Doing my first Turbo Butt this Sunday

ColAngus · April 2014

Hey guys- I'm planning to cook a turbo butt for this Sunday's Master's party.

It's an 8 lb butt. Do you recommend I brine it?

Mattman3969 · April 2014

No need to brine. Some inject but I never have.

Carolina Q · April 2014

No brine for butts. Rub only. Some use only s&p. Others have more ingredients in a homemade rub. Or use a store bought mix like Dizzy Pig. Some inject too, though I never have.

I've never heard of anyone brining a butt. Doesn't mean no one ever HAS, just that I don't recall it.

grege345 · April 2014

Carolina Q said:

No brine for butts. Rub only. Some use only s&p. Others have more ingredients in a homemade rub. Or use a store bought mix like Dizzy Pig. Some inject too, though I never have.

I've never heard of anyone brining a butt. Doesn't mean no one ever HAS, just that I don't recall it.

I'm not positive butt I think I saw alton brown do it when he slow cooked one in a clay planters pot

Carolina Q · April 2014

grege345 said:

I'm not positive butt I think I saw alton brown do it when he slow cooked one in a clay planters pot

Could be I guess. I have a flower pot smoker too. Cooks a mean butt. With no brine.

RRP · April 2014

Years and years ago I brined a butt and I will never do that again! The meat had a weird semi-ham like taste that even heavy BBQ sauce couldn't mask!

ColAngus · April 2014

Good to hear! Less work for me.

Thanks!!!

ColAngus · April 2014

How long should I wait to prep the meat? I'm going to rub yellow mustard all over it, then use Dizzy Pig for the rub.

Does it help to rub the butt the night before (can't help to giggle like a school girl when I say that)?

Chris_Wang · April 2014

Do it whenever you want. I typically rub and go. I've let it sit in the fridge overnight all rubbed down, but I don't think it makes a difference. I think I did it the night before just because I was excited...

Carolina Q · April 2014

I usually apply the rub right before I throw the butt on the egg. Using mustard is just a waste of a good hot dog condiment.

SenecaTheYounger · April 2014

Add rub whenever it is convenient for you.

RRP · April 2014

ColAngus said:

Does it help to rub the butt the night before (can't help to giggle like a school girl when I say that)?

Typically I never rub butts nor ribs until right before they go on the egg. Depending on the salt content - for instance Bad Bryon which I find extremely salty - will draw the moisture out of the pork, especially if rubbed the night before - at least that's my opinion!

SenecaTheYounger · April 2014

@RRP

This is true. You are correct. But keep in mind though that sugar is more hygroscopic than salt.

Most of the liquid left behind after rub has been left to sit on a pork butt or ribs is actually due to the sugar. Rubs (for flavor, not curing) use much more sugar than salt, even though salt content can be high.

In a cure, where salt rules the day, or it may at least equal the amount of sugar, it is a fair fight.

FearlessTheEggNoob · April 2014

Ive read that a light coat of oil before the rub allows the oil soluble ingredients in the rub to seep in to the meat. Im going to cook up my first boston butt tonight and take it to the motorcycle race tomorrow.

SenecaTheYounger · April 2014

re: "a light coat of oil before the rub allows the oil soluble ingredients in the rub to seep in to the meat"

The moisture of the meat is a barrier to the oil. It will not wick or weep into the meat.

If you have fat soluble components in the rub, any fat from the meat in contact with the dry rub (w/o oil) would be enough to do what you are hoping the oil would do.

Acorn · April 2014

Let it get room temp. I let mine sit out for at least and hour, mustard and dizzy pig. I have learned from everyone on this forum, this works great.

puddinhead · April 2014

I have read about brining a pork butt and ribs as well, but have never done it. I do inject my pork butts and use olive oil coating before applying my rub.I have done overnight prep and immediate prep. I am not certain it makes a difference. How deep can rub go. It makes sense that brining would cause a "hammy" taste due to the high salt concentration and prolonged exposure. If I use a higher salt rub overnight it does sometimes cause a more ham flavor to my ribs, but not so with a pork butt. There is plenty of interior meat to dilute any salt when mixed in with the bark. My product has been well received by friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

SenecaTheYounger · April 2014

Leaving meat out for an hour won't warm it to any great extent. And when it is done, as for steaks or roasts (which need afew hours), the purpose is to even out temperature gradient across the meat so that when it reaches medium or medium-rare (for example), there's no great depth of well done exterior.

For a butt or ribs, there is no advantage to warmingthe meat. Just throw it on and get cooking.

Colder meat can also attain a greater depth of smoke ring (cosmetic) because condensation on the surface helps with smoke adsorption.

Cookinbob · April 2014

I have never brined a butt. I have always put the rub on while the egg is warming up and stabilizing. I have done them low and slow and turbo, and every one has been Eggcellent - it is a hard cook to screw up. The only thing to watch is that a rub with a lot of sugar can get pretty black when cooking turbo, but for my taste it is not a problem. Enjoy the cook!

Ladeback69 · April 2014

Brining to me is for hams. I may do one next weekend and inject it.

golfandgrill · April 2014

Col Angus. Great name

ColAngus · April 2014

I've searched trying to find the original Mickey'sTurbo Butt thread with the instructions, but I can't find it.

To summarize-

cook at 350 until internal is at 160
then take it off and wrap in foil
put it back on the BGE until internal is 195

When do I put the wood chunks? Do I keep the BGE at 350 when I wrap in foil?

PS- I think there should be an official Mickey's Turbo Butt recipe. It's really confusing trying to find the exact thread. I've search Google and the BGE forums.

Chris_Wang · April 2014

Mix your chunks in your lump then light the egg.

There are as many turbo methods now as there are creation/evolution theories.

I do 325 straight through, no foil.

Some do 350 straight through, no foil.

Some do 325 for 2 hours, then finish at 350 till the IT is where it needs to be.

And yes, some still foil in turbo/nitro mode just to speed it up even more.

Chris_Wang · April 2014

Not even sure how @Mickey‌ does it these days. I believe the egg stays at 350° when he wraps the butt.

ColAngus · April 2014

Thanks guys!

Mickey · April 2014

TURBO BUTTS. · Hot'n fast, 350 for 5 hours to internal to 200 and then let it rest for an hour or so wrapped in towels in a ice chest. Falls apart and oh so good! Have fun! · Be sure you only get a 7lb butt or so for the time (or a couple or more for more protein ) . Note: The butt box is not required. I use mustard & Bad Byron's Butt Rub (both not required). I put on the rub, then mustard, then rub once more.

yumdinger · April 2014

I did my second Turbo Butt yesterday for a NCAA National Championship Hockey Party. I foiled due to time crunch. Boneless from Costco, 2 butts, one about 8 lbs and one 7lbs. I applied Mustard, Jack Henry Pecan Rub (man that stuff is good) combined with DP Dizzy too add a bite to the sweet pecan just prior to slapping them on the Egg.

Fire made with Royal Oak Red Bag (USA), with Apple and Cherry Wood 2" chunks throughout lump all the way down to my Largest coal at the bottom of my lump.

Butts on egg at 11:30 am, 350 DOME used my Maverick remote temp probe.

Meat was 45 when it went on the grill.

One hour - Butt was 106, grate temp 336 Dome spiked to 360. Let it ride.

2 hours - Meat was 147, grate 322 and Dome still 350-360.

3 hours - Meat 160 Grate and Dome same. I did not tie the boneless butts up this time, some smaller parts were sticking out, their temp had jumped to 180 and up. Of course this is the time I get to sample some of the burnt ends! they were very good.....love that part of the cook, first taste.

I pulled both Butts and put them in Foil pans with just a bit of apple cider in the bottom and covered the pans with foil, back in the egg.

4 hours - meat 195, I pulled and put in the cooler for travel.

Pulled at the Hockey Party 1 hour 25 minutes later.

It was very good. The bark had softened slightly but there was still good bark to be had due to the flaps that had flipped out of the butt. It was moist and tender. I had one area of the larger butt that was just a touch harder to pull but it did and it was tender.

I served the pork with Bone Suckin' Sauce and a local Organic BBQ sauce that was also exceptional.

Congrats to Union College. Our Golden Gophers will be back for years to come!

ColAngus · April 2014

I put it on at 8am. It's 3 hrs into it and the internal temp is 150.

We're not having guests over for another 4 hours. Can I just keep it on the BGE w/out foil?

Do you recommend foil only when in a time crunch?

I don't want to dry out the meat. Should I pull off and foil or not?

Mattman3969 · April 2014

If you are going for pulled pork you still have a ways to go, somewhere around an IT of 200 or when it probes with no resistance. If you finish early you can FTC for several hours.

Carolina Q · April 2014

When it's done, wrap in foil (the whole butt), then bath towel, then into the cooler. Will be fine for 4-6 hours. Then pull it for pulled pork. If you are ready to eat when the butt is done. no foil needed, just pull and enjoy.

Carolina Q · April 2014

And do NOT leave it on the egg once it's done.

Doing my first Turbo Butt this Sunday

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