# Cooking Boston Butts This Weekend



## Greg Rempe (Apr 27, 2005)

Steve...I think NC style is more geared to the sauce you would use at the end.  Getting there it should be the same...more or less.

Typically, I rub my butts with Texas BBQ rub or Fatz PigPowder.  Depending on the mood, I'll use some woshti sauce or plain yellow mustard as a top coat and then apply the rub.  This is done while the coals are getting fired up in the chimey via the Minion Method.

I like to keep my butts chilly so a bigger smoke ring will build around the butt!  Then, when the twenty coals are ashed over, I pour them over the top of the unlit coals in the ring, assemble the smoker,  meat and all, and then watch the pit temp rise.  I keep all bottom vents open 100% and the top vent 100% also.  When the pit gets to 200* I start closing down the vents...typically I close the one that might get the most wind all the way down and then adjust the other two to about 1/3 of the way open and thenwatch to see where the pit settles.  I make adjustemnts from there.  The top vent is always 100% open!!

Usually, the ramp up process takes an hour or so depending  on the wind.  Then it's off to bed for me.  If there is some variance in temp I don't concern myself so much with that...as long as it isn't a huge spike that lasts a long time.

I figure 2 hours a pound or so and pull it when its 195* internal temp.  Then wrap it in some towels and rest it in a dry cooler for a few hours.  Then pull and enjoy...that's how I do it Steve :!:


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## Greg Rempe (Apr 27, 2005)

Jersey BBQ said:
			
		

> GREG... How long will the WSM go at 225 while your SLEEPING? Geez this is sounding too good to be true. I am currently "re-tooling" my BBQ operation.. replacing an ECB and New Braunfels offset with a new Gator Pit and a WSM. This butt cookin' while I am sleeping sounds good. I was wondering, doesn't the charcoal put off a smell when they light from scratch? Compared to when they are lit and greyed over?



Jersey,

With some minor adjustments and a full ring of Kingsford, I have gotten 22hrs of burn time (HONESTLY!!!) and others will vouche for the long burn times as well!  

I would love to add a Gator to my repitoire as well but it's just not in the budget right now! :-(   On the TVWB, there is a lady named Keri who has a big stick burner that they use often but only use the WSM for butts becuase of its consistent temps without the hassel of constantly putting in a log to keep the heat.  It is a plus but I would rather have an off-set if I had my druthers.  I have done numerous butt cooks overnight where I have gone to bed at 11pm with the temps at 230 or so and woke the next morning at 8am and the WSM is still going strong and holding temp.  

As far as putting off a bad taste...that is not the case.  Jim Minion has a better expalnation than me on why this doesn't happen but I think it has something to do with the fact that they are all not lighting at once or something   .  Whatever the case, the taste is good and it does not give the butt a bad taste at all!

Hope that helps!!


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## Greg Rempe (Apr 27, 2005)

Steve Z said:
			
		

> Thanks Fatz I will if it gets here in time
> 
> Greg so if I understand you right it does not matter what rub I use?



A different rub will make the bark tatse different.  Fatz's is more shake-able and TXBBQ has more of a thicker feel to it.  Either one is really good and I have tried them both and would refer either as well!! :!:  =P~


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## LarryWolfe (Apr 28, 2005)

Steve Z said:
			
		

> I'm planning on cooking 2 butts one is 4 lbs and the other is about 6.5. I want to put a dry rub on one (such as Texas bbq or Fatz rub). The other one I would like to cook North Carolina style. This would be my first time cooking butts. I would to know how you cook yours and your NC recipe that you use. BTW I'm cooking with a WSM.
> 
> Thanks For Your Help In Advance
> 
> Steve



Steve,
        Cook the butts with a dome temp between the 240-260 range until you get an internal temp of 190*.  Double wrap in HD Aluminum Foil, wrap in a heavy towel or blanket and let rest in a dry pre-heated cooler for at least an hour, 2-3 hours is even better.  They will still be too hot to touch, so don't worry about the length of time they are in the cooler.  

For the traditional pulled pork, just pull it and apply additional rub and your sauce of choice if desired.

For the NC style pull the meat off the bone in chunks and with a good sized sharp knife chop it until you get almost a shredded consistency in the meat.  Mix the meat with the vinegar sauce as desired.

For the sauce, I use apple cider vinegar, black pepper, red pepper flakes, little bit of chili powder, and a touch of sugar.  Make the sauce the day before.  Combine all of the ingredients, bring to a boil, let cool and put into a shaker bottle.


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## Greg Rempe (Apr 28, 2005)

Woo Sauce = Woshtishiere Sauce :!:


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## Woodman1 (Apr 28, 2005)

_How_ do you spell that again Greg?


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## Nick Prochilo (Apr 29, 2005)

Woodman said:
			
		

> _How_ do you spell that again Greg?



It luked rite to me


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## Captain Morgan (Apr 29, 2005)

Welcome Smokehouse!  You'll find a lot of folks who just use water in the pan, but some use sand...I've used both, and they both work pretty well.  Sand is a little easier to clean, cause you just put foil over the sand and simply remove it afterwards....that's good for long cooks too, cause you don't have to replenish sand like you do with water.


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## Captain Morgan (Apr 29, 2005)

They'll be pretty similar...Rempe just went to work, but he'll be here later with more details.

  I find that the sand takes a little longer to heat up, but is more stable afterwards.  Your vent settings will vary depending on certain conditions...wind, temps, etc.

  Butts are easy, and the perfect choice to break in your WSM.  Don't worry much about temp spikes and drops....just try to get used to adjusting your vents to maintain a steady temperature in your chosen range.

  Larry is alkso a great source of info on this, he'll also be along shortly,.


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## LarryWolfe (Apr 29, 2005)

Captain Morgan said:
			
		

> They'll be pretty similar...Rempe just went to work, but he'll be here later with more details.
> 
> I find that the sand takes a little longer to heat up, but is more stable afterwards.  Your vent settings will vary depending on certain conditions...wind, temps, etc.
> 
> ...



Thanks Cappy!

They way I've been using the MM is like this.  I'll load up the charcoal ring with coal and wood chunks and make a hole in the middle of the bed of charcoal.  Then I assemble the cooker, using sand and put the meat directly onto the cooker before adding the lit coals.  I then put the ET-73 Probe half way into the thickest piece of the meat I am cooking and place the lid onto the cooker.  Then I pour the already lit coals (warm days 10/colder days 15-20) into a metal bowel and with a good sized metal sppon, load them into the hole into the bed of charcoal.  All of the vents are 100% open and especially like Greg said the top vent should always regardless of anything be open 100% or you will have soot and a rotten tasting piece of meat.  This is due to improper ventilation which causes the charcoal and wood to smolder vs. slow burn.  Leave the vents fully open until you get 200* and I always close all three 75%, leaving 25% open.  I will normally get about a 5-10* temperature drop, but within 5-10 minutes the temp is climbing and will slowly  climb into the 240-260* dome temp (giving you a top grate temp between 225-245) and stay there for many many hours with no adjusting whatsoever.  Just be patient, the more adjustments you make to your cooker the longer and more frustrating your cook will be due to temp drops and spikes.  After several hours you may start to see the temp drop a little.  If so tap all the sides of the cooker with your fist to get the ash build up to fall through the grates.  But not too hard or you will get ash on your meat.  I hope this helps and just remember each WSM may burn (hotter/colder) than others so use the advice as a guide not as a rule.


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## Captain Morgan (Apr 29, 2005)

Patience is a virtue....if you're running hot and you close the vents just to a slit, it will still take time for the unit to cool down, and vice versa.  Again, don't panic, it's really not going to affect your cook much if your 20 degrees hotter than you want for half an hour or so.  Butts are forgiving....just have fun!


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## Captain Morgan (Apr 29, 2005)

WSM's are porcelain coated so they don't really need seasoning.  You can spray the inside if you want, but I don't think it's necessary.


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## Greg Rempe (Apr 29, 2005)

I coated mine with veggie oil and then burned kingsford in there for a good while at about 350*...but like cappie said, no real need to...I took seasoning advice from Glenn R. :!:


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## Captain Morgan (Apr 29, 2005)

Jersey, most of us started with an ECB.  I think you'll be happy with the WSM...lots of advantages.


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## Captain Morgan (Apr 29, 2005)

Just a big fan of the Andy Griffith show....the law wouldn't have me.


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## LarryWolfe (Apr 29, 2005)

Captain Morgan said:
			
		

> WSM's are porcelain coated so they don't really need seasoning.  You can spray the inside if you want, but I don't think it's necessary.



Cappy's right, no need to season!  Fill 'er up with meat and have fun!


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## Nick Prochilo (May 1, 2005)

Captain Morgan said:
			
		

> Just a big fan of the Andy Griffith show....the law wouldn't have me.



At least not this way!


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## LarryWolfe (May 1, 2005)

Steve Z said:
			
		

> It's 1:30 in the morning I just put 2 Boston Butts on the Smoker. On one I put woos sauce and Texas BBQ rub. The other I put mustard and Larry Wolfes BBQ rub. (Thanks Larry for being so kind for making the rub and dropping it off @ the house). I'll stay up for about another hour and keep an eye on the temps.



Steve, no problem it's my pleasure.  I hope you like it.  It's 7:49am, hows the cook going?  We had heavy rain last night, did it effect the cook any?


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## LarryWolfe (May 1, 2005)

Steve Z said:
			
		

> I got up @ 6:30 and the temp was @ 293* I had the vents open just a tad. I added cold water to the pan and took the lid off for a while. I think the probe went bad so I switched em. The small butt is @ a temp of 157* and I got the temp down to 220* @ grill level. Still playing with the vents. But it smells real good. Too bad I didn't cook this earlier I would have it for breakfast



Steve leave the lid on, make the adjustments with the lower vents.  Taking the lid off is gonna give you some flare ups.  If your temp won't go down, close the bottom vents 100%, and add ice cubes to the water pan.  The temp will go down, just not instantaneously.


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## Captain Morgan (May 1, 2005)

No need to panic...butts are very forgiving....I've fallen asleep and found
temps over 300!  You'll be fine....as far as removing the lid, if you feel you must, just take it off and hold it upside down for a few seconds to let the hot air escape.  The replace the lid...this is called a heat dump, and is really necessary only in extreme situations.  No biggie, let her rip.

   Are you familiar with the plateau level of the meat?


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## Captain Morgan (May 1, 2005)

Can be anywhere from 160 to 175.....just remember you'll think you're doing something wrong but you're not...this is the critical process that
bastes and flavors the meat internally.


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## jminion1 (May 1, 2005)

Last Aug in a competition we had to finish a butt at 450 (hugh rain storm). It brought us a first place finish, butts are very forgiving but I would recommend 450 pit temps on a regular basis.
Jim


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## Guest (May 1, 2005)

jminion said:
			
		

> ... butts are very forgiving but I would recommend 450 pit temps on a regular basis.
> Jim


    I wouldn't


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## jminion1 (May 1, 2005)

I'm old and sometimes not all the synapse don't snap, 
I left out NOT.  :loony: 

 Jim


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## Shawn White (May 1, 2005)

you could try and finish them hotter, up to about 275F

you could also wrap the butts in foil and return them to the cooker ... lot's of folks do it ... I'd rather not but it will speed things up

one more thing ... when you do remove them from the cooker, wrap them in foil and let them rest for at least an hour if possible

you need to keep them over 140F while resting, many use an old cooler and some blankets


I was wondering when you posted if you were gonna be a little short on time

if I want to remove the butts by 4pm, I start them around 8pm or 9pm (which turns into 9pm - 10pm) ... my last ones were done at 2pm which was perfect, a couple of hours rest before pulling the meat


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## Shawn White (May 1, 2005)

Steve Z said:
			
		

> ...Question is; do I want to wrap these butts or not by 2:00? :-k



It sounds like they are 'cooked', so you could remove them, but you need to go higher if you want the meat to pull nicely.

I'd try to get them higher by opening your vents to turn up the heat and foil them and return to the cooker.


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## Shawn White (May 1, 2005)

Steve Z said:
			
		

> I think I read to pull them @ 190* and then wrap and put them in the cooler. Is that correct?   168* now.


sure 190F will work, it's a good starting point

some try to go even higher like 195F or 200F ... experiment and see what you like

I'm trying to move away from relying on internal temp as much but I will still use it as a guideline, and trying to learn what done looks and feels like

here are a couple of methods: if the bone is sticking way out or feels like it will pull free easily, or if you can put a fork in the meat and twist and the meat seems soft and shredable it is done 

so maybe do a manual check at 185F internal and see what you think, if you think it is done, it's done ... and you don't have to worry about the fact it didn't get to 190F


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## LarryWolfe (May 1, 2005)

I pull my butts/picnics at 190* regardless, double foil, wrap in a towel and let rest for at least 2 hours or more.  Never had a problem.    

I've had briskets I couldn't get past 170* no matter what I did or how long I cooked them.

You just learn when things are done, some you go by temp, some you go by experience.


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## ScottyDaQ (May 2, 2005)

Here's some photos of last night's feast at my house.
http://community.webshots.com/album/336603098zWjshu


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## Captain Morgan (May 2, 2005)

Great joby Scotty...that chicken and butt looked perfect!


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## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (May 2, 2005)

Does any one know of, Or use the "magic fork" method?


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## Captain Morgan (May 2, 2005)

One of these days I'm gonna get quoted.

And not for a bad thing. #-o


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## Nick Prochilo (May 2, 2005)

Great looking pics Scotty!


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## LarryWolfe (May 2, 2005)

Nick Prochilo said:
			
		

> Great looking pics Scotty!



Hey guys, this was Steve's post, what happened?   fftop:


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## Nick Prochilo (May 2, 2005)

Oh thanks Mr. Moderater


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## LarryWolfe (May 2, 2005)

Nick Prochilo said:
			
		

> Oh thanks Mr. Moderater



Come on, I'm just trying to help Nicky P., why you wanna bust balls?  Isn't that what they say in LI?  :grin:


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## Nick Prochilo (May 2, 2005)

Larry Wolfe said:
			
		

> [quote="Nick Prochilo":3mqqep37]Oh thanks Mr. Moderater



Come on, I'm just trying to help Nicky P., why you wanna bust balls?  Isn't that what they say in LI?  :grin:[/quote:3mqqep37]

Stupid me....I forgot!


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## ScottyDaQ (May 3, 2005)

Steve Z said:
			
		

> Hey Scotty looks like your turned out real well. How long did it take you to cook and @ what temp did you remove yours from the cooker? I took mine off @ 190 and only rested for about 45 min avg. I started to pull the pork (too hot to handle) then ended up chopping it. Tasted great but Wife (boss) likes it pulled better.(wouldn't dare show her your pic's). Thanks Steve



I don't log my butt cooks any more, but I put it on around 8 PM, The WSM was stable at 240 for the night. In the morning I had to open up the vents ...then add some more fuel around noon (it was a windy day)
Took it off at 2, when the internal was 185, I felt around with the probe and found a firmer part, so I let it go a little longer to 187. Foiled, and let it rest in the cooler for 2 hours. 
When I pull, I just separate one muscle group and genty squeeze it, that gives the longer strings. I used to use forks, but that destroyed the meat too much.
Gatta do what mamma says!


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