt this past weekend and it was the best butt I have done to-date. I did not get any of the hamminess that was referred to. I brined it for 24 hours, rinsed it well, patted it dry and left it uncovered in the fridge for another 24 hours to let the surface moisture evaporate. Then I rubbed it and let that set for 24 hours, then to the EGG it went. Awesome. I learned about brining from this site and I am a believer. Poultry, pork loins, chops and now butt. I used the typical salt and sugar mixture, with Alspice berries, little cayan, bay leaves, sage and whatever else I thought would add good flavor.

KennyG

Huck,[p]Welcome to the forum. [p]I lurk and occasionally post on the K forum and followed your progress on this brined butt. Congrats, it sounds fabulous. I haven't tried brining a butt yet, they always seem to come great just with a traditional rub and plenty of time on the ceramic. A local BGE enthusiast and friend right here in Cleveland was kind enough to share a great Jamaican spice brined batch of pulled pork with me and I just could not help volunteering again for his next Eggsperiment.[p]K~G[p]