After a small hiatus dealing with the online store opening, and the busy holiday season, we are back with another weeks blog post. This week is about the ever popular pork butt, and my favorite dish from it, pulled pork.
The pork butt, contrary to what the name might suggest, is actually nowhere near the hind end of a pig. The pork butt is part of the whole pork shoulder which is made up of two specific parts, The Boston Butt, and the picnic shoulder. To competition cooks, there is a third part which is the pork collar, or the “money muscle” which is a section of meat opposite the blade bone. It got its nickname “money muscle” because if you cook it perfectly, it’ll make you money. The reason that the butt has its name despite not being anywhere near it is that in New England back in colonial times the less desirable cuts of pork would be thrown in a container labeled “butts” and the name stuck.
The typical butt is anywhere from 7-10 pounds and can come boneless or bone-in. For me personally, there are 2 things in BBQ that are more satisfying than anything else, a clean pull of the membrane off the back of a rack of ribs, and a clean bone being pulled out of a butt when fully cooked. With that, you can tell which one I prefer, the bone-in. Typically the butt has a small fat cap on the top of it and before I start layering rubs, I will usually score the fat cap because rub will not penetrate fat, and it allows rub to get down into the meat a bit as well.
Roughly an hour before I’m ready to put the butt on, I will pull it out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter to try and warm it up a little bit. 30 minutes later I will unwrap it, score that fat cap I mentioned and apply a light, but even layer of The Everything all purpose rub. At this point I get my desired smoker fired up to 250 degrees and after 15 minutes, I will apply the And Then Some rub to the entire butt and coat it completely. With the red qualities within the And Then Some, you can really see if you miss any spots as you are going around. You may have noticed that I did not say anything about putting a binder on before adding the first rub layer, and there’s a reason for that. I use the salt in The Everything in order to draw out some moisture, or “meat sweat” from the meat in order to use that as a binder for the And Then Some, which then it is just meat and rub. Personal preference is everything so if you like using a binder, then please do.
Some people like to cook the butt in an aluminum pan, and others will just put it directly on the grate. I have done both and the only difference I have noticed is that if cooked in a pan the entire time, there is a lot less clean up. Once the internal temp hits 165 and I am happy with the color on it, I will at this point put it in an aluminum pan if not already. Then I put a layer of brown sugar on the top of the meat just to make it sweeter when its all done, and then cover it completely in foil to help it get tender. I usually do not add any liquid in the wrap because as more and more fat renders, that gives plenty of moisture. If you would like to add some fruit juice to the wrap, then by all means.
Once the internal temp hits around 195, I will use my Inkbird instant read thermometer to check for probe tenderness. Probe tenderness is when the temp probe goes into the meat with little to no resistance, like a hot knife through butter across the entire piece of meat. Sometimes it will be done at the 195, sometimes 202, or even 205. Every piece of meat is different and bigger cuts like a butt or brisket will tell you when they are done. You always want to make sure you cook to temp and not time, especially since butts can take anywhere from 10-20 depending on your cooking temp. My rule of thumb if you are wanting to schedule a cook time is 60 minutes per pound of meat, plus 3 hours, and 2 hours rest. This means that an 8 pound but could be done in 8 hours, but give yourself 11 for it to cook, and then add 2 more hours for it to rest. 30 minutes can be a good rest if you are in a pinch, but more time is always better. Don’t pull the butt until after its rested, this will allow the juices to soak back into the meat. I will often rest my bigger cuts of meat by setting my oven temp to its lowest setting, 170 degrees, and after sitting out for about 30 minutes to stop the cooking process, I will leave it in the oven to hold and stay at temp without getting into the unsafe temp zone.
As I said before, few things in BBQ are more satisfying than pulling the bone out of the butt when its done and after its rested is exactly when you finally get to do that. Lots of people use claws when pulling the meat, and I have some in my store if you would like to get some! I use a pair of cotton glove liners underneath nitrile gloves and pull it by hand. I find it easier to break pieces down even further and be able to separate any fat that may not have rendered. See the full recipe below.
Ingredients:
- 1, 8-10 pound Boston Butt
- The Everything all purpose BBQ rub
- And Then Some BBQ rub
Recipe:
1. Trim the butt, getting the hard/ sinew fat off but leaving some fat to render down.
2. Score the remaining fat cap
3. Apply a light but even coat of The Everything rub
4. Set smoker to 250 degrees while The Everything is setting
5. After 15 minutes, apply a good coating of the And Then Some rub to all sides, cover all the exposed pork.
6. Once smoker is ready, place the butt in the smoker and let run to 165 degrees, or until the color is where you like it.
7. Once 160-165 is reached, pull the butt and place in a deep aluminum pan, cover the top of the butt in brown sugar and wrap completely with aluminum foil.
8. Place back on smoker until it hits about 195 degrees and then start periodically check for “probe tenderness” (probe sliding in and out of the meat like a knife through butter)
9. Once probe tender is achieved, take the tray off the pit and leave the foil on. Grab a big towel and cover, leaving it on the counter, or safe place.
10. If the internal temp falls below 140 degrees before serving time, place it in the oven at 250-300 until the temp comes up above 140. This is for food safety.
11. Once its serving time, drain most of the juice out from the pan, leaving some in to keep moisture among the meat, then pull it apart completely. Drizzle in a small amount of BBQ sauce (optional), toss, and serve.
Remember to check out lovelyjubblybbq.com for the rubs and any other products mentioned this week. We are also in store at Ava’s a posh boutique in Watertown, WI! Tune in next week for my Thanksgiving Turkey review.
As always, keep cookin’, Happy Thanksgiving, and Lovely Jubbly!
Lovely Jubbly BBQ 