jark87
Silver Supporter
- Jun 5, 2011
- 1,308
- Pool Size
- 25500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
Pork butt has become one of my favorite cooks. It wasn’t until I found an Eastern Carolina method that uses an apple cider vinegar and brown sugar mop that also has red pepper flakes in it that I finally started to like it.
I don’t wet brine, but I do dry brine. Poultry is the only thing I wet brine.
No injection. Pork butt has plenty of fat for me, so I’ve never had an issue with it drying out. I can understand using an injection if you’re trying to get a particular flavor.
I cook pork butt at 300ish and have cooked as high as 350°. If cooking at 350°, I’ve found you get a better bark and don’t need to wrap because you’ll power through the stall at that temp. My last cook was at 300° because I wanted to put it in a pan with the remaining mop sauce, cover and braise it.
Cooking temp determines whether I wrap or not. Or if I have lots of time and don’t care about the stall. When I cooked on an offset, I almost always wrapped because managing the fire was such a pain. Now that I have a Kamado, it holds temp super long and steady, so it’s less of an issue. I like a nice bark and feel that can be better achieved when I don’t wrap. And when I do wrap, I use butcher paper instead of foil. It lets some of the moisture out and helps retain the bark. Just be prepared for an extra 2-3 hours if cooking below 300° and skipping the wrap.
As far as when to wrap, I usually do so around 165°. That’s when the internal temp starts to just sit and not move. Interestingly, I used a Meater+ for the first time on a pork butt for my last cook. It was estimating the end of the cook at something like 1pm. That shot up to 3:30pm at 155°, which I took as the butt hitting the stall, so that’s when I put it in the pan and covered it. Once I did that, the estimate came back down to 1:30pm and ended up being pretty accurate.
Finish temp is usually around 205°, but I rely on the blade bone as the real indicator. When it moves easily and comes out clean with little to no meat on it, the butt is ready. I start testing the bone around 200°.
I’ve served pork butt right off the smoker and it was very good, but prefer to rest it at least an hour. 2 hours is better. I’ve heard of resting up to 4 hours, but I’ve never had the need (or patience) to do so. Pork butt is very fatty, so it will be juicy even without the rest.
Good luck with your cook and post some pics!
