A couple of Mike's an a few other troublemakers can take credit for my first butt of the year. That was about 5:30 am.
Can't ask for a better start to a day than that. Looks like a great day here on east coast ( finally no rain ) and a perfect day to roast your butt. Enjoy!!
Mike didn't you just do a 20+ hour cook with multiple "moppings"? I have always "run" @ 225 +/- and at 7-8 hours have a 195-200 internal temp. and the bone pulls easy and clean. Just wondering what temp's a cook that long is at. I'm partial to pork with just SPG and a nice bark.
I put a pan of water under it when I started it, and got the temperature settled out @225. The hickory lump Royal Oak charcoal smells good.
There's a few Mike's around here. I don't mop. I use just rub. I usually smoke pork butts overnight, for 15-16 hrs. That's with usually 2-8pound butts. I usually shoot for just under 200degrees, internal temp Pork butts are pretty forgivable, given all the internal fat and connective tissue. Meaning, you can go longer without too much of a problem. It must be smelling really good there, about now.
I couldn't stop picking at it. Ended up eating my fill standing at the counter while pulling it, then mowed on some creamy style Cole slaw my wife made yesterday for sloppy joes.
You almost forgot you say? One thing for sure is that the eyeball in the lower left corner of your picture didn't forget. Smart guy there and keeping an eye on your prize. Looks delicious!!
That cooked pork looks right to me. Well done! I most always smoke 2 butts at a time. It uses about the same amount of charcoal and takes about the same amount of time. I use a seal-a-meal vacuum machine and put the packages in the freezer.
So sorry for being one of the Mikes that cause "trouble". I will try to do better at making trouble. Just need to find something to cook. Thinking maybe a duck soon. (My better half has to find one tho).
A few days ago I did a 19hr smoke on a 12lb shoulder. Smoker temp was at 225° and I mopped it with a vinegar based sauce about 4 times after the stall and when it had a good hard bark. I pulled it off the smoker at an internal temp of 195 and let it rest for an hr wrapped in a towel in a cooler.
Yeah, butt - shoulder is the easiest, tastiest and cheapest meat you can buy. I prefer a non tomato sauce style with a simple spg (salt pepper garlic) rub then a little more once pulled. So simple a caveman can do it. I'm trying to figure out how to make a "patty" out of p.p. for a pulled pork crab cake type sammich. A light browning in a skillet on each side would seem to me like a fun alternate to simply microwaving it loose. I've been dicing a little bit up and adding it to my morning sausage gravy that I used too much flour and making it perfect to water down. Good chit! Good catch buzz, that's our little Jack Russell, he learned at a young age about hovering around any outside cooking event and he's too small (short) to be a thief.
I don't think I have ever smoked a " shoulder " , I have always done a " butt " , probably a little more meat on the butt vs. the shoulder cut. Cost is obviously a little more but it has always turned out very good. I have never done tomato based sauce either. Salt , pepper , garlic powder , onion powder , brown sugar , paprika and whatever other spices I can find in the cabinet has always worked well. I cover it with yellow mustard as a sort of glue for the spice mixture to stick to , rub it down good to cover and cover , refrigerate over night and then smoke the next day. Home-made BBQ sauce you can add yourself if you so choose. Sausage gravy ? What ?? You are in Maine and do sausage gravy?? Transplanted southerner ???
Definitely more bone and a little more connective tissue in the shoulder but still a very good cut for a long smoke. The last shoulder I smoked, I tried the mustard approach for the first time. I gotta admit, I'll probably use it again. I feel like I got a better bark this time.
