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First time Pork Butt question... bonus pics of other recent cooks

the one good thing about the quarantine has been putting the big green egg to work... over the last couple weeks we've made ribs, lobster tails, burgers, spatchcock chicken, corn, bacon beans, duck fat asparagus, butternut squash, carne asada skirt steak and onions, steaks, tequila shrimp, etc. 

when I went to the butcher yesterday I figured it was time to do a pork butt. my question is, it's a 5lb boneless butt and it's already tied with butcher twine. do I leave the butt tied? I've coated the butt with French's mustard and applied a 50/50 mix of DizzyPig Raging River and Oakridge Secret Weapon Pork & Chicken Rub. It's currently sitting in the fridge and I plan to put it on the egg tomorrow morning around 6:30 or 7am (to eat in time for dinner). 

I realized I dont think I've seen a pork butt smoked while tied up... so wanted to see if I should leave it tied or if I should cut the twine off. maybe it's tied because it's boneless?

here are some pics:







and here are some other pics of recent cooks and eats





basted these lobster tails with a butter, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, splash of white wine, MSG (accent seasoning), white pepper, and a little old bay mixture





used the Oakridge Santa Maria seasoning for these strip steaks... really enjoyed that rub... finished with Maldon



the wife was in the mood for a mushroom cream sauce, so topped these strip steaks with a mushroom, cream, brandy, thyme sauce



the benefits of having a friend that owns a wholesale fish business... a little black gold appetizer





tequila shrimp and burgers



anyways... thanks for looking! and please let me know what you think about leaving the boneless butt tied or untied for tomorrow's cook!

Comments

  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
    Yes.  Keep it tied up.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."

                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
  • marcdc
    marcdc Posts: 126
    Yes.  Keep it tied up.
    great, thanks so much!
  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
    Lots of good eats in this post!!  Thanks for sharing.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."

                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 10,708
    Right out of the chute, Great cooks!
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    I thought the going butt price around here ($3/lb) was high! Another reason I'm glad I don't live in the DC area. $5.49?! Wow. Try Wegman's @ $1.50 last time I was down your way (Fredericksburg) anyway.

    Cooks look good though.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • I would leave it tied up, as well. You're cooking it til it falls apart, so the ties should help get it off the egg easier.

    Your other cooks look fabulous. You have some killer quarantine cooks there. Egg on!
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
  • dbCooper
    dbCooper Posts: 2,061
    .99/lb, on sale, is not unusual to see in my area....
    LBGE, LBGE-PTR, 22" Weber, Coleman 413G
    Great Plains, USA
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,170
    Rollin' in hot right there.  Great looking cooks across the spectrum.  Congrats.
    Another vote for tied up.  
    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.
  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,984
    I tie up all kinds of protien cuts before egging. You should have no issues except with the minor inconvenience of the removal of the butcher's twine after the cook. 

    Great looking cooks, thank you for sharing.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
  • marcdc
    marcdc Posts: 126
    lkapigian said:
    Right out of the chute, Great cooks!
    thank you! I got the egg end of summer last year and definitely cooked on it, but really looking forward to all the summer eats
  • marcdc
    marcdc Posts: 126
    I thought the going butt price around here ($3/lb) was high! Another reason I'm glad I don't live in the DC area. $5.49?! Wow. Try Wegman's @ $1.50 last time I was down your way (Fredericksburg) anyway.

    Cooks look good though.
    Balducci's is astronomically expensive, but all the other grocery stores around here look like they belong in the USSR in the 1980s. Huge run on everything, not just paper goods. Balducci's remains well stocked because, well, it's expensive. I didnt' want to bounce around to a bunch of different places and piece meal the grocery list together, so I just sucked it up and got everything from here. 

    I usually like to order delivery groceries from Fresh Direct, but it's been impossible to schedule a delivery slot during the past two weeks.
  • marcdc
    marcdc Posts: 126
    edited March 2020
    lousubcap said:
    Rollin' in hot right there.  Great looking cooks across the spectrum.  Congrats.
    Another vote for tied up.  
    YukonRon said:
    I tie up all kinds of protien cuts before egging. You should have no issues except with the minor inconvenience of the removal of the butcher's twine after the cook. 

    Great looking cooks, thank you for sharing.
    I would leave it tied up, as well. You're cooking it til it falls apart, so the ties should help get it off the egg easier.

    Your other cooks look fabulous. You have some killer quarantine cooks there. Egg on!


     thank you all! will definitely leave it tied up.

    actually another quick question... I ran out of apple cider vinegar... when I wrap the butt around 160, can I just mix white vinegar with some apple juice?

    also, thoughts on adding honey and/or butter a la ribs? or will it just burn?
  • Battleborn
    Battleborn Posts: 3,338
    marcdc said:
    lousubcap said:
    Rollin' in hot right there.  Great looking cooks across the spectrum.  Congrats.
    Another vote for tied up.  
    YukonRon said:
    I tie up all kinds of protien cuts before egging. You should have no issues except with the minor inconvenience of the removal of the butcher's twine after the cook. 

    Great looking cooks, thank you for sharing.
    I would leave it tied up, as well. You're cooking it til it falls apart, so the ties should help get it off the egg easier.

    Your other cooks look fabulous. You have some killer quarantine cooks there. Egg on!


     thank you all! will definitely leave it tied up.

    actually another quick question... I ran out of apple cider vinegar... when I wrap the butt around 160, can I just mix white vinegar with some apple juice?

    also, thoughts on adding honey and/or butter a la ribs? or will it just burn?
    I usually do not wrap with any additional liquid. It will stay moist without. 
    Las Vegas, NV


  • marcdc
    marcdc Posts: 126
    I usually do not wrap with any additional liquid. It will stay moist without. 
    ok good to know... so you just let it naturally power through the stall? do you spray it with a mixture at all during any point? or throw a glaze on it at the end?
  • Battleborn
    Battleborn Posts: 3,338
    marcdc said:
    I usually do not wrap with any additional liquid. It will stay moist without. 
    ok good to know... so you just let it naturally power through the stall? do you spray it with a mixture at all during any point? or throw a glaze on it at the end?
    I don't usually wrap anymore unless I need to get it done. I tend to just throw it on and not open the dome until the thermometer says it's at temp. 
    Las Vegas, NV


  • marcdc
    marcdc Posts: 126
    I don't usually wrap anymore unless I need to get it done. I tend to just throw it on and not open the dome until the thermometer says it's at temp. 
    got it, thank you sir
  • Battleborn
    Battleborn Posts: 3,338
    marcdc said:
    I don't usually wrap anymore unless I need to get it done. I tend to just throw it on and not open the dome until the thermometer says it's at temp. 
    got it, thank you sir
    That is just how I do it. There are a million different ways to cook a butt and they will all come out great! Have fun!
    Las Vegas, NV


  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814

    Pork shoulder can be cooked in varying ways to great results.    Setup for an indirect cook.  Egg temp somewhere between 225-375º.  Add some salt to the pork and cook until tender (normally 195-205º).  Anything after that is personal preference.

    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
  • No wrap for me either. Just bump up
    the dome temp if you need it to finish earlier.
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    A lot of goodness in those pictures. 
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
  • Sea2Ski
    Sea2Ski Posts: 4,088
    Great looking cooks!  Keep posting them up and sharing!  
    --------------------------------------------------
    Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
    ....just look for the smoke!
    Large and MiniMax
    --------------------------------------------------

    Caliking said:   Meat in bung is my favorite. 
  • Leopoldstoch
    Leopoldstoch Posts: 1,182
    Looks good professor chaos! Keep on sharing the great looking cooks!

    Brandon - Ohio

  • marcdc
    marcdc Posts: 126
    Looks good professor chaos! Keep on sharing the great looking cooks!
    HAHA, Butters is my spirit animal. Thank you!
  • marcdc
    marcdc Posts: 126
    edited April 2020
    closing the loop on this, thank you to everyone. I left it tied up and did not wrap until it was finished. put it on at 8:30am and took it off at 6:10pm at 198 degrees. FTC for one hour afterwards. grate temp on egg according to the Smoke was 257 for most of the time

    one thing that did happen was around the 184 degree mark, the temp started to pretty quickly drop from 257 down to 236. I opened the egg, took out the conveggtor and notice there was a pretty big hole of no charcoal in the middle of the egg but there was some decent sized chunks basically in a circle around the egg. I stirred the charcoal around and pushed everything back together in a pile... temp promptly came back up and had no problem finishing it off.

    did I "build" the charcoal incorrectly? I basically just filled the kickash basket all the way up with Rockwood and put some chunks of pecan and apple wood in the bottom of the basket. lit it with two oil soaked paper towels to start (one in back and one front middle.

    anyways, here are the final pics! it was super tasty!








  • Question (about to cook my first butt on my XL this weekend) - your grate temp was between 250-260, what was your indicated dome temp from the egg thermometer?  I just have a single meat probe and not a dual probe set up (yet).
  • marcdc
    marcdc Posts: 126
    Dome showed around 275ish, grid (i said grate, I meant grid where the pork butt was) was around 257
  • buzd504
    buzd504 Posts: 3,824
    edited April 2020
    Question (about to cook my first butt on my XL this weekend) - your grate temp was between 250-260, what was your indicated dome temp from the egg thermometer?  I just have a single meat probe and not a dual probe set up (yet).

    I wouldn't really worry about grid temp.  And pork butts are very forgiving.  I like to keep dome at around 300 for a pork butt, but you can go quite a bit higher if you don't have sugar in your rub.
    NOLA