Getting the Big Boy Ready

[Wayne Copeland]

Suzy Q's BBQ :: Cooking :: Pork Butt :: Getting the big boy ready


Author Topic: Getting the big boy ready (Read 348 times)
Wayne Copeland
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Getting the big boy ready
« Thread Started on Jul 5, 2005, 6:58pm »

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Pork shoulder or butt is a fairly easy piece to cook if you take your time with it and prepare it right. I usually turn in pulled pork, so this message will address that technique. 4 hours before I put the butt on the pit, I brine with a large injector needle. I add 1/2 cup of fine Kosher salt ( you can use pickling salt) to a gallon of warm water, and about three tablespoons of brown sugar with my seasonings mixed in. Make sure all the ingredients dissolve before you attempt to us it!! While the brine is soaking, I trim excess fat off the butt and then inject about 2 cups (total) into various muscle regions of the butt....it has seven different muscles, so play around. I happen to like the bone in, as I think it just adds more flavor. It is now ready for a light to medium coating of your favorite seasonings!! (Please see more information on slather/recipe under the cooking/recipe board). It should be cooked for10-16 hours on the pit, more if it is a larger piece of meat. A boned pork butt slow smokes to completion in about 1 1/2 hours per pound. Bone-in pork butt takes 2 hours per pound. After 3-4 hours, I rotate and turn the butt, then spray with apple juice every hour thereafter. When the internal temp gets to 190-205 degrees it is ready...but don't glaze the butt...it doesn't take glaze very well. When its done, let it rest for 15-20 minutes and then remove the bone...it should pull out easily. Now it should break apart very easily with two forks...remember to save some of that black crust, as you should add it to your entry. Watch out for the heavier fatty pieces, as the judges don't like it, nor will your friends. Try to turn in an equal amount of the white-grayish colored meat as the pink meat with the visible smoke ring...then add some of that blackened crust to spice your entries appearance up a little. I also lightly brush some sauce on the meat, as this is allowed so long as it isn't pooled or standing alone in the tray.
If your cooking a butt for family/friends, put the pieces in a large bowl, mix 1 cup of barbeque sauce with 1/4 cup of cider vinegar and pour it over the pieces, mixing it well. Serve it on sandwich bread with a heaping of cold Cole slaw on top of it, and you will have friends forever. Just Food for Thought
« Last Edit: Jan 1, 2006, 10:24pm by Wayne Copeland » Link to Post - Back to Top Logged


Wayne Copeland
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Re: Getting the big boy ready
« Reply #1 on Jan 1, 2006, 3:13pm »

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At the American Royal, my team tried a couple of injections that we picked up at a local BBQ shop. Although I don't usually recommend changing cooking techniques at a contest, we had 4 butts to cook and tried a Pecan Cajun injection on one of our butts. After all the butts were cooked and pulled, we had a blind tasting sample with some of our guests and this was voted the very best of the four! We turned it in as our entry and placed in the top 25th percentile in the Open division. Maybe the judges were a little thrown off by the taste, but alot of them must have liked it. Anyway, try out this flavor injection on your next butt and sample the difference.
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Wayne Copeland
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Re: Getting the big boy ready
« Reply #2 on Feb 19, 2006, 2:03pm »

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Another tip I picked up from some KCBS judges is that on the pork turn in, pulled pork is really at a little bit of an advantage if it is mounded in a circle in the center of your tray with a little bark around the mound. It was the consensus at a CJC (certified judges class) that entries that were scooped into the tray with an ice cream scoop were not as warm, attractive nor as moist as the ones with the mounding entries. Most of these first time judges also liked having extra pieces of bark positioned around the mound and the appearance scores were higher. Even though judges are not suppose to grade your entry on whether the meat is presented "sauced" or not, I like my pulled pork to have a little sauce on it (not 5 alarm hot) with a little bark in it for extra flavor. If the meat is undercooked (mushy) or overcooked, you will lose points. Judges are taught to consider your turn in a 9 when they first evaluate it, so why lose points right off the bat with product that is too dry, mushy or fatty?
Different parts of the country use different types of sauce, ie, sweet, sour, vinegar based, tomato based, and even mayonnaise (yes, called white sauce in Georgia) based sauces...so check around and find out what your region prefers. Remember, even though you might like your special sauce, the judges are usually home grown and eat BBQ within 25 miles of their homes for the most part. So cook for the judges if you want to score points!!
« Last Edit: Feb 19, 2006, 2:06pm by Wayne Copeland »

[Smokey]

There's an old boy up in Carolina named Ed Mitchell who is the bad boy of pork butt. He serves his pork butt on a pig bar where the customers hand pick the pieces they wish to eat. Probably not the most sanitary practice but whatever. He also finishes off his meat by dusting the top with pork cracklins that seem to go over well with the customers. I have a few pounds of pork on the pit right now and picked up some cracklins at HEB to serve with the meat tomorrow. We'll see how it turns out!