Cooking a Boston Butt for BBQ

[Phils]

Man but this thread is making me hungry!

Had pork butt this last weekend at hunting camp but it wasn't smoked. Boiled, then shredded, then cooked on a griddle in camp for sandwiches. Good nonetheless.

And I still remember when I was driving truck and would go through the eastern part of Texas where big piles of hickory trees were being burnt. Immediately hungry, couldn't find a BBQ place fast enough!

I've never cooked a pork butt, but I have a smoker and will be cooking one soon. Some great tips!

Phil

 

[escavader]

HI SHERPA,
I must be a redneck,from the backwoods,cause i didnt even have a clue what a boston butt was.I thought it must involve JOHN KERRY,and his idiotic comment,and you were a bunch of vigelantis[bet i didnt spell that one right]
I was gonna suggest you invite TED KENNEDY,but not for the designated driver.
My wife cooks this stuff in a crock pot all the time.She makes it the night before,turns it on before work,and its done when we get home...boy dont the house smell good.
Kind of funny,how the same things have different names across the land,We call this one a pork roast i believe.Wife never heard that one either.
Now you done it,im heading to the fridge.SEE WHAT YOUVE DONE.
alan

 

[sherpa]

Hey,
I wonder if you could smoke your BBQ in another hardwood besides Hickory? Has anyone ever tried Red Oak, Lucust, Maple or sour wood. I got all kinds of hardwood trees up the hill here behind the place.
Sherpa

 

[AL_Josh]

All this talk about B-B-Q made me hungry. I stopped on the way home and bought a Boston Butt to smoke for sndwiches. I put a rub on it and am about to put it on. Can't wait.

Thanks,

Josh

 

[bmac]

Hey,
I wonder if you could smoke your BBQ in another hardwood besides Hickory? Has anyone ever tried Red Oak, Lucust, Maple or sour wood. I got all kinds of hardwood trees up the hill here behind the place.
Sherpa

The basic answer to your question is "yes, you can use wood other than hickory for smoking.

Fruit woods are good (apple, cherry,e.g.), maple, white oak (don't know about red oak or the the others you mentioned), mesquite (Small amounts as the flavor can be overwhelming). Do a little research. Experiment. Some meats do better with certain woods over others.

 

[Glenn9643]

The basic answer to your question is "yes, you can use wood other than hickory for smoking.

Fruit woods are good (apple, cherry,e.g.), maple, white oak (don't know about red oak or the the others you mentioned), mesquite (Small amounts as the flavor can be overwhelming). Do a little research. Experiment. Some meats do better with certain woods over others.

The oaks are good for smoking too. I use white oak or red oak 1" lumber cut-offs from my shop scrap pile most of the time.
Another tip... always use dry wood, as green wood will generate more "tars" in the smoke and often give a foul taste to the food as well as build up on the smoker requiring frequent scrubbing.

 

[sherpa]

Another tip... always use dry wood, as green wood will generate more "tars" in the smoke and often give a foul taste to the food as well as build up on the smoker requiring frequent scrubbing.


This is good to know. I am so happy how my BBQ turned out! I have told everyone I know. Lucky I live in the sticks or people would be knocking my door down for a taste of this stuff.
sherpa

 

[mjarrels]

Just this thread will probably cause pork prices to rise?

mark

 

[HomeBrew2]

Just like Al, I got my piggy shoulder yesterday eve and started half of it at 6am today. I'm using native blue oak chips made from my old Fitchberg chipper. Pic 1, seasoned and ready to go. Pic 2, lookin good after 4 hours

 

[MX5000]

This thread got me so hungry, I ordered a crock pot yesterday. I don't even like to cook. We could almost have a cooking / grilling section and share cooking / grilling / smoking information. Just a thought.

Howard

 

[sherpa]

Just like Al, I got my piggy shoulder yesterday eve and started half of it at 6am today. I'm using native blue oak chips made from my old Fitchberg chipper. Pic 1, seasoned and ready to go. Pic 2, lookin good after 4 hours

HomeBrew2
That smoker looks just like the one I used. The one I used had a water pan in the middle between the meat and charcoal. It looks good! I think I will have some more of my BBQ tonight, MAN OH MAN this is good living aint it?
sherpa

 

[HomeBrew2]

This thread got me so hungry, I ordered a crock pot yesterday. I don't even like to cook. We could almost have a cooking / grilling section and share cooking / grilling / smoking information. Just a thought.
Howard

Please be very careful with that crock pot. They are not intended for those that don't like to cook. Crockpots are dangerous appliances and should be used with great caution ... next thing you know, you'll be ... umm ... cooking all the time ... Possibly doing ribs or maybe sausage in the dam crock ... then there's the leftovers that you'll dump in there with a can of soup and vegatables or something ... with a layer of cheese on the top or ... well, and then there's beans, maybe all kinds of different beans and some garlic and onions to go with them. ... I'd refuse delivery of the crockpot ... your life will change
Enjoy!

 

[HomeBrew2]

HomeBrew2
That smoker looks just like the one I used. The one I used had a water pan in the middle between the meat and charcoal. It looks good! I think I will have some more of my BBQ tonight, MAN OH MAN this is good living aint it?
sherpa

Yeh, this is livin brother!!!
I think we have the same smoker ... I had a charcoal one many years ago then went with the electric one but same deal. Mine came with the water bowl too.
I pulled my nicely smoked porky shoulder off the smoker about 5pm (11 hrs) and finished it in the oven at 300° till 7pm. The attached pic is after letting it get happy for 20 min. I tested it's "done-ness" by picking it up and giving it a twist ... it broke right apart, but didn't FALL apart ... perfect!
Thanks for posting sherpa ... a lot of us got a lot of good eats because of it

 

[sherpa]

The only reason we bought that butt was because they were on sale, the wife got it for .99 cents a pound. $15 for 15 pound of BBQ and we had fun learning how to cook it. Now we are having even more fun eating it.
Sherpa

 

[Chuck52]

We get one of those $0.99/lb roasts whenever we happen to see one. They freeze fine and are then available when the mood strikes, or if some big function is coming up. I've taken them as pulled meat barbeque to several office parties and never had any left over to take home. I've found that if you want something other than barbeque, you can also carve off a piece ad do it on the rotisserie, if your grill has one. I generally stud it with garlic and rosemary sprigs (God, I sound like Martha!) and cook it to crispy on the outside. The only problem with that style is it can lead you to try to make some kind of fancy side dish to go with it. I can usually get over that fool notion by whipping up some garlic mashers. Then there's enough garlic floating around the atmosphere to dissolve any cholesterol you might pick up from the meat!

Chuck

 

[MX5000]

Please be very careful with that crock pot. They are not intended for those that don't like to cook. Crockpots are dangerous appliances and should be used with great caution ... next thing you know, you'll be ... umm ... cooking all the time ... Possibly doing ribs or maybe sausage in the dam crock ... then there's the leftovers that you'll dump in there with a can of soup and vegatables or something ... with a layer of cheese on the top or ... well, and then there's beans, maybe all kinds of different beans and some garlic and onions to go with them. ... I'd refuse delivery of the crockpot ... your life will change
Enjoy!

Oh No!!! More ideas for the crock pot!!! Now I'm getting hungry again!!! Sausages, soups, cheese, and beans, oh my...lol

thanks,
Howard

 

[mjarrels]

I just bought a nice size Boston Butt... now if I can just find my crockpot.

mark

 

[sherpa]

I still got the other half of my Boston Butt in the freezer. There is no law that says you have to have turkey on Thanksgiving!
sherpa

 

[HomeBrew2]

... cook until the meat is about 190 F internal ...

Just wanted to thank you for the finished temp quote. I have read all the cooking temps for years but never a finished internal temp. The bbq I made was the best ever for me. I like it to PULL apart, not fall apart. Thanks again

 

[anojones]

No problem- as they say- low and slow BBQ is "done when it's done". You can estimate cooking temperatures and the time it takes to BBQ a piece of meat- but... it's done when it's done This thread got me hungry and I did some beef ribs yesterday and found a packer cut brisket (full 12 lbs with the fat cap) - looking forward to cooking that sometime in the near future.